Josh's Fractured Hip

After the x-ray in the emergency room Josh learned he would be admitted to the hospital and surgery was scheduled for the next morning, Sunday, October 13. I decided it was time for me to head to the hospital so I took Wyatt to MiMi. He enjoyed visiting and playing with NeNe, BPaw, and Aunt Kandis. Shortly after I got to the emergency room they transported Josh to third floor to a new room. At this point he finally asked for some medicine. I was impressed that he went this long without anything but some Advil!

After figuring out the game plan for surgery the next morning I went to pick up Wyatt and headed home. My mom was at the hospital because my grandmother was recuperating from a surgery to repair a hiatal hernia so she rode back to Cabot with me and Whitney. James had also gone to the hospital to check on Josh so he left about the same time we did. KPaw stayed the night in the hospital with Josh. Thankfully, Josh wasn't sharing a room with another patient so KPaw was able to sleep on a bed. When my mom and I made it back home after picking up Wyatt, James was at the house picking up some of the birthday stuff from earlier in the day. James is such a great friend and was a huge help during Josh's time in the hospital!

I got up early the next morning and went back to the hospital while GiGi stayed with Wyatt at our house. It wasn't long after I got there that Whitney and MiMi arrived, too. The nurses begin prepping him for surgery by cleaning his hip. Soon after it was time to wheel him to pre-op. This was a funny time because the two sweet nursing aids did not normally do this so they were a little lost. We got a mini tour of the hospital and some good laughs. The pre-op nurse found us in the hallway and sent us in the right direction.

Ready for surgery!

Since it was a weekend Josh was the only patient in pre-op so we got to stay with him. We visited with the nurse as she prepped him for surgery. We found out she lives in Cabot and her dad is one of Josh's customers. Small world! Dr. Weber came in to tell Josh his plan for surgery and the anesthesiologist came in to ask a few questions and also tell Josh what to expect. They all chuckled when Josh told the story of how he broke his hip. Several nurses said they were surprised to see Josh really is 28 because they were expecting to see an 82 year old and thought the numbers had accidentally been reversed.

We prayed with Josh and they wheeled him back to the operating room. The OR nurse took my phone number and called me to update me on the surgery once they began. The Glovers came to hospital to wait with us while Josh was in surgery. They also brought us some snacks. It was so sweet for them to come and I know we all appreciated their thoughtfulness. 

After about 45 minutes of waiting the nurse came to the waiting room to let us know Josh was out of surgery and did well. Soon after we got to go back in the pre/post op room to see Josh. I was amazed at how coherent he was. He did great! We got a few laughs as he told the nurse how much he liked the leg massagers while smiling really big at her. He also told KPaw that the doctor told him to tighten his lag screws once a day! Too funny!

Dr. Weber conferenced with us and showed us x-rays of the four pins he placed in Josh's femur. He let us know the recovery time would be about 3 months.

We followed Josh back to his room on the third floor. His pain was managed well with a morphine pump and Toradol injections. Since it was a Sunday James (I told you he is an awesome friend) offered to cover our Sunday School class. When he came to visit later in the day he brought Josh some sweet cards he and his mom helped the kids make in Sunday School that morning. I thought that was too sweet!

Josh was hungry after surgery and requested a pizza. He was craving pizza his whole stay in the hospital. KPaw did end up getting him some US Pizza, but he also enjoyed a few hospital meals, too.

Later in the afternoon I headed back to Cabot to pick up Wyatt and take him to the hospital. Josh was ready to see him! We explained to Wyatt that daddy has a boo-boo and we have to be careful around his leg. 

Playing with his new birthday toy
at the hospital!

Checking out the gadgets on daddy's bed!

Wyatt went home with MiMi and KPaw and I stayed the night with Josh in the hospital. Jessica, Whitney's friend, was Josh's nurse for the night. We liked having a familiar face around! 

The next morning Dr. Weber came by to check on Josh and let him know a little bit more about the recovery plan. Then before we knew it the PT and OT were there to get Josh up and moving! They taught him how to walk on crutches while not putting any weight on his left side and how to go up and down stairs. They also taught him some exercises to do on his own at home. 

Working with the PT and OT

After his therapy was finished we waited for the nurse to get things ready for Josh to be discharged. She came in and showed us how to care for the incision and let us know Josh had an appointment in Dr. Weber's clinic the next week to remove the staples and take more x-rays to evaluate how the bone is healing.

Josh's incision before the staples were removed.

James came to our rescue again with crutches for Josh to use. KPaw drove Josh home from the hospital and I went to the pharmacy to fill his prescriptions and get a few other things we thought he might need. When we drove up to the house we found David and his friend Jeff finishing up the porch on the front of the house and the porch on the side of the house. We were so thankful to them for doing this! That was such a nice and helpful thing for them to do and it looks great! David is one awesome friend and brother in law! And David helped KPaw and MiMi get us a new stove since our other oven had quit working! They fixed us up and we are so thankful! We have the best family ever!

MiMi stayed with Josh during the day while I went to school. I know Josh loved having her here and she was such a big help! She did some of my house chores and made sure Josh had meals to eat and helped me get Wyatt to Mrs. Sylvia's on the days I had to be at school early. She also drove Josh to the job site whenever he needed to go check on things and made sure he followed the doctor's orders. And I'm sure she did much more than that! Thanks so much MiMi! We really appreciate everything you have done! Whitney and David also took care of Josh by making delicious meals and coming by to keep him company! Josh received a huge outpouring of love from people in our church and from his customers. And he got some of his favorite cookies in the mail from Florida! Thanks CJ! We discovered that they just might be Wyatt's favorite cookies, too! I don't know how we would have made it through this incident without all of the support from our family and friends. We are grateful!

Josh's one week follow-up appointment with Dr. Weber went well. Dr. Weber told him he would need to go at least five more weeks with no weight on his left side, but everything appeared to be healing properly. He explained to us that the blood supply to the ball of the femur is limited so it was crucial for the fracture to heal properly so the blood supply would not be cut off. He told Josh that if that happened he would have to undergo a total hip replacement and that would be detrimental to a young man his age. Josh listened and he has been taking very good care of his hip. Josh got to see the screws in his hip for the first time at this appointment. I think the size of the screws shocked him a little! His next appointment, the 6 week follow-up, is next week. We are looking forward to seeing how much he has healed!