it's been a rather eventful past few days around here, but i am happy to report that the mister is recovering well post-surgery and, except for the general annoyances one might expect when spending hours tethered to an antique ladder, is in generally amicable spirits. on friday, i received a phone call at work, and it began the way most phone calls i dread do. "don't panic, but..." i was prepared to hear the usual... "one of the dogs did x to your y" or "the car was making a funny noise so i took it in and we now owe $350 in repair bills" or "i had to buy an entire keg of miller lite rather than a 6 pk. because it was such a good deal," but instead, i was regaled with an epic tale of a hiking adventure gone wrong. the full details are still emerging, but from what i gather, my husband and my brother were hiking on a trail at a park near our house, and there may have been some rock-climbing involved. there was also an unfortunate tumble, and some nasty bones breaking through the skin on john's hand.
i met my husband at the ER shortly afterwards, and he was pale, basically writhing in pain, and covered in scratches and dirt. upon surveying the damage, i decided we were all lucky that he hadn't broken his back or been paralyzed. a few x-rays and some much needed morphine shots to the IV later, it was determined that he had fractured two of his metacarpals in several places and would need surgery the following week. they bandaged him up as best they could for the weekend, and sent us home with some vicodin. oh joy! a weekend of trying to comfort a very uncomfortable man. if that wasn't exactly how i wanted to spend a few days! and now, i'm not being snippy at the thought of caring for the hubs. he is an excellent caregiver when i'm sick or hungover or just feeling like i need to be pampered. but making someone homemade soup and refreshing a ginger ale glass is a little easier than trying to keep the pain of a man with a broken hand at bay. i'm a problem solver, and i was sort of frustrated as it seemed unlikely i could do much to help the situation.
which was pretty much true. we spent the weekend watching tv and movies. i also spent a lot of time trying to convince him to think positively and ignore the pain, all the while counting down the minutes to the next time i could give him some more vicodin. he was a real trooper.
slowly the days passed and yesterday, the day of his surgery arrived. i guess i wasn't thinking it was that big of a deal, but seeing him all dressed in a surgical gown, an IV in his arm, and hearing them talk about power of attorney and life-sustaining treatment was a little scary, even though it was just routine, procedurally required "stuff." we spent the better part of six hours at the hospital, but everything ended up fine, and the doctor said the surgery went perfectly. he'll have a cast for approximately 4 weeks, and after some physical therapy, he should be good as new.
but anyway, after we got home last night, i tried to decide how i was going to follow the doctor's orders about keeping that arm elevated to prevent swelling. we decided on the ladder option, and once i got over the whole tying my husband up thing, it seemed to work out pretty excellently.
john's mom likes to tell the story about his tonsil surgery when he was 5. when he woke up after surgery, she asked him what he wanted, saying she'd get him anything he asked for. he thought a minute, then asked for "chips." true to form, yesterday he requested sweet chili doritos. i headed out to get the chips and some other provisions, and my neighbor stopped me in the yard to see how john was doing. "oohhh, great," i replied. "i just tied him up and i'm about to head out for some pizza and supplies." just another day at the hodge podge lodge.
I love this post! You had me cracking up in my office :)
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