240213 femur

 Feb. 13, 2024   femur

Snowdrops in the frost this morning: a previous note on my calendar shows snowdrops on March 11.

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 It is almost six months since K broke his hip, and had a partial replacement procedure done, in Sherbrooke, Quebec. We came home to Etobicoke in October for rehab. What I have not told you is that K had a second fall, in October, four months ago on the 8th, and broke his femur again, below the prosthetic, just as he was getting back to normal. It was too horrific to write about then, so I didn't. But the second break is why the doctors arranged for him to come to Toronto for rehabilitation. (The Sherbrooke doctors put a plate along the femur to support it until the bone healed. ) It was excellent, really, that the Quebec care providers arranged a transfer directly to St. Joseph's hospital who would arrange for rehab. In three days K was at West Park rehab, a place near us. He was five weeks there and then they sent him home. He was still having pain but they said that was normal. They did not do an xray to see if the bone was healing. 

How many times in your life do you wish you were a doctor? K's father was our personal medical advisor for most of our lives. He was a surgeon and then a general practitioner for many years. He was knowledgeable, conscientious and edgy; you could count on him to support you in any medical situation; it was so comforting and reassuring to have a medical resource.

Back to the femur: when we came home in January we went to see K's family practitioner, who expressed concern that the leg was not bearing weight. She sent K for an xray, (yay). It showed that not only was the bone not healing, but the plate they put in had cracked, from the stress. We went to emerg that day, returning to St. Joe's since they knew us already. They sent K home with a brace that was to keep his leg immobile and he was instructed to not put weight on it for six weeks, with the hope that the bone would mend. Why had it not mended? I can't figure that out. And I don't understand why they did not do an xray when they discharged him, to make sure that the bone was healing. 

A week later, K was in a lot of pain, the leg was swelling. Back to the ER. They were very good and had us in to see a doctor in a couple of hours. K was given pain meds, and admitted. An orthosurgeon, a different one from the week before, came and saw him. The xray showed that the break was worsening and he would need major surgery, to completely re-do the work. The surgeon said that he was sending K to Mount Sinai, where they do this type of surgery regularly.

Some of the hardware that they will have to remove and replace in K's leg:

Now we are waiting for K to be taken to Mount Sinai for the surgery to be done. It is scary. I am in a state of suspension. I almost cannot feel the weight of it, it is so big, and my love, K, faces it alone.

Another three days have gone by and we have just heard that K's move to the other hopsilat is scheduled for February 20. That is a long time to wait for this to be resolved.

And so we ".....wait, in Casablanca, and wait, and wait....".

The coopers are here already. I saw the male on Friday, the 10th, and then both of them on Sunday. There is a pair hanging around the circle where we live. I hope they will nest where we can see them! Last year I first heard them on the 22nd of February, but this year the whole world has been warmer than ever before. Certainly here in Toronto it has been above zero for most of the last two weeks. According to the weather channel winter is returning this week with some more seasonal weather, even snow, which will be nice for the kids.

I had the pleasure and privilege of hosting a friend for the night on Saturday, (K asks, "Did you have a sleepover?"), and she got a couple of pictures of the hawks. Thank you, Mab! *

*****

Mumma Yaga

*Photo used with permission.