I took some time, but I was finally able to view Ryan’s x-Rays from the femur fracture he suffered during physical therapy.
The first slide (on right) is taken from above, as though you are looking down on him as he is laying on his back. The reverse-L tubing you see is actually the metal traction put on by the EMTs. The ovals are hand slots from the backboard placed under him for transport. The break is clearly visible at the top of the largest oval.
When the break happened, I could audibly hear the bone snap and saw his leg went limp. Ryan immediately showed he was in immense pain. I called 9-1-1 immediately. This call was so frustrating. No matter how many times I told them he is comatose, they kept asking me about his level of consciousness. I can’t remember it exactly, but the conversation went something like this:
9-1-1: Is he conscious now?
Me: No. He has been comatose since late-2009 from an attack that caused traumatic brain injury.
9-1-1: Did he lose consciousness after the injury?
Me: No. He lost it in late-2009.
9-1-1: Is he still conscious?
Me: Again, no. He’s in a coma.
9-1-1: Would you check to make sure he is consciousness.
Me: Ok. Nope, he’s still in a coma.
And it just went on-and-on.
The next slide (on left) shows the rod screwed-in near the pelvis, at the hip joint. Again, it is from the same perspective (as though you are looking down on him). The rod is actually inside the femur. From what I understand it was pounded down the length of it, terminating just above the knee-joint (see next slide). When you look at Ryan’s leg, there is a small incision (about two inches) where the screws are placed.
Above this incision is a larger one (three inches or so) that provided access for the rod to be inserted and pounded down the femur.
In total, Ryan has three small incisions. The aforementioned two, plus one closer to the knee for the last screw that anchors the rod in place. This is the smallest of the three and is around an inch in length.
The final slide (right) is the screw at the bottom of the rod. It’s located just above the knee-joint.
Last night I forwarded all these, plus many more, to Dr. Rodriguez to check. Speaking of D-Rod, he made a lengthy visit yesterday to give Ryan a thorough examination. He does this every month or two. It gives us great comfort. We always appreciate him telling us how great Ryan looks and acknowledges our care of him. It’s nice to hear that our hard work is paying off.
Clinically, everything looks great, but we want to dig deeper. Sue is running over to his office today to drop off urine for culture (sadly, leukocytes are present again) and pick-up some orders (urologist consult, blood work, bowel sample, follow-up x-Rays, etc). The bowel sample is necessary since Ryan was anemic and needed two blood transfusions to restore his iron levels. Basically, it is to see if Ryan is losing iron through internal bleeding being expelled in bowel. We don’t think this is the case, but we need to be sure. Like most everything, it’s diagnosis by deduction.
Okay, so this was a post low on entertainment value… I know. Still, I hope you appreciated it.
No matter how well things are explained, it’s always a bonus to have pictures. Not that you don’t do a great job breaking down the facts for us lay people (Thanks!), but pictures often illustrate ideas and situations in way that exceeds the capacity of mere words. Even though both means of communication have their limitations, they are still undoubtedly powerful… and even more so when they are paired together in a post such as this one.
Thank you, always, for keeping us informed.
Hi Ken, thank you for going into detail about how Ryan’s leg was mended. I tried to picture it in my mind but couldn’t until you outlined it one step at a time. Seeing the x-rays was very helpful too.
I’m glad you’re going to investigate further into the possible causes of the UTI’s. I hope there are some diagnostic tests that can be done to rule out other conditions. Hoping that the cause of the anemia will be figured out — that one’s a mystery to me because I know Ryan’s nutrition is excellent.
Thank you for all the information, Ken. It’s always appreciated, because it’s the only way we can really understand what’s going on with Ryan. By the way, I can’t believe that exchange you had with the 911 operator — wow — unreal.
Praying for a positive day for you and your family and sending lots of love, hugs and prayers
Paula
Thank you for this information. Amazing how informative the x-rays are. Appears the surgeon did excellent work and Ryan should have full recovery of the femur. Als always, you provide excellent care for him and keeping his body healthy as he recovers. God Bless you.
Alway appreciate your posts. ALWAYS PRAYING for each of you. ALWAYS keeping you close to my heart.
Always, forever and until…
With love and in prayer,
Keri, My Frankie and Family
Ken, Like all said before me ,we so appreciate ALL your posts. And thanks so very much for keeping us up to date on Ryan, We pray for you and your family every day and know all your wonderful ,hard, (almost impossible) work will bring Ryan healing …Always here Love Gail
We appreciate every single post Ken. It’s our way of feeling connected to Ryan. At the same time we are interested in knowing what is going through your head at any given time, Sue’s feelings, what’s going on with Kari. Your posts enable us to live vicariously through your life in this nightmare. Yes, we do appreciate your posts…every single one. Because we want to know, understand and feel as close as we possibly can to what you endure…because it’s only then that we can even begin to try to somehow be a source of comfort to you and your family. We often tell you that we are with you through this for the long haul and we mean that sincerely. Thank you for the time you take to keep us so well updated, educated, and informed. Praying for Ryan’s healing and strength for you through this every single day. Much love to you all, Peggie
We appreciate everything you and Sue do, and so do Ryan and Kari! We are praying that Ryan’s leg heals completely, his bone density improves, all cultures come back negative and — most of all, of course — that someday soon he will be fully conscious. Also praying that you and Sue have a good, productive day together caring for that amazing young man of yours. Love to all on this beautiful day <3
Ditto on what Shelley said – thank you for the details. And thank you for all you do.
Thank you so much for all of the detailed information that you are always so willing to share with the world. Not only do you take care of Ryan on a 24 hour basis, you take care of us by keeping us informed with so much detail. Thank You so much for all that you do and in keeping us informed. Hope your day is uneventful.
Sending hugs and Prayers
Shelley