My husband's snowmobile accident
Posted: Jan 24, 04:42 PMI’ll just keep updating info to this blog.
Tuesday, January 21, 2009
Phil has been injured in a snowmobiling accident.
I am at the hospital with him awaiting O.R. time for him to be pinned back together.
I am lucky to have worked so long at this hospital – I have some pull.
The accident happened near Midland and Phil was taken to Huronia District Hospital.
Only 15 minutes from the accident location.
There were NO orthopedic beds in or around the GTA and we were going to be shipped to Kingston or possibly Rochester NY.
Ontario has had some nasty weather producing more ortho patients than Ontario hospitals can care for.
After being told the sad state of Ontario’s situation, I called JoeAnne McCue my Administrative Manager @ Brampton Civic Hospital.
I already had been told there were no beds available at BCH, but I needed to pull some strings to be sure Phil would be close to home.
She put me in contact with the Chief Orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Prior.
Dr. Prior agreed to take Phil’s case on and pull some strings for a bed.
Room N.6.097-1
(905) 494-2120 ext. 51601
WILLIAM OSLER HEALTH CENTRE
Brampton Civic Hospital
2100 Bovaird Drive East
Brampton, Ontario L6R 3J7
The OR is backed up with many ortho cases here, hence the long wait.
‘Tis the season for broken bones here in this winter wonderland of Ontario.
One 94 year old lady has waited 4 days with her broken hip.
Phil’s accident was Sunday at 10am – 52 hours ago.
I’d rather wait here in Brampton than be in Kingston or Rochester
Details of the accident…
Phil was traveled west on Peter Ave. and turned left onto Jean Ann.
My brother-in-law Max Kossel and his brother, Lonnie Kossel were following behind.
Each of them were on three different sleds.
I was ahead of them at the gas station with Tony Kuczinski and his buddy Leon.
I was blessed not to have witness the incident.
Max called my cell and said we needed to come back NOW.
He did NOT tell me anything, I just knew it was Phil.
Phil was driving on the right hand (west) side of the street travelling south.
At 40 JeanAnn – west side of the road just less than 2 blocks away, a SUV suddenly pulled out of a driveway in front of Phil.
The driveway is about 100 feet long and the driver moved at a rapid speed to try and get the SUV through the snowbank left by the plow.
The SUV driver did not look to see if the roadway was clear of vehicles (it’s a quiet cottage road) and pulled out right if front of Phil.
Phil had a split second to grab the brake.
Luckily Phil’s reaction swung his sled to the left impacting the SUV’s driver’s side.
The right side of the sled crushed his right leg (femur) against the SUV and then Phil bounce off into the middle of the road.
BETTER THAN HEAD FIRST FOR SURE!
The driver of the SUV has been charged with 2 offences
I can’t remember the exact charges.
He also could not produce proof of insurance and was given 24 hours to provide that.
That won’t make any difference for us… not to worry we are covered.
Both the sled and SUV are totaled Both are older vehicles and are beyond repair.
PHIL WILL BE FIXED UP WITH THE HELP OF A GREAT BODY MECHANIC… DR.PRIOR
TIME, LOVE, YOUR PRAYERS AND SUPPORT AND A LITTLE REHAB AND HE’LL BE GOOD AS NEW.
He’s a very lucky man to be alive.
Phil SHOULD be operated on sometime today (Tuesday, January 20).
He is not up to visitors right now, but I’m sure he would love to see EVERYONE when his is stable and in much less pain.
I believe this will be his home for a little while still.
Please know that PHIL WILL BE FINE!
We are enjoying this very private, close time together.
I shampooed his hair, shaved his face, and washed him from tip to toe.
I am sure no one has ever had as much massaging as Phil has had in the last two days.
He definitely does not like being uncomfortable… and I’m glad I can help in some way.
He will be the cleanest freshest smelling patient going to the OR!
The kids know he had an accident and his bone is broken and in need of the doctors to fix it.
Than God it was an adult week-end as Phil usually has Holly and Sarah on behind him!!!!
My mom and Karl are staying with them while I ‘m here with Phil.
The insurance will cover a caregiver for the kids, house cleaner, snow-removal costs for clearing the roof.
Any help is welcome. Phil would never ask for help , but I AM NOT PHIL… bring it on.
I have just hired a caregiver for the next two weeks to help with the kids, cleaning, meal preps, laundry and making sure everything goes smooth.
Thanks to Max and Gail for suggesting that Heather, THEIR CAREGIVER, come and stay with my kids at night.
Heather will stay with the kids from 3pm – 7:30am then head over the Gail and Max’s to look after little Max and Paige until they go to school.
Heather will then care for Camryn until she goes to school at lunch. Heather will only have 3 hours down time each day.
What a life saver.
It’s only short term, but this has brought much relief to my mind.
I want everyone to know the deep gratitude I have for all the help we received from Max, Lonnie, Tony, Leon, Pete and Jake.
These guys took care of our sleds, the cottage and transported our van home.
I can’t thank them enough for all the help that they did on Sunday and since.
Poor Max had to call 911 for the cottage fire and now this… I’m not sure he will ever come to the cottage again :)
I also want to make sure everyone knows how thankful I am to JoeAnne McCue, Dr. Prior, Ann McLeod, Carol Mahar, Bev Croll and Joelle Brimicombe for all the support we have been offered here at the hospital so far.
