Awesome is the word that comes to mind when I look at the hardware that was successfully removed yesterday from my leg/hip.  The business end of the main pin that went into my ball joint looks like a drill bit.  The two screws used to mount the plate part to the upper femur aren't exactly the small things you might envision.

 

The surgery went well.  It started about 10:35, and I was ready to go to recovery by 11:40.  I was discharged by 5:05 PM after passing the three tests: ability to eat, pain under control & satisfying the physical therapy folks.

 

I am home today, saw a home nursing lady who changed my bandage, and am experiencing minimal pain with minimal pain medication.  I go back to Dr. Baysal June 13 to have the 17 staples removed if all goes well.

 

I will be on the walker for a while and eventually transition to the cane again.

 

I thank God for His goodness and for your prayers.  Please continue in them as I still have ground to cover.

 

The doctor was satisfied enough with my progress and the health of the ball joint to schedule surgery for Wednesday, May 31, 2006 to remove the pin.  It will mean crutches or a walker and then a cane for a while again, but is, I believe, the best prospect for the greatest comfort and mobility on into the future.

 

Pray for God's blessing on that day.

 

GLORY TO GOD!  Look what He gave my son John and me on the opening day of Pennsyvania's spring gobbler season.  We took this "double" at 6:20 AM not 30 feet from Whitaker's stand, where I fell last December 6th.  It was great to be back in the woods!

 

My last update was 6 weeks ago; here are some things worth reporting on at this point.

 

1.   Yesterday I went for a walk in the woods with my son John.  I had a dual purpose.  We wanted to scout for turkeys, but it was also my first opportunity to be back in those woods since I fell there on December 6.  We went to Whitaker's stand, and just for the sake of it, measured from the floor of the stand to the ground.  It turns out I fell 18 feet, not 15, as we originally guessed.  Wow!

 

2.   I  have not used a cane in about the same 6 weeks.  I still expereince stiffness after periods of sitting and need to "gather myself" sometimes when I stand up and before I walk.  Still, I can tell things are getting progressively stronger, even if it seems like it takes so long to regain all that lost strength.

 

3.   I go back to Dr. Baysal in 3 weeks on May 16.  If all goes well, the plan is to schedule surgery to remove the pin in my hip.  That will hopefully be at or about the 6 month mark (June 6).

 

4.   I got the final bills last week on the two ambulance rides.  I'd been awaiting that, since I knew there would be some out of pocket after the insurance did what it would.  The out of pocket amounted to over $500, but guess what!  Through gifts I've received for this purpose, which I put aside for this time, I had enough with about $40 to spare.  I have also had money (unsolicited) come in for all the $15 co-pays on all the therapy visits.

 

Thanks for your interest and prayers.  It isn't over yet, so I would be so grateful for continued prayer.  God is good!

 

I had my second 6 week follow-up today with Dr. Baysal, the orthopedic surgeon.  He was pleased with my progress.  I am to begin weaning myself from the cane (already in progress) and report back May 16 to book surgery to remove the metal pin from my hip.

 

I will probably do two more weeks of therapy as well.

 

Thanks so much for your prayer.  Please keep me in your prayers, as there is still  ground to cover.  PTL for all God's blessings to this point.

 

Today we were finally able to add a link to let people listen to the message I brought to the congregation upon my return to church on December 18, 2005, 12 days after my fall.  I hope it may be a blessing to someone who wasn't able to be there or who is otherwise interested.  The key points are noted in the entry for December 19, 2005.

 

Therapy seems to be going well.  The last hurdle would appear to be full weight bearing capability on the left leg.  The therapist feels I am making good progress.  Once this hurdle is crossed, I will not need to use the cane like I do now.

 

My next visit to the doctor is March 14.  Please continue to keep the goal of full recovery in your prayers, and thank you for your interest.

 

Here's a real praise.  I had my first therapy session yesterday (Thursday).  The lady watched me do some exercises, walk through the parallel bars, etc. and said something like this, "You're going out of here with a cane today!"  And that I did.  Praise the Lord.  If all continues as it is now, no more walker!

 

I will continue with the therapy for the exercises and strengthening of my left leg.

 

Thanks so much for your interest and prayers.

If you are still checking this website, I thank-you indeed for your interest. I continue to notice improvement each day or so and I have been able to preach in the services.

