Another Fourth of July ... Another Broken Bone (Well, Two)

Wow! What a weekend. Grandy Rose, Grampy Fred, Uncle Jeff and Auntie Anne and I (Katie) went to Missouri for the super fun family Fourth of July gathering (Tim stayed home to work on the house). We rarely miss this event since we get to see so much family at one time ... and let's face it, the Noonan's are a blast!! There is a campground at Mark Twain Lake that most everyone goes to ... fun place for most -- for Grampy Fred, it is a dangerous place! Last Fourth of July, when Grampy Fred was there, he fractured his right foot. When he was there in September for his and Grandy's surprise 30th Anniversary party, he tripped on a campfire ring (it was dark and there was no fire in this ring) and came out of that pretty bruised. This year ... well, this year it got much worse!

On Saturday, most of the family decided to go to the water park that is connected with the campgrounds. The day started out very promising with a dip in the Wave Pool. For the second ride of choice, many of the guys got in line to go on a three-story water slide that has a pretty steep angle to it, goes underground and shoots you into a pool of water. You know, the key to water slides is the pool of water at the end that slows you down. The problem with this slide: there was only 3 - 5" of water in the pool. Given Grampy Fred's height and weight, this didn't do much to slow him down as he shot down the slide ... actually, what slowed him down was the concrete wall at the end of the pool ... ouch! Given that his feet were crossed at the ankles, his right leg took the brunt of the force, causing his tibia and fibula bones to break. He has seven breaks between the two bones. Immediately, and through God's provisions, my dad was surrounded by a trauma nurse, a paramedic (my cousin, Mike) and a nurse (my cousin, Kelly). With their help, we made the decision to travel 40 miles to the hospital in Quincy, Illinois. There was a closer hospital, but Mike didn't think they would be able to handle my dad's case.

I wasn't at the water park, so Auntie Anne and Uncle Jeff rushed back to the campgrounds to get me. My heart about stopped when I heard that my dad was in an ambulance on the way to the emergency room because he broke his leg. We got to the hospital and learned that night that there were seven breaks in his bones (we originally thought two to five) and that he needed surgery to install something called and external fixature (I think that is how it is spelled). Basically, it consists of pins that are drilled through the foot and connected with rods outside of his legs. It is bulky and gnarly.

While the hospital staff in Quincy was fabulous, the big decision then was, do we stay in Illinois, or try to get him back home. We decided that given the extensive surgery, and the extensive post-operation care he will need, it would be best to get him home. On Monday, were rented a second vehicle, took the seats out of Jeff's van, put and air mattress in, put Grampy on the air mattress and made the long journey home. Actually, given the number of stops and the distance traveled, we made very good time arriving at Bronson Hospital (where Baby Liby will be born) at about 9:30 p.m. Grampy was pretty drugged up on pain-killers so the trip was fairly smooth for him with little pain.

This morning, he went though his first of potentially two surgeries, and had an external fixature put in. Baring no complications/infections, he will have a second surgery next week to actually repair the break as today's surgery was more to stabilize the leg, giving the skin a chance to heal and stop swelling. I am uploading X-rays of the break to the blog (look at the previous post) ... it looks pretty nasty.

Right now, we are so thankful for many things ... that the injury wasn't worse (it could have been); that we have had fabulous doctors (both in Quincy and at Bronson; that the nurses in Quincy were wonderful and very accommodating; that the car rental guy in Quincy was very helpful; that the trip home went smoothly; that family was around for this whole thing (the Noonan's are one supportive bunch); that God worked many small details so long ago to make this process much smoother ... just to name a few.

The things we are praying for ... of course, a quick and painless healing for Grampy (they are estimating three to four months before he can put weight on that foot again); doctor's wisdom; peace and patience for Grandy, my sisters, brother-in-laws, Tim and me; patience and clarity for my dad; a faster healing then the doctors are predicting ... God can work miracles, and He created the bones that are broken ... He can definitely heal them, too!

Please join us in thankfulness and prayer ... God is good. He has a plan for us all in this, and He will take care of my dad ...

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "Plans to prosper you and not to bring you harm; plans to give you a hope and future." Jeremiah 29:11 (my memorized paraphrase :) ) When God said this to the Israelites, He was doing so while they were in slavery and bondage to the Babylonians. He was telling them that He saw them, still loved them and was waiting to care for them. It feels a lot like my dad is going to be in bondage this summer ... a slave to his leg ... already many summer plans have been changed or put into question. It looks like my Dad has been harmed (well, he has) and while the Israelites were physically harmed in their slavery, God still knew their future and the good things in their future. God is still here, watching over my dad, loving him and healing him with each passing day ... it feels good to know that ...

Katie

X-rays posted below ...