Well….. medicine in the US can do many wonderful things, but taking into consideration the patient as a feeling, sentient single entity, and his family, is not one of them. Yesterday the doc said if all goes well he could have surgery Weds. and go home Thursday. Today he actually LOOKED at the incisions and said they would have to do skin grafts, meaning MORE days in the hospital and not home Thursday. Sigh. I’m sick of the ortho guys not taking to the plastics guys not talking to trauma not talking to rehab … or if they ARE communicating to each other, failing to communicate that to us.

Anyway, I’m tired, and that is part of my grumpiness! I hope to have time to blog about Maine Quilts, this past weekend (I got a 90 minute window of opportunity to visit! YEAH!), and Kate and I hang the Frayed Edges show at the Camden Public Library…. if you put Frayed Edges into the search box, it will bring up posts about our mini-group; the most recent is your invite to come to the show! Gotta run….chores to do before heading back up to Bangor, Cheers, Sarah

The quilty portion of today’s blog is that I finally began the introduction (which often gets written after the rest of book, as in this case since most of it is in first or second draft) to my book on thread on the drive home from the hospital (it is 60 miles each way, and instead of pouring it was glorious summer in Maine) and it is coming clear in my mind! So when I can finally re-focus on work, I will have a bit of a head start. Believe it or not, the quotes I plan to use are from Twyla Tharp and Stephen King…how’s that for eclectic?

Joshua is making progress; as usual, it is several steps forward, one back, repeat process. Yesterday he ended up having to have the blood transfusion. His hematocrit and hemoglobin levels were SO low that he was in the critical range. We were talking to the nurse about it today and she said she’d think long and hard about giving her kid a transfusion, too, but with levels as low as Joshua’s had become, there wasn’t even a question. It was a “DO IT”. So that helps. He did improve quite a bit…not so pale or groggy. Here’s the poor kid at the end of the second unit of blood:

This morning he had his FOURTH surgery in six days! The first, Monday, was to stabilize the leg. The second, Wednesday, was to set everything. Friday and today were to change the dressins and clean the incisions (hope that last link in the previous post didn’t freak anyone out! even my normally unflappable hubby who has assisted in veterinary surgery said “oh that was gross!”). Today they were able to put a few sutures at the ends of the long incisions, and hope to be able to close them if the swelling goes down enough on Tuesday. I guess once that happens, he will get to stand up and try to get mobile. Plus, today they changed the pain meds (for those who know more than I, from Fentenol to Dilaudid, and that seems to have helped a ton….apparently he ate a LOT of supper…hoooray!). Maybe home over next weekend????

Then, Paul will reschedule his rotator cuff surgery!!!!!

The outpouring of caring, friendship, concern, prayers, white light and good thoughts is amazing, sustaining and just plain wonderful…thank you, thank you all!

Joshua has, as of Friday evening, had three surgeries in one week! The first, right after the accident, was to stabilize the breaks until he was stable enough for the long “fix it” surgery. That one began at 1 pm Wednesday and lasted SEVEN hours! They placed a rod in his femur, and external fixator (tinker toy on the outside) of his shin / calf, and had to do two fasciotomies (sp?) which are long incisions on either side of his calf. These were to allow the wounded muscles to swell without killing muscle tissue (from the constriction that would have happened if squoze by the skin)…had they not made these incisions, he could very likely have had gangrene and lost his leg—shudder! (here’s a link, but I warn you the photo is not for the squeamish).

On Friday, he went in for “maintenance” surgery; basically, cleaning the wounds and changing the dressings is so painful, they do it under a general anesthetic. They were hoping to close one of the fasciotomies, but as I type I’m not sure what the results were as I am home with Eli and the animals, and Paul is with Joshua in post-op recovery (last minute note: swelling still too much to close up, so maybe Sunday). The only bad news is that Joshua had to have a transfusion because of serious anemia; I REALLY don’t like the idea of a transfusion in an AIDS world, but not to have one would have been worse. Erg. (Last minute update…hoooray! They didn’t do it after all… I will donate a unit tomorrow as we have the same blood type…hope he won’t need it, adn they can then put it into the general blood bank!)  Best of all NO signs of any infections…hallelujah!

