Another Hospital Stay

I didn't expect to be writing an update from the hospital on this Saturday. But yesterday in the crowded Hershey ER I wondered how many other people woke up this morning having no idea they'd be in the ER before bedtime. We know life can change in a blink of an eye, but still, until it happens, it is easy to forget.

Yesterday morning the children started their schoolwork early, eager for the fun weekend we had planned. Before lunch, our ten-year-old finished his schoolwork and started his chore of push-mowing the lawn. Trent, our twelve-year-old, took his math book outside so that he could watch the mowing and help empty the bagger.

I'm not exactly sure what happened, but some combination of wet grass, a hill, and the turning mower, resulted in Trent falling and sliding into the mower. I heard screams from his brother that Trent had cut his leg on the mower. I dashed outside expecting the sight of dismembered feet and gushing blood. It wasn't as bad as I feared. The mower had caught Trent's knee. I'll spare you the gory details. There was hardly any blood, but this wasn't something I could fix with butterfly bandages. I knew he was headed for surgery.



I took Trent to our local hospital ER where Ed joined us. Trent was incredibly brave but by that time he was in pain. They started him on IV pain meds but it still took a while to get control of the pain. Our little local hospital didn't want to tackle surgery for a child so I rode with Trent in the ambulance to the Hershey Medical Center.



After lots of waiting, xrays, consultations, and more waiting. Trent was finally taken into surgery at just before 9:00 p.m. The surgeon was very pleased with the outcome of surgery. The injury was to the right side of his left knee and managed to miss tendons, arteries, bone, and nerves. The greatest fear is infection. They cleaned out the wound and joint well. The surgeon was able to repair the cartilage and stitch back the muscle and skin. Because of the swelling and the skin damage they were not able to completely close the wound. The plan is to go back to surgery on Sunday morning, clean out the wound again to help avoid infection and close the wound. If the swelling hasn't decreased and the skin still cannot cover it, they will do a skin graft.

Today Trent is feeling great. He has little pain, even though he isn't on anything stronger than Motrin. It is good to see him enjoying eating and playing games. He just got out of bed and tried crutches. He has had such a good attitude throughout this whole ordeal.

I admit that it is easy to say "Why us? Why now?" But when at a place like this, I am reminded that there is a lot pain and suffering in the world. In the cafeteria and waiting room I have heard heartbreaking stories of long-term emotional and physical suffering. Even here in the hospital we know that we have much to be thankful for.

The song "Lord Jesus, You Shall Be My Song" is a favorite song of Ed's which I listened to here today at the hospital. (If you are reading by email you may need to click over to the website to view the video.)