Delayed Update...

While we were at the doctor's office last Friday, Ben was put in a hard cast on the right wrist. While he was being prepped, I was able to sneak a picture of the incision and pins. He has three pins sticking out (two are shown here). The sutures were taken out and the incision was steri-stripped. The pins all stayed in and were padded up before the cast was put on.
These two photos are of the x-rays showing Ben's newly acquired hardware. The above photo is oriented as if his arm was laying flat down and you were looking through from top to bottom. He has 9 screws total, 3 pins and 1 plate. You can see the screws really well in the picture below.

I got Ben cast tattoos just for fun. I actually emailed the company asking them if they had any firefighter-themed tattoos, and they emailed back saying that firefighters often go un-thanked and that they were going to send him a care package for free. And they sent him all different kinds of cast tattoos. We thought that was pretty nice considering the tattoos cost around $30-$40 depending on the size.

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Everything else is going well. I was finally allowed back up into the bed after sleeping on the floor for two weeks. The doctor had given him the all clear to sleep without having his arms propped up on pillows. He still isn't allowed to pick anything up or do much with his arms at all. Aside from intermittent pain, he seems to be healing slowly but surely. I have just recently developed some kind of head cold/sinus infection that I am hoping to be rid of very soon. It is definitely a pain in the butt to be sick and have to take care of someone else and a dog at the same time. But I have been feeling a little better each day (nothing compared to what Ben is going through :) )

We are hoping to make our way back to Ohio soon and then up to Wisconsin to visit the family there. :) So we will be seeing you all pretty soon!

Happy Visit

We are having a great visit with the family so far and wanted to post a quick picture. I applied some cast tattoos to his left arm (notice the flames). I will post more later, I just wanted to let everyone know we are having a great time and Ben is doing well. :)

More Updates

Ben's parents came down for the surgery this past Thursday (they came on Wednesday). As they watched Ben try and get comfortable on our hand-me-down couch, they decided to look around for a new recliner or loveseat/couch for him. They came across a furniture store nearby. Long story short, they ended up getting a really nice leather reclining couch for him that we picked out. And as a surprise they got him a recliner to match. His arms are much happier in his new comfy recliner.

After they left on Sunday, I went to town rearranging the furniture while Ben laid in the bedroom watching TV (I had kicked him out). So these photos are of our new, beautiful, furniture in our newly rearranged living room.

As for an update on Ben. He is really looking forward to having his right arm casted on Friday. Previously I posted that the cast would be up to his elbow, when in fact it will be up past his elbow with a hinge so he can move his elbow. Pretty high tech. I think we have finally gotten rid of Ben's fever, he hasn't been running one for the last two days. Although the pain is still there and very prominent, he seems to be feeling a little better as each day passes. The Vicodin is certainly helping with that! Of course, Aida didn't help matters when she decided to pounce on his right arm a little earlier...oops.

So that is the update for now. I will hopefully be able to post an image of the x-ray of his right wrist after Friday. Until then, thank you all again and again for all your concern, thoughts, and prayers.

Surgery Results

I wanted to let everyone know that Ben's surgery went very well. Ben was in the OR for a little more than 3 hours. Dr Miller said that everything went well, but it took so long due to the amount of damage. Dr Miller ended up using 1 plate, something like 6 screws, and several pins. Ben is in an enormous amount of pain even being on the Vicodin. When we see the doctor next week, he told me that he can give me a copy of Ben's x-rays after the plate, screws and pins were put in. It looks very robotic. So look for those images to be making their way to the blog towards the end of next week.

We just got back a little bit ago and I am going to eat some dinner. I will post more later I just wanted to give everyone a quick update.

The CAT Scan Part II

Ok, this is pretty neat. We figured out that the CAT Scan Disc had the 3D images available. So I thought I would share with you a better visual of Ben's wrist. These three images are all from Ben's right wrist. You can definitely see the damage to the top of the radial bone in all three images. The ulna bone isn't broken too much but does have a small chip that is visible in the top image. The ulna is still slightly dislocated, but is reduced to the best position for the time being (according to the Ortho).

So enjoy these cool, but slightly disturbing images. :)

*On a side note, Ben was switched from Percocet to Vicodin and took his first dose about a half an hour ago....He is really happy right now.*

Chapter 2-The CAT Scan

Ben had his CAT Scan yesterday. Luckily we were given a copy of the images from the scan.

These images are oriented as if you cut the hand off and looked straight down the inside of the arm.

These two images are pretty good at showing the break in his right wrist. In the top image, take a look at the right cluster of bone...those pieces are supposed to be one solid piece. That is the main part of the break.

The second image shows the few small triangular-like shaped flecks of the bone that are going to need to be pinned.

The most recent update on Ben's surgery:

His surgery is scheduled for 11:30am tomorrow (Thursday). The plan is to be at the hospital by 10:15am. The surgery shouldn't take too long, about 1 to 2 hours. As long as everything goes smoothly he should be out of surgery and on his way by 3:00pm or so. The surgeon seems to think that as long as he can use a plate to secure the larger pieces back together, the surgery should go fairly quickly. He will still need to use pins to secure those small flecks of bone. However, should the larger pieces be too small for a plate, he will have to pin those as well, and it may take longer. If only pins are used, he may have to use an external clamp (those robot looking contraptions and bolts on the outside of the skin). Ideally he wants to be able to use a plate and pins and cast up the arm past the elbow. So we will have to see tomorrow.

I will try to update the blog after the surgery tomorrow. Thank you all again for your continued concern and prayers. :)