Anyway, Joshua has been an amazing trooper, getting through the pain (the changing of sheets and bathing today was the only thing that has brought me to total tears), being polite to all the staff no matter how much he hurts. He makes me incredibly proud of him–even more than I already was, if that’s possible! Eli, too, has been a trooper through all the disruption, and our friends and neighbors and parents of his friends have been phenomenally supportive and helpful; just knowing they are there in case we need them to take Eli for an evening or a night is the most amazing help–even if we never need to take them up on the offer. Another blessing!

Now I need to go deal with the house. And oh yeah…amidst all of this today, my cell phone croaked! So an emergency replacement will arrive tomorrow…so I have to stay home and WAIT for it before returning to the hospital. AAAARGH. At least Verizon was understanding and cooperative and helpful, and tolerant of my crankiness (for which I apologized in advance, explaining I was ultra-stressed and why). Paul and I are both holding up well. As I said before…the fact that Joshua is alive makes these incredibly serious fractures and some complications seem minor in comparison. Blessed again.

I think there are many more angels out there than I ever realized.

Well, this falls into the category of “Do not go faster than your guardian angels can fly,” as week took a decided turn toward the unexpected at about 4:45 pm Monday. That is when our son Joshua, 13, and NOT wearing a helmet (despite us badgering him, taking the bike away, etc.) was on his bike and hit by a car. Thanks to a not-so-small miracle, and a host of guardian angels, he will (after he heals) be fine, as he “only” suffered breaks of all three major bones in his left leg. I am so grateful I still have two sons alive, that Joshua is (a) not dead, (b) not a vegetable, (c) not paralyzed, (d) not full of massive internal injuries and shattered bones, or (e) a combination of all of the above.

SQUEAMISH ALERT: I will be posting photos of Joshua in the hospital down a bit, so if you don’t want to see it, don’t look. However, if you want your kid to realize that they are not invulnerable, make them come read this post and the article in our local newspaper that is online (link below).

On Monday at about 4:30, our son Joshua, 13, headed to town on his bike to the library. He took a right turn onto a moderately busy road (by Maine standards anyway) too fast, way too fast, and his brakes didn’t work well, or he was going too fast, and there was gravel. …whatever….. he swerved into the far lane and oncoming Jeep SUV, as usual NOT wearing a helmet. The left front of the car hit Joshua in the left leg hard (35 mph zone)… when we got to him (a block from our home) his left leg was a “Z” (or maybe two). His thigh bone went in a “V” in one direction, and his shin bones went in a “V” in the other (and one poked out). His three major leg bones are broken–pic below of after surgery.

The miracle is that that is ALL that appears to be seriously wrong: not dead, not a vegetable, no head trauma other than one stitch on his scalp (a staple…remember the staples challenge?), no internal injuries, back and neck not broken, nothing else broken…….. his vision is a little blut=rry but that may be exhaustion… I hope. He will have a painful recovery, and I’m sure this is NOT what he wanted to write in “what I did this summer.” His leg looks like an erector set (an external fixator it is called…. I think the subject of my journal quilt just changed)….. eight pins screwed into the leg, three long rods on the outside. The only major concern is potential for infection through the wound where the tibia (or fibula?) tore through the calf…

Anyway, I don’t know how many angels were riding pillion on his bike, and how many more were riding with the petrified young woman who hit him (poor thing I think is going to have nightmares for a long time…we called them from the hospital again this morning to say he was gonna be OK once he heals, and he is young and strong and
healthy), and her dad told me they locked eyes at one point…shudder for both. Joshua doesn’t remember much …seeing the car and thinking “Oh oh, this isn’t gonna be good.”

Paul and I have been taking turns staying overnight at the regional trauma center in Bangor, 90 minutes away, and taking Eli to camp and semi-normalcy down in Camden. How Joshua managed no head trauma is beyond me…. and the support of friends and community is overwhelming…….

Here’s a link to the coverage in the local online paper which was quite good.

So tell everyone you know, WEAR YOUR HELMETS. If Joshua had been 6 inches farther into the lane, he would have had massive internal injuries, possibly a crushed skull and dead.

