Week One Update

Arriving in the ED after the crash in his race suit.

The first couple days after the crash, I think we were operating under shock mode.  It didn't really hit us until a few nights later after we had just gotten back from a second trip to the Emergency Department, this time for Klaasen.  He had fallen and split his lip, which needed to be sewn up (this is the second time for him to get stitches and he just turned 18 months old yesterday!).  After we got the kids in bed, Erik and I were sitting on the couch talking about the ski accident and the injury.  We have always known since that first night in the ED that there is a possibility that the feeling and movement in his arm will never come back, but it wasn't until then that we both shed a few tears over it.  I couldn't help but think of everything Erik wouldn't be able to do anymore, or ever.  I was mourning over the thought of Erik not being able to do simple things like open a jar that is too hard for me to open or life-long dreams like climbing the Seven Summits (not the mention the fear of him not being able to continue being an Emergency Physician).  It was a cruel reality hit and after the worry and tears, I reminded Erik that we don't know anything for sure, other than God takes care of us and has a plan.  Our job is to trust Him and worrying about it isn't going to get us anywhere or make anything better.

On Wednesday, Erik had a couple follow-up appointments.  Thanks to some of our best friends for keeping the kids for the day, I was able to join Erik at his appointments.  First he saw our new primary care physician who scheduled an EMG for Erik in a few weeks.  Then we saw four orthopedic and plastic surgeons who specialize in hand surgery, as well as the nerves in the shoulders and arms.  They were very thorough in an exam of his arm and shoulder and were able to narrow it down to which nerves are causing the problems.  They said that hopefully this is hopefully just something like hitting your "funny bone" really hard and it will take a while (like up to six months) for the feeling and movement to come back.  However, there is that possibility that the nerves were damaged so bad that this will never come back.  They were reassuring, though, in the fact that they said this is the best place to have this type of injury because if they need to, they can go in and surgically replace these nerves with donor parts.  That was good to hear!  Erik has another appointment with them in six weeks and they are hoping to see his body healing and taking care of this injury on its own.

Between now and then, Erik was instructed just to rest and let his body heal as much as it can on its own.  An MRI will hopefully be scheduled within the next couple weeks and maybe that will tell us more, but more than likely it will just confirm what we already know - which is just wait it out and see.  Erik's co-workers, bosses, and chief residents have been superb in covering for him at work and rearranging schedules, which has been an enormous blessing.  Erik feels so bad and hopes that he will only need to take the month off that they have already given him.  He doesn't like to be a burden on anyone and I know he feels bad every day that he's not at work.  He's been trying to take it easy at home and keeping up with the pain killers is key (he is still in a tremendous amount of pain most of the time).  Up until a few nights ago, he hadn't been sleeping well, but after Klaasen screamed in our room for 45 minutes straight last night without Erik waking up once, I knew that his sleeping was getting a little better!

Erik has times of frustration with the loss of his arm and that is something I just can't imagine - not being able to move or use or feel my arm!  He tried to put his dead arm around me in bed the other night and he did it by crawling his hand up me with his fingers and then his arm just flopped dead on my back.  It sort of grossed me out!  It seems so foreign and feels like it's something that doesn't belong to Erik.  I like to tease him that his dead arm is like the hand from the Addams Family!  :)

We have been trying to make our days as normal as possible and filling slow times with friends and other activities.  Erik is such an extrovert and gets his energy from other people, so I know it's important not to force him to stay in bed all the time, although he has been taking naps because of his pain killers.  Erik was able to get out of the house and take Maida to her kindergarten screening two nights ago.  He said she knew EVERYthing and tested at the level of at least a six year old according to the objective score she received!  She is our little smarty and we are very anxious for her to start kindergarten in the fall, and she is super excited, too!  As a reward for doing so well on her test, Erik took Maida on a "date" for ice cream.  She was so happy about that special time with Daddy.

Thank you so much for everyone who has pitched in to watch the kids or make us a meal.  The meals have really come at the perfect times and been so helpful for me so that I can concentrate on getting into a new routine and not worry about making dinner.  We have been so blessed with this residency program here and the city, too.  The friends we have made here are wonderful, genuine, and I love how we can all pitch in and take care of each other.  Thanks to all of you who have prayed for us and this situation, too.  There is one specific example of how and when I have felt God's presence and His control in all of this, but I will share that at another time.  Keep praying!