The Bonecollector

Well it's been almost a month since the accident. I don't have any new pictures though. Frankly it doesn't look that different. The stitches are gone and the wounds are healing well. I have approximately 3 1/2 more weeks with the external fixtures and then cast time followed by a lot of PT. My doctor has put me in contact with a company in CA that makes a device called a "Bone Stimulator". It uses magnetic fields in increase bone groweth. I'm not sure if I qualify for the technology yet though, I should know in a few days. On a good note, I am getting range of motion in my ankle and can wiggle my toes quite well. I think that I'm getting callouses on my butt from sitting so long. O-well.

For whom the bell tolls

So last night Larry was telling Chris and I that he wanted to get us something, but the only thing that he could think of was a bell. I thought that was funny, but not as funny as Chris's comment. She said that if he gave me a bell, every time that he walked he would be able to hear it ringing because it would be shoved so far up his butt. What a wife!

What goes on in people's heads?

This afternoon we took Ethan to Tae Kwondo and experienced two odd things:

1. One of the fathers looked at my leg and then looked at me and asked, "Was that a planned thing?" What could I say? I wish I had one of those "I'm stupid, here's your sign" comments like from the Blue Collar Comedy show, but I didn't.

Then:

2. When we left the place, next door is a self storage unit place and someone was yelling at us so we pulled up to the gate to see what was up. A couple went in through the gate to get some moving blankets left for them at the office that needed to be pick up by 5:00. When they pulled in the lot and got out of their car the gate automatically close behind them because closing time is 5:00. They were locked in the self storage unit compound with a 8ft high fence with barbed wire at the top surrounding the place. They had no cell phone and no one else was on the premise. We let them us our phone to call the office number they had only to have to leave a message. I hope they brought their supper and sleeping bags with them.

Under the knife take 2

I especially like the 2 screws going into my tibia(shin bone). It feels like I have a cement block hanging off my foot.


This is the next external apparatus that they installed. The rod in my heel is gone, but now there is 3 wires that go in one side of my tibia and out the other.



The stitches on this side is were they plated and screwed my fibula back together.

Surgery #1

These two pictures are after the first surgery. Notice the eight inch long pin going through my heel and the stitches on the inside of the leg. This is were the tibia and fibula broke out though the side.

Don't skip church to work on the house

I always thought that when I heard people talking about writing a blog it seemed like a waste of time. I don't have a desk job and am never home during the day. That was until 2 weeks ago when my life changed a bit.
We just bought a new house a couple of months ago and there was a few things that we wanted to do to it to make it more usable for our family. One of the larger projects was to put a dormer on the back of the house and put a bathroom in it. This would give us two bathrooms one on each floor. Doing things like this was not that big of a project considering that this is what I do for a living. I drew up a sketch of what I wanted, made a material list, had it delivered, and lined up help. The plan was to get the dormer weather tight over the weekend and then I could pick away at the inside by myself.
Saturday was an amazing day. We had perfect weather. My two helpers and I got the roof removed and the framing all done my early afternoon and by evening time we had the roof sheathing on and the debris all cleaned up. After a long day we relaxed by a campfire and had some good conversation about the day and whatnot.
Sunday morning seemed to be going the same as Saturday had. After getting Chris, my wife, and the kids of to church, I began to finish what should have been a piece of cake roof. I was minus one helper but more than two of us on the roof of the dormer we would have been bumping into eachother. We got all the prep work done, drip edge installed and the Grace Ice and Water Shield. All that was left was to put on the shingles. No Problem!! We should be done in about two hours and have the rest of the day to relax.
Talk about great timing. My cousin had run to the store for a couple of things and came back with coffee coolatas, break time. After a short break it was back to work. Up the ladder went Brian with a bundle of shingles and then myself. I got to the top of the ladder handed the bundle to Brian and went to get another bundle. I was not expecting what happened next considering the amount of times I have carried shingles. As I went to step down the first rung of the ladder it had a different plan. The extention ladder collapsed inside itself going down for three rungs and then it caught again. (Similar to what happened to Clark Griswold in Christmas Vacation) When the ladder caught the momentum to my body going down continued and I fell to the ground. I fell approximately 18 ft and landed standing with most of my weight on my left side. My cousin said I tried to walk but fell immediately. I remember landing and then rolling on the ground in pain that I have never felt before.
To make a long story longer, rescue was called, and my wife who was in the middle of the church service, by this time, was phoned by my cousin. After telling Chris what happened I wanted to talk to her. All I could say was that it felt like my foot was on fire and I looked at it and could see the bone sticking out of the side of my leg.
Well, two surgeries later and enough metal on the inside and outside of my leg to set off most metal detectors, I can say that it is great to be alive. I have a long road of recovery ahead of me but hey look on the bright side, I now have my own blog.