Greetings Everyone,
To keep updated daily be sure to keep checking in everyday by clicking on this link:
http://schirrecovery.blogspot.com
This is a blogspot that my sister put together and when I don't have time to do emails she will still keep the daily updates going. ALSO, MANY OF YOU HAVE BEEN WRITING ASKING, "WHAT HAPPENED?" I WILL BE ADDING THAT INFORMATION TO THE ABOVE MENTIONED LINK AS WELL SO YOU CAN FIND OUT THOSE DETAILS.
I am so sorry that I have not sent an update since 10-17-2011 which was Surgery Day #5. That was a very, very stressful day for everyone and everything seemed to get worse from that time on. I did not want to write the things that were happening because they were so intense and stressful that I could hardly bare them. By Tuesday night I was in hysteria and literally crying because Donnie's pain got so bad because they cut one of his pain meds in 1/2 because he was now sewn up and they wanted to get him out of the hospital in 3 days. He was so terribly in pain that I could not stand it and was having a meltdown. I insisted that we either get a new doctor, second opinion, pain management team or all of the above. I called my Mom on Tuesday night to ask her what I could do and she knew I was in extreme distress and Donnie in pain and she was so far away and could not help. As a result my Mom texted me on Wednesday morning saying, "Will arrive at 11PM. Southwest please pick me up." I texted back, "Today?" and she responded, "Yes". I couldn't believe it. I had just flown her back to Florida on Saturday and here she was coming back in a handful of days. Well I was thrilled because I had not had a night's sleep or a decent meal since she left. I did not even turn the sheets down in my hotel room for all those days. I was absolutely beside myself because of Donnie's condition.
My "meltdown" also resulted in a Pain Management Team coming in with a PCA Pump that allows Donnie to administer his own pain meds as often as every 10 minutes if needed. He gets a constant drip that gives him at least 2 mg. of Dilaudid every hour and if he needs more he can get it at the push of a button and not wait for hours to get a single shot of it. What an answer to our cries!!!!!!!! They got the pump set up by 4PM on Wednesday. Within 20 minutes he was finally at a poit where he could stand the pain. By 7PM he was feeling much better and I got him all washed up and his hair washed and I actually used the blow dryer to dry it so it would be nice and fluffy. He wanted to be all spiffy for Mom coming back in at 11:30PM. He was so relieved and happy that she was coming back. He just feels so secure with her here and he was also worried about me breaking down with all the stress of his care on my shoulders. Mom was a little late at the airport but now much. I got her up to Don's room by 12:45AM and I got to bed about 1AM. I was sooooooo tired!! Donnie called me at 6:30AM because we had a phone interview with Social Security at 9AM that we had to be together for. I almost could not get out of the bed. I had to get up and get to the hospital again...I had no choice. Donnie mentioned that it was the best night he had had in 5 weeks! He actually slept for about 3 hours at one time!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you God for the Dilaudid PCA Pump!!!!!! He was so excited that he felt so much better just getting a few hours of consecutive sleep. The Physical Therapists came in bright and early around 8:30AM with a wheel chair and a special air pillow for his seat. They even had a special pair of pants for him to wear and they were going to get him out of the bed for the first time since the accident. What a giant step it was going to be. Well, the plastic surgeon came in and said he had to see the wound before they moved him. He looked at the wound and saw that it was not healing and the skin was dying. He said that Don had been lying on the wound too much and that he was going to have to go back to surgery again. He just cried when he heard this news. Also, the Physical Therapists were not allowed to move him into the chair. This was a huge blow and set back for us!!! After praying with my Mom and getting a grasp on the information Don decided that this is what he had to do and we would go on from here. He is so strong mentally and emotionally and he has a winning spirit! The Doctor also insisted on Don having a special air mattress made by Hill-Rom that takes all the pressure off of the pressure points. He simply said that Don would have that bed even though he would lose the trapeze portion of the bed and he would be ordered to turn every 2 hours from side to side and not lay on his back at all. He was very disappointed in this set back but said he would have to comply with his orders. Don just agonized about how much he was not going to like the bed because of the loss of the trapeze. It worried him so much but he knew he had to obey the doctor's orders. On Friday night about 11PM Hill-Rom came in to give him his new bed. Well Praise The Lord, they just switched out the mattress for him and not the whole bed!!!!!! He got to keep the trapeze after all!! That a miracle this was because even the doctor was told that they could not change out the mattress because these beds are rented as a whole unit and they just won't change out the mattress. Well, due to Donnie's case and issues the lady that ordered the bed for Dr. Sohn pulled some strings and got the mission accomplished!!!!!!!!!!! Don was almost moved to tears to think that God would care enough to answer his cry. What a testimony to God's favor and love! Instantly, when Don was transferred back on to this special air mattress he marveled at how comfortable it was and that his buttocks stopped hurting him right away! As a result, he slept for 5 hours straight! This is an absolute miracle!!!!!!!!!!!!
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Today was the 6th surgery Don has had in exactly 5 weeks. Yes, 5 weeks ago today was when Don was air lifted here in the wee hours of the morning. Hard to believe, isn't it?
He got picked up today for surgery around 1PM and by 2PM he was in the operating room. About an hour and 20 minutes later Dr. Sohn met Mom and I in the Surgery Waiting Room and announced that the wound is still very healthy and it is now only about an inch deep. He was able to remove the dying skin and resew him up and he also removed the drain tube!!! This was another miracle!!!!!!!!! We were fully expecting that Don would have to have the wound vac reinstalled and then wait another 5-7 days and then go back to surgery again to close the wound. God is sooooo good! Since Don has his Dilaudid PCA Pump, he was able to stay ahead of the pain and so he rested very well after surgery. This evening he wanted to play Phase 10 again and so I played through a whole set of 10 Phases with him. Of course, I must mention that I barely beat him. Now he is watching his movie and it is time to go get Mom from the hotel.
That wraps it up for now and I thank you for your interest in Don's Recovery Story and we both thank you very much for all of your love and continued prayers. We could never make it without your love and prayers! This next week will prove to be very interesting as we very likely could be moving on to the next stage of recovery...rehab. Speaking of next week, Monday Don is scheduled to get another X-Ray of his pelvis and tailbone to see how they are healing. The order was for him to be 6 weeks without weight bearing but maybe it will be healed enough to only be off of it 5 weeks and we can get on to learning to walk again. Who knows? Just keep up those prayers.
We love you all,
Don and Carol Schirr and Mom (Sharon Zelinko)
Carol Schirr, The Queen of Oils
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