Surger-Week

Imagine driving down a two lane road through a dilapidated mill town, speed limit 25, a lazy river on your immediate right and a steep hill covered in trees on your left, obscuring what you know are old houses built when the mills were buzzing and grinding one hundred years before.  Opposite the road’s riverbank are the old brick shells of factories, which once used the river to generate power to make machines, tools, firearms, clothing and paper. The warm temperature and late afternoon reddish glow suggest late summer and you are driving somewhere, perhaps running an errand, or on your way home from the first shift at the last operational paper mill in town. You weave along the river’s bends and slam your brakes when a red hatchback ahead of you comes to an abrupt stop. A woman climbs out of the 72 AMC Gremlin clutching the area to the right of her stomach, tightly, and approaches you. As she arrives at your window, you notice two children in the car she just evacuated - she asks if you will take her and her twins to the hospital.

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Some of the finer details may have been pieced together from supposition and creative license, however, the event did take place - a random stranger in Fitchburg Massachusetts did drive a young woman having a gallbladder attack and her two kids to Burbank Hospital. 
To young children, confusion and fear would seem natural reactions to such an occurrence. For me, however, watching my mom, in pain, take control and reach out to the world for help was a sign of strength. Witnessing this constitution separated my mom, Louise, from all other women; her ‘do what it takes’ attitude that I’ve grown to admire and often subscribe, the mold for her mettle.

I don’t remember the hospital at all; I’ll have to ask Louise, when she wakes what happened. With certainty, I can say that she did leave the hospital a little lighter – the weight of a gallbladder. Louise will be a little lighter after this trip to the hospital too - the difference of a spleen.

In one week Louise had multiple surgeries, the first resulting in a spleen removal and repairs to vascular and organ tissue - the 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th surgeries were scheduled to repair her wrist, face and knee.

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Dr. Figueiredo explained the wrist procedure. He would clean the open wound, re-attach torn tendons, place rods, pins and screws in her wrist, hand and forearm to make room for and allow the multiple fractured bones to fuse and heal, and finally, close it all up. Louise would need to undergo anesthesia; Larry would need to give consent.

The waiting room is no place for waiting. The air is a natural breeding ground for wild speculation and anxiety, not entirely conducive to the relaxed and comfortable setting we desired. It was, however, where the doctor instructed us to meet him after the surgery. Time passed while walks and naps were taken. A woman, who looking for a decent wireless signal found only one in the entire hospital, in the waiting room, skyped loudly in the corner. A program about Nostradamus played on the television – I watched briefly to see if there were any predictions made about Louise. Food was nibbled and thoughts were digested. Magazine and newspapers were glanced at but not read. And finally the doctor arrived. Dr. Figueiredo gave us a breakdown of the surgery, complete with x-rays and a smile. 

Screws in hand

Screws in Radius - Pin securing Radius and Ulna

Fractures

He was pleased with the surgery and reported neither infection nor complication. The wrist and forearm fractures were placed in their proper positions while an internal pin through the Ulna and Radius prevented their rotation. External rods, held in place by screws to the Radius and hand, gave the support needed for several weeks of rebuilding and recovery. Torn tendons were sewn while the other end of a severed tendon was left for lost; an under-used tendon often used for harvesting. She should gain much functionality but would have some limits to her range of motion; further surgeries might be necessary to gain that mobility back. A bandage and cast obscured all points of entry from the afternoon’s ordeal.

Post Surgery

Per the doctors’ and nurses’ suggestion, I shifted my sleeping quarters to a room more conducive to resting; I moved from a firm and uneven foldout chair in a hospital room surrounded by neon displays and a symphony of alarms, to a comfortable bed in a room with a view; I woke to the light of day illuminating the dark waters of the Atlantic Ocean, taking the needed rest the doctors’ prescribed, while remaining in contact with the staff of the ICU via telephone. At Larry and Louise’s house I cooked for the gang and played a little guitar; I took morning walks at Moose Point State Park and along the water at the Belfast Marina; I ate breakfast at the Belfast CO-OP. Kim and I reminisced about our childhood with Mom as she happened across boxes stuffed with old memories and priceless childhood relics.  Was our mother really holding onto these things! A report card from kindergarten revealed I had difficulties with the letter q! Ha! 

Moose Point State Park

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There were two other surgeries that week - her face and her knee. Another round of anesthesia meant another release; a spike in temperature meant a tube of Tylenol; another day meant another trip to the hospital – and another trip past the scene of the accident.

Louise was sedated all week. And in combination with residual anesthesia, it was unlikely Louise would be able to wake. I continued to stay at the house at night and started a blog to keep people informed of the events that had happened.

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Louise needed, and received, a tracheostomy, so that the breathing tube would not obstruct her next procedure. She also had her feeding tube, previously running into her stomach through her mouth, inserted directly into her stomach for the same reason.  

Dr. Crowley, the maxillofacial surgeon, performed the facial surgery. He reconnected Louise's broken upper jaw by attaching small metal plates to the pieces and joined them together. He used her lower jaw as a guide for positioning the repaired upper jaw and wired the two shut. It’ll be about eight weeks before the wires can come out. The repair brought Louise’s eyes back to their normal position and her nose now sits on top of an area where the regrowth of new cartilage and bone will need to take place in order to secure it. Dr. Crowley said that the sinus bone (one of the many forehead bones) was fractured but that it did not require attention. He was pleased with the results; he had seen much worse.

Another signature meant another operation. Dr. Oldenburg carried out the repair of the Tibial Plateau of Louise’s left knee, the simplest of the surgeries. The top of the lower leg bone, where it meets the knee, needed to be repositioned.  This was much quicker and came with less anxiety than the previous; another surgery resulted in another positive outcome. Whew! Louise was about to receive a much-welcomed respite from knives and anesthesia.

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Louise’s body is now in a position to repair and heal – to regrow skin, bone, cartilage, hair, and tissue. The team of doctors, nurses and technicians has prepared Louise for the toughest battle – waking up.

From the hilly terrain between house and hospital to the emotional temperament of Louise’s loved ones, the week saw many ups and downs. We all will have to continue hoping, waiting, and for those who pray, praying. 
For Louise, we must be as strong as she; we will need to exhibit the same bravery and fortitude that she showed when she stopped a stranger and asked for a ride to the hospital more than 30 years ago.