There really are so many people to thank… my sisters ; Gail, Lee-Ann, Theresa and Carole as well as my mom and Karl have helped out with the kids and the house. Grant and Jean Leonard for taking care of plowing the driveway. The Brennan’s for taking on Mitch and getting him home. Debbie Herbert for caring for Sarah until we knew what to do.
Oh my Goodness, of course Lindsey Baines and Paul Legere for there support with making sure Phil’s office will run smoothly until his return.
Lindsey is also walking me through the claims process. I’ve never done it before as I trusted my agent to work out all the details…. Hee hee.
Also Phil’s family for their undying support and prayers.
Erin has been so helpful, keeping things running at home with a little disruption as possible.
All the kids have helped and it’s especially nice to see.
They are great kids and I know this will help them build more independence.
There is ALWAYS a positive to EVERY situation, you just have to be open to it.
What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
Well, it’s 11pm and they have just told us Phil will not be operated on as they do not have the right parts to do the operation. Maybe tomorrow.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Joanne came to hook me up with a charger for my cell phone (905) 703-0454. Then she was so gracious to bring me some patio chair cushions for me to sleep on. I guess I had complained about sleeping on the floor, but I just can’t leave Phil’s side right now. When Joanne came back to the room, Phil and I were gone. With no prep talk, they came to pick up Phil at 12:30pm to take him to surgery. It went well. Many details of which I hope slip from my mind so I won’t bother writing about…
I’m exausted!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Phil’s surgery went better than any of the doctor’s expected.
Dr. Tavazanni was so excited. He had never used the “hardware” that Phil needed in any other surgery before.
It went in beautifully.
A long post (nail) down the shaft of the femur, from hip to knee.
Then a crossbar angled up into the hip socket, threaded through the long post.
At the bottom there is a screw through the side of the knee, the “eye” of the post and the other side of the knee.
These three parts will keep his leg bone fragments stable allowing them to calcify and heal in proper alignment around the post.
Phil has also suffered a head injury, which has left him with short term memory loss. This is only temporary and the CT scan shows no permanent issues to worry about. It’s been kind of funny at times and scary at others. I just assumed it was the morphine. Anyway, there a good signs of that beginning to clearing up already
I love the fact that Phil forgets that he has just told me how much he loves me.
So, he tells me again and again.
Phil should be home early next week as long as he can become somewhat independently mobile. He will NOT be weight bearing on the right side for 10-12 weeks (until substantial bone regeneration has happened). A typical break would take 6-8 weeks, but with all the small pieces more time will be needed. No driving until he can weight bear.
I’m so glad the worst is over! He’s a bit light headed as he lost 5 pints of blood. They have given him 6 pints, but he still needs more. Other than that, he’s up for visitors. 11am-9pm. Joanne and Tony came to visit again today as well.
Thanks for all your well wishes. There are so many and I will not have time to respond to each individually. Our deep gratitude to all our friends and family.
It is a wonderful feeling to have such support from so many wonderful people in our lives.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 23
Well, Phil stood up today and slowly hopped to the washroom using a walker.
He is hell bent to do his physio exercises as directed AND MORE.
The insurance co. has assessed the house to set up whatever Phil will need to be able to rehabilitate at home. Phil had visits from Mike Derezcky, Paul Wilson, Paul Legere, Mike and Margo Karda (his brother). Heather our new caregiver came with Erin, Mitch, Sarah and Holly. Later my mom and Karl came for a visit and then my sister Theresa and Jim stopped in too. With all this support… We can so this!
Hey, guess what? You will never guess, so I’m just going to tell you… Phil’s accident was in our local newspaper – in the police blotter. In Georgetown, everyone fears doing something dumb, as it might end up in the police blotter – small towns get excited over the littlest things. But Phil was thrilled. He was just upset that they got some of the facts wrong and they failed to put his name in print. What a guy!
Saturday, January 24
Phil was able to sit up and use the walker to get to the washroom again. I scrubbed him clean in the shower, which was much more struggle than I anticipated. There is NO WAY any nurse could have possibly done as thorough a job. I was exhausted. Phil was beyond exhausted. After resting for bit, Lindsey came up for a visit. Phil loves to see people. It keeps his spirit UP! Unfortunately, Phil is prone to bouts of pneumonia. His body is fighting to heal the injuries and his right lung is beginning to fill. Geez, I feel like a kid listening to the snap, crackle and pop of my Rice Crispies while he sleeps. He is also running a fever, which is typical. His body doing it’s thing. His kidneys took a bit of a beating and have stopped bleeding, but he has a bladder infection. Hence his preoccupation down below. BUT then again that’s nothing new for Phil. Always thinking of his boys and their mighty leader!
My dad used to call his physiotherapist a physio-terrorist. Now I guess I have a new hat to wear as Phil’s physio-terrorist. I have him huffing and puffing on his “toy” to keep his lungs working fully, while I crack the whip demanding the exercises be done correctly. He is like a teeter totter. Head up for a bit to clear the lungs, then head down and feet raised to massage the foot, ankle and calf to drain the edema/swelling/blood back up the leg. On the left side to air out the open sores and change the dressings and a slight shift to the right to finish changing the under pad that catches the body fluid.
THEN WE START ALL OVER AGAIN.
That’s why Phil likes visitors, it’s a break from ME!
:o)
