Dan had surgery on his knee to repair, for the second time, a severely torn ACL and miniscus. The surgery took almost 6 hours and was very extensive. The Dr. had to take out his old "hardware" from the previous surgery cut his own patella tendon and reattach it as his new acl. In order to do that they had to do a bone graft...yadda, yadda, yadda. Let's just say it was CrAzY! After surgery he was in A LOT of pain and seemed to get worse by the day. 6 days post op he was having cold chills and had spiked a fever. We decided to go in and see the surgeon fearing he had an infection. The Dr. confirmed our suspicions and Dan was scheduled for surgery the next morning (exactly one week from his last surgery) to reopen the knee and flush out the knee in hopes of getting out all the infection. It's hard to really explain how sick he was. By the time he got surgery center Friday morning the infection was raging in his body and I have never seen him so sick! It was terrifying!!!! See pic and then story continues...
nasty, huh? (dan's knee not Mallory, although she's not looking too hot herself)
nasty, huh? (dan's knee not Mallory, although she's not looking too hot herself)
Ok, so here's the 2nd part of the story. During all this Mallory came down with bronchitis, borderline pneumonia and was on breathing treatments 4 times a day and by the way, I was running a fever this entire week as well. Talk about being pulled in 100 directions. Dan needed almost constant care and Mallory too. It was hard being everything to everyone Thankfully, my parents helped out. A great friend made us a few meals and cleaned our house one day and of course my Grandma made us a delicious stew as well.
Our next and most difficult blow came after Dan's 2nd surgery. Our dog, Jackson, collapsed and wasn't able to walk or move. He seemed to be almost paralyzed. Dan wasn't able to help me carry an 83 lb dog up from the basement so the next morning our vet made a special visit to our home and helped me load Jackson into the car. An x-ray showed a large mass in his stomach and had probably spread to his spinal cord causing the "episode of paralysis." I was instructed to take him home and let him be with us for a bit longer. Now, up to this point I had been the family rock, but I completely lost it right there at the Avon Vet Clinic! We're talking full blown ugly cry mixed with loud sobs and wailing. In fact, after I had gotten myself breathing again they lead me out a back door to my car. I think maybe they were afraid my hysterics would scare away their clients!! :) Well, our beloved Jackson was with us another 2 1/2 weeks before we had to make the difficult decision to put him to sleep. Hardest thing I've ever had to do. Jackson was my best friend. I'm sure that sounds strange to those of you without pets, but he was just so much more than a dog to me. He was a member of our family! He blessed our lives for 10 years and there will never be another dog like him. Maddy has asked over and over if Jackson will be in heaven when we get there. I haven't really been able to give her a straight answer, but I did say that if God has dogs in heaven our Jackson will definitely be there!!!!Lastly, after Dan's 2nd surgery and our news of Jackson's tumor we got the new that Dan's Grandpa Harmon passed away. At this point Dan still wasn't walking so making a trip to Iowa for the funeral was impossible that was hard for Dan.
However, the month of March ended much better than it began. Dan's parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary and invited their sons and families to go along with them on a trip to Naples, Florida over spring break. We had a wonderful time and the weather was gorgeous.
Love Mallory's face in this one!!!
Our airboat ride through the Everglades was one of my favorite parts of the trip!!!I don't want to end this post without saying how thankful I am for the prayers of so many of you during our difficult month. Although stressful, I can say I felt a sense of peace through it all and that of course can only come through our Savior!!! ;)
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. Phil. 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. Phil. 4:13
6 comments:
Amanda!!! I'd seen peeks of this in your status updates but had no idea it was all in one month! I was so glad to see you got to relax in Florida!
I am so sorry to hear about your golden. Our first dog my family ever had was a golden, Champ. He also had a tumor by his stomach and we had to put him down. He was also 10, so I can TOTALLY relate to how you are feeling. He was the best dog we could have ever had. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
So glad March is over and April is here! Love ya!
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