If he had been riding his old bike, which he prefers, he would have been killed instantly–if his head had looked like his leg, it would have been over right there.

Joshua was in surgery on Wednesday (I’m typing part of this as he is in the 7th hour of surgery to repair his leg) to get rid of most of the external fixator (the rods on the outside), get a “pin” / metal rod inserted into his thigh bone, and clean up the wound where the bone broke the skin. He will be in the fixator and/or a cast for 6-8 weeks, and the surgeon told us an hour ago (came up to give us an update as a colleague worked on the other part of his leg) that it takes 4 months for a shinbone to heal completely. He will be on crutches, maybe a wheelchair. So kids, this isn’t a picnic. WEAR YOUR HELMETS! and obey the traffic laws (like stopping at the stop sign!), and don’t go too fast on blind curves. In a close encounter between you and a car, the car is going to win.

Immeasurable thanks to all who have written sending prayers and white light and love and support…it helps more than you can imagine.  I will share your messages with Joshua later–he is so very touched by all his friends and those of you at the other end of the ether who are pulling for him.

   Hugs, Sarah, who is grateful to all the gods and angels in all the worlds that I still have two living sons

Yep…. long time readers will remember this from last year. It is jam-making time! I loved the comment last year when someone told me they almost licked their screen!

Here is what 45 pounds of strawberries looks like (above). The past two years we have picked our own, but (big surprise!) Paul and I picked 30 of the 38 pounds, while the two boys picked 8 pounds and fussed. Well, Paul’s rotator cuff is torn (surgery in 2 weeks, and not soon enough he ways) so he can’t pick, and he agreed it was unreasonable to expect me to pick that much. Plus, we RAN OUT of 38 pounds worth of jam. OK, 38 pounds minus munchies during creation….. So thanks to Mr. Bellmore at Spears U-pick farm, he set aside four flats for me (the cost is a little more than U-pick…and I think it is worth it!!!!). They were ready Monday. Monday evening I hulled and washed the berries (for hours):

This is what 42 pounds of strawberry hulls looks like:

Then on Tuesday I made jam until I ran out of pectin (we bought more on the way to the Sea Dogs game in Portland). Then I sliced the remaining berries, minus a colander’s worth of really good, ripe ones with stems left on.

Eli, smart lad that he is, remembered when I had made chocolate dipped berries in Friday Harbor (at least 4 years ago…when he was 5!) and suggested we do it again. So we did. Alas, I let the chocolate get too hot, so they weren’t as pretty as they could be, but who cares…they tasted good! Melting the white chocolate chips was not successful, tho.

On Wednesday, I spent the entire day making up the rest of the jam. I use Pomona’s brand Universal Pectin, which is designed to use low sugar or honey. For 40+ pounds of berries, I used less than 15 pounds of sugar! That means my jam tastes like BERRIES, not sugar! The boys love it, and I love that they love it. We ended up with 42 pints, in mostly pint jars (until they ran out when I used half-pint jars, which the boys can vacuum up in a day!!!!!) There are 8 pint jars hidden in this picture, to the left of the microwave and behind the first row….

And to justify all the work, had to add one more photo of Eli surveying a year’s worth of jam: Then I had to box ’em all up and haul them down to storage in the basement. May splurge and (for the first time in 4 years) make raspberry jam later, too! Gonna let Mr. Bellmore pick them, too (well, his farm hands!).

And as an aside…totally cool: Mr. Bellmore rents his farm, for 25+ years, from the Spears family, which has owned the land since 1735 (down in Warren on Route 1, a mile up from the intersection with Route 90). When I asked about the heavenly-scented tree between the house and the farm stand, turns out it was a gift from the US Ambassador to Japan to the family…. in 1865! It isn’t supposed to grow this far north. It is now taller than the 2 story house, and Bellmore has a picture of it beside the house from the late 1800s when it was a bit taller than a man! Way cool! If I get back down there for the raspberries before I head to California, I’ll take a picture of the tree. Mr. Bellmore said he has tried to grow seedlings and cuttings, but they always get killed off, yet the big tree thrives.