In the time since I last wrote we have done quite a bit. We had an extended trip to southern CA to visit friends and family. It was great to see everyone and get away for a while! Matt's Grandpa Bell had his 80th birthday party while we were down there. It was a great party and so nice to get to see and visit with everyone.
We had planned to hike with our good friends to the hot springs again for an over night trip. Clint and Jodi had babysitting issues, which resulted in Matt and I hiking out there on our own and then Jodi joining us later in the evening. Unfortunately, Clint didn't make it out this trip.
The trip was pretty disastrous. The 7 mile hike Matt and I did is usually a breeze and really a great hike. Except I had never done it in the dead of summer. The canyon it's in just radiates heat, and it really kicked my booty!
We got there and were able to relax for awhile. In the evening Jodi showed up, which was great, bummed though that Clint couldn't make it.
We set up camp in a wonderful little spot and were off to a good evening!
Until that is....what you pray never happens while you're a seven mile hike away from civilization with no cell phone service...........happens-
It was just about 9pm and had just gotten dark when Matt, while maneuvering from one hot spring pool to another slipped on some wet moss and fell about 10 feet.
He tried to play it off, but I could tell from his face that he was in pain somewhere.
It wasn't until about 10-15 minutes later while sitting on the beach that he came up to me, lifted his arm up and said, "Does this look normal to you?"
His disgustingly deformed arm held up in some awkward position.
Now-
As most of you know I aspire to be a Nurse. I've taken and passed my EMT class twice in the past 10 years and have worked on many patients with gnarly looking extremities...
But I can tell you this...when it's your husband, you know something is badly wrong the minute you see it, you have virtually no resources to deal with this, and it's a seven mile hike out.....the panic and nausea sets in fast.
I literally had to sit down on the beach and put my head between my legs to avoid puking or passing out.
Thank God Jodi was there, I looked at her and said, "Jo, I seriously am going to pass out, I can't deal with this right now". And she stepped in!
After some deep breathing and getting myself together, I was able to reassess the issue and deal with it a little better.
Even though my husband felt no need to listen to my advice!
From the beginning his elbow looked completely dislocated. Since the three of us aren't doctors, and none of the acid-dropping, naked "hippies" out there were either, I suggested we pack our stuff and head out tonight, and don't touch the arm until we can get some professional help.
Matt was hell bent against hiking out, which I later understood his protest based on the lack of safety in the dark.
However, he decided to let anyone who, "has read about this kind of thing before", try to set his bone back in place. Some naked girl, (pretty sure her nakedness contributed to him allowing her to do this), yanked his arm back and forth for awhile while Matt writhed in pain. Nothing seemed to improve and his pain was only increasing, so he made her stop and decided he would spend the rest of the night soaking it in the river.
We spent the next 2 hours or so listening to everyone's opinion of what's wrong with it and when, where and how we should get help. But we had decided; stay the night, hike out first thing in the morning.
Jodi hung out with Matt most of the night while I tried to sleep. (I'm not a night person and was dying for some rest!) None of us got any real sleep though.
Matt's arm progressively swelled through the night, and by morning he felt a bit feverish and was vomiting. Which really helped ease our worry (not really!)
The hike out was pretty awful. It was hot, Matt felt terrible and we were all sleep deprived.
Long story short...after 2 ER trips in the following week and multiple X-Rays...it was determined that he did dislocate his elbow, but that it had popped back into place (maybe nakey girl did help!), he also fractured his humerus and ulna bones. In addition to that, his bursa sac (at the tip of your elbow) inflamed with blood, Bursitis, and then got infected. Along with his infected bursitis, he acquired cellulitis, a skin infection from the wound he has at the tip of his elbow. In addition to all of this, he tore his bicep tendon and the bicep partially ripped off the humerus bone.
He now wears what I refer to as a "Bionic" arm splint.
He is slowly getting better. The bruising was horrendous, and that is all gone now. The swelling is mostly gone now too, with the exception of his bursitis which is still there and at some point may need further intervention.
In other news-
Both boys started school this past week. Austin in 2nd and Ryland in pre-k. They both are loving it and doing well so far!
I start school this next Monday and will be going the same days as Ry goes to school.
Oh...and our Landlord decided she is going to sell her house. So we are moving before we had planned. Our lease is up at the end of October, but we chose not to "help her show her home" and leave early. So we have been house hunting...which really sucks. We aren't ready to buy yet, and the rental market is tricky here. So that's been a bit crazy!
This weekend we are hitting the beach I think. A much needed break for all of us right now!
I wish I had known this post was here earlier! It was so fascinating to read your version of our hot springs adventure. That picture of Matt's arm...wow. It makes me shudder.
ReplyDeleteI've been an inactive blogger lately too, so I feel ya there.
Bummer about you having to hunt for a new house. Hopefully this will be an opportunity for you to find a place even better than your current home.