things you hope you never have to experience

so for those of you who have met my parents, i thought you might be interested to know what they are up to...currently spending alot of time at home.  why?  retirement maybe?  nope, although my dad would love for that to be true.  well here's the long and short of it.

35 years ago (when my parents were first married) my dad broke his leg in a motorbike accident (he hit a tree).  they had to live with his parents for 6 months while he recovered.  i don't think my mom let him get on another motorbike after that.  as it turns out, it didn't heal straight and began causing problems in his ankle (arthritis).  so the first week of june, they did surgery and broke both bones in his leg and cleaned up the arthritis in his ankle.  he is in a “fixator” (if you want to see pics, google "ankle distraction") with 17 pins attached to the bones in his leg and feet.  they did ankle distraction which separates the ankle bone from his foot bone.  my mom had to turn 4 screws in the fixator for about 10 days to separate the bones (ask her if she turned them the right way).  now she is turning screws to line up the leg bones, so they heal straight.

he is non-weight bearing and the pins have to be cleaned twice a day.  he is becoming more self sufficient, but my mom still needs to get his meals on the table (try carrying a meal and using a walker), help him shower, get dressed and clean his pins.  he will be in a fixator for 6 months, but hopefully he will be able to walk on his leg in a couple of weeks.  right now his only trips out are to the doctor (can you say cabin fever?).  he is concerned if he goes out that someone will bump his leg (which would hurt obviously).

so my mom is working from home and taking care of dad.  we skype just about every day and they can't wait to see maddie (oh and steve and i (C:) in august.

so i wrote all of the above last week but hadn't posted it yet.  i got a phone call from my mom this morning and my dad is back in the hospital due to blood clots in his legs and lungs.  he will probably be in the hospital for a few days.  please keep both of my parents in your prayers and if you want to send an encouraging note, let me know and i can send you their address.