 

You might be interested in seeing how they fixed my impact fracture in which the femur broke at the ball joint.  When I first saw this x-ray, I said what you probably just said: "Wow!"

 

I return to the doctor January 31 and am supposed to get off the walker at that point and on to a cane.

 

Your prayers make all the difference!

 

We probably won't do many updates from here on out.  Again, we do thank you for all of your prayers.  We wouldn't be doing this well if it hadn't been for so many people praying.

 

Tom goes in to work for a good part of each day.  Actually, he says his office chair is more comfortable than our chairs at home!  He is still using the walker and will til at least Jan. 31 when he has his next doctor's appointment.  Hopefully he will then be able to walk with just a cane.  On days that he hasn't had very much activity, Tom walks a few laps around the auditorium to help get his strength back up to par.

 

It is still sometimes hard to get comfortable - that extra piece of metal can sometimes be felt - but he is gaining in strength each day.  When you consider what he couldn't do one month ago (couldn't turn over and even struggled to reach out to the side, etc.) he is doing so much better.  We are gaining a new appreciation for handicapped entrances, etc.!

 

Again, we do thank you so much for your prayers and concern.  Everyone has been so helpful and kind.  We really appreciate all the love expressed to us during this time.

 

 

 

The doctor's appointments on Tuesday, December 20th yielded good news.  I have been totally released by trauma. They say they believe my lungs are out of any danger.  Healing should occur in the 2-3 month timeframe on the transverse processes and 8+ribs.

 

The orthopedic surgeon like what he saw in Tuesday's x-ray.  I will continue with the walker until my next appointment on January 31; then it will be a cane.

 

The only thing that sort of disappointed was learning from the orthopedic surgeon that it will be 3-6 months before we know if the repair will prove fully viable, and he even said it could range out to 2 year.  I was hoping they'd know now, but it's all in God's hands anyway.

 

Thank you so much for your interest and prayers.  I have been able to return to the office part of the day Wednesday and most of the day  today (Thursday).

 

 

 

Thanks so much for your prayers for Sunday ('the 18th').  I was able to make it out for the morning service, greatly enjoying the Christmas cantata, "Born To Die," put on by our choir and supporting cast.

 

In the evening service, God provided strength to talk to the people about the events that have transpired in my life since December 6.  In a message title, "The Incident At Whitaker's Stand," I was able to relate the following spiritual lessons:  (1) The Comfort of Divine Providence - Romans 8:28; 11:33-36     (2) The Frailty of Life - Proverbs 27:1; James 4:14      (3) The Blessing of True Friends - Mark 10:28-30    (4) The Importance of a Ministry Mindset - Mark 10:42-45    (5) The Fellowship of His Sufferings - Philippians 3:10  and   (6) A Determination Not to Quit - 2 Timothy 4:7-8.

 

I go to the Doctors on Tuesday.  Please keep me in your prayers.  The nights are especially difficult.

 

 

In my devotions today, 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 became more real than ever before.  Paul is talking about his thorn in the flesh, apparently some bodily weakness that he had asked God to remove.

 

The Lord declined, telling Paul in v. 9:  "My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness."  When Paul saw his bodily weakness as an occasion to know God's grace and power in a new way, he responded, "therefore I take pleasure in infirmities...for when I am weak, then am I strong."

 

I do not recall a time when I have felt such bodily weakness as I have in the days following this accident. Yet I have also been conscious of the Lord's newness and strength in unusual ways.  Surely God has honored His word and the prayers of His people.

 

Tomorrow (Sunday, the 18th) I will go out for the first time. If strength seems adequate, I will attend our Christmas cantata, "Born to Die," in the 10:30 AM service.  However, I am planning on speaking in the evening service.  Most likely I will have to do so from a chair.  Still, I feel it is important to share my experience with  the people, and I would like to do so before the following Sunday, which is Christmas day.

Pray for the strength to magnify Christ and be a blessing to others.

 

 

Each day I seem to notice a little improvement (e.g., lesseening of pain, the ability to sleep in bed a couple of hours at night, etc.), and this is heartening, realizing that the road ahead may be long.

 

Also, I want to thank so many for their prayers, cards, food, financial gifts and other expressions of love.  You have no idea how much this means.

 

I have follow-up doctors appointments Tudsday, December 20 in Altoona.  I will see the trauma doctors and get some update on my back injuries at that time.  I will also see the surgeon who fixed my hip and hopefully hear that all looks viable.

 

Your prayers are a lifeline.  I remain convinced that my accident was really not an accident at all.  It was just the next step in God's perfect plan for my life and ministry.  My passion is that God will use it for His glory in my life and others.

 

 

Thank you for your continued prayers.  Our two strongest prayer requests   1.  That there will be a  good strong blood flow to the ball joint where they placed the femur/hip screw.  This will keep the femur ball alive.  2.  Continued help with pain as the ribs continue to heal.

 

Tom is doing well with the rib pain.  He has been sleeping sitting up as can't find a way yet to lie down on either his back or side.  We try to put his feet up some in the recliner as he has some swelling but he is more comfortable sitting up.  He took his first shower in over a week.  Hospital foam baths are great for the hospital, but you can't beat a real shower with warm water pouring over your head!  We have a chair in the shower that allows him to sit under the water.

 

He has been trying to do some continued rehab therapy.  We have him walking laps - he'd probably get dizzy if he was going at a normal speed!  There is only so much space to walk from the living room to the kitchen, back through the hallway and to the living room again.  The hospital had an advantage there with their tile floors and long hallways!  But that advantage doesn't overshadow the hospital food or someone poking and prodding all night long!  He is so much more relaxed at home.  We have an office chair by the computer with arms and pretty good lower back support.  This has been so helpful for Tom - both the sit at the table and eat (he couldn't push himself in under the table with a regular chair) and he can also use the computer.  So feel free to send him an e-mail.

 

Tom was cheered by a visit from his brother, Dan, who came up from Spartanburg, SC to visit.  Dan will be returning on Wed. instead of Thurs. hoping to beat the ice storm predicted for the I-81 corridor.

 

We made follow-up appt's for Dec. 20 with trauma surgeon and orthopedic surgeon.  We hope to learn at those appointments the success of the screw connection at the femur/hip.   Thank you again for all your prayers.

 

HE'S HOME!  We brought Tom home around 6 pm tonight.  He was asking everyone that came in the room "when can I go..."  The blood count was up by 2 this morning, so still a little lower than should be, be no lightheadedness or heart racing so they figured he was improving and it wasn't something to worry about.

 

It was a long trip home - snow falling, roads slushy and we are about 45 min from the hospital anyway.  We ended up driving about 30 mph but Tom was fine with that as he said he didn't want any more trauma or hospital stays!

 

The steps into the house were a strain.  Tom has practice in rehab, but this was after a long trip and also about 14 steps in a row.  He has to use a crutch and the handrail to support his leg while going up steps but otherwise uses a walker as the back muscles haven't healed enough to support the crutches.  He is so thrilled to be able to sit in the easy chair and also in the knowledge that no nurses will be poking him as soon as he starts to doze!  Thanks for continuing to pray for strength and healing.  The doctor told Tom to not do much during this next week to keep the bones from moving and to allow the bones to continue healing.  They want him to continue walking around as much as possible to keep the blood moving in the leg and to force his lungs to expand. A physical therapist will be stopping by and will decide what is the next step in allowing more movement. 

 

Comment from Tom - Thanks for everyone for their love and prayers. Please don't stop praying just because I am home.  A full recovery will be a lengthy process so I am thankful for your prayer support.

 

I'm a little late on my update as I spent the last 2 nights at the hospital.  Night hasn't been a good time for Tom and so I camped out next to his bed so I could hear him during the night.

 

As you can probably guess, Tom is anxious to get out!  His roommate left for rehab this afternoon (he is the pastor of Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Altoona - I don't think even the hospital chapel has as many prayers said as have been said in that room with 2 pastors and 2 congregations stopping by!)

 

Everything seems to be going extremely well considering where we were just a few short days ago.  Tom is able to have some mobility - walking with a walker, and able to sit up and down.  He does both very gingerly but it looks wonderful after seeing him in the ambulence on Tuesday.  The orthopedic surgeon (he did the hip/femus operation) cleared him for leaving yesterday but said he was actually under the care of the trauma surgeon who is the one who has to decide on overall treatment.  His leg is a large bruise mass below the surgery site, but the actual area where they did the surgery looks good.  He has staples which will be removed in 10 days or so.  They are allowing him to put half weight on his leg in order to keep all the circulation going.

 

The rib area is still the problem pain area although I think each day sees an improvement.  The latter half of the night and the morning times are his worst.  He tends to get "stoved-up" and also sometimes has soreness from the previous days physical therapy.  The trauma surgeon cleared him for departure pending blood tests tomorrow morning. (Tom has been bugging every physican that enters the door about when can he get out of the hospital.  He thinks he will rest better at home, and after seeing the number of times everyone is in and out overnight, I can sympathize!)   His blood count has dropped again, and if it goes down again tomorrow, they will be doing tests to see if there is something causing it.  The dr. said that the trauma/surgery can cause a drop, but they weren't real happy that it dropped the next day also.

 

He is still doing his breathing exercises and the dr. has been pleased with the lung that had a partial collapse.  I think they feel that since Tom is up and moving around and since the lung re-inflated, that he will pass in that area without further problems.

 

It's going to be a while before he is back up and running, but it would be great to have him at home.  At this point they say he is motivated enough that he can skip the stay at HealthSouth for rehab as long as he continues to move and try at home.  I think that psychologically for him now, rehab would be a set-back.  Our house is all one floor (once you get him in the door and up the stairs) so that is a positive for the doctors.

 

I've learned to just take things one day at a time.  We have had a lot of positives and seen some set-backs and challenges, but we can tell that there are so many praying for him as we see the improvement that he has made.  Thanks again for your concern.

 

 

THank you again for your prayers. Tom was able to get out of bed today and is starting physical therapy. He's has been moved to room 1169 bed B. He had a collapsed lung and it is reinflating as he is doing a lot of breathing exercises. The trauma surgeon stopped in this morning and was able to give some tips on how to decrease the pain in the back. He explained that Tom broke 7 tranverse processes on his right side and 2 on his left. (these are the hooks that stick out to the side of the vertebrae and that hold the muscles to the spine) So continued prayer for pain from the ribs would be appreciated.

 

Tom ended up in surgery a bit later than expected - he went in around 3 pm.  The surgery went about 1 1/2 hours-2 hours and then some recovery time.  He was able to visit with James, Ruth & John tonight and seemed to be doing some better with the pain although I'm sure he was still under some of the effects of the anesthesia.  The dr. talked to me after the surgery and showed me the x-rays.  He was able to save the ball (thank you for all of your prayers) and therefore save doing anything extreme to the hip.  He has a large piece of metal clamped onto the bone in a couple of places with a large screw angled up into the ball.  The dr. seemed pleased with the outcome and said he was hoping it was going to be possible to save the bone and the hip.  I said I was sure it would be as so many people were praying, but he just kind of said "oh,ok." He said the only problem Tom might have is feeling the metal too much as doesn't have a lot of "padding" on his bones to cushion it.  They took him off the morphine and put him on a different pain medication which seems to work better for him.  They will possibly try to get him up a little tomorrow - they want to do it as soon as possible as the broken ribs can lead to lung complications if there isn't a lot of movement.  So continue to pray and we do thank you for your prayers already - we have seen them at work.

 

 

 

 

Thank you for all of your prayers.  Tom had more x-rays this evening and is scheduled for surgery at noon on Wed. Dec. 7.  The ball of the femur broke off from the bone, but thanks to numerous prayers already offered today, the ball did not move very much.  The doctor is hopeful that a screw will attach it and thinks that the x-rays give a good chance of not needing a hip replacement.

 

 

1.  That the bone ball won't move before surgery.

2.  That the dr. will be able to connect the bone with a screw.

3.  That the bone and ball would be able to develop blood flow to keep the bone ball alive and therefore hip replacement surgery won't be needed.

4.  That the broken ribs won't cause much pain.

5.  Tom is asking for special prayer that God will use this time for a great purpose as we are sure it is all in His timing.

 

THANK YOU!

 

 

Tom fell about 15 ft. while trying to get into a tree stand early this morning.  We'd like to especially thank LuAnn, Pam, Kendra, Shane, Travis and Gib for helping to move Tom out to the house.  He was taken by ambulence to JC Blair and then transported to Altoona.  X-rays, etc. were taken numerous times and it was determined that he broke several ribs from the spine and has an impact fracture on his femur/hip.   He will most likely have surgery Wed. morning.  We are most thankful for God's care and have seen several "coincidences" that show that God is in control of our times and schedules.

 

 

Here is Whitaker's Stand only with a little more snow than was there December 6.  This shot shows the direction from which I approached that morning.