Update on Neil

Neil came through his surgery just fine. His leg is wrapped from mid thigh to his foot and then he has a big black brace to help keep his leg straight and stabilized. He also has this huge ice pack brace that we have to put on and leave for two hours and then refreeze it for 2 hours and start again.

When I finally got to see him, the nurse said, "Well, I'll let you dress him and then you can go." I looked at her with this crazy confused look and said "What?! I have to dress him? He's got that big brace thing on...I can't do that." Basically, her answer was that I had to dress him or he couldn't go home. So Neil slides himself over to the edge of the bed and I struggle to get his sweatpants over his wrap, brace, and ice pack brace. I get the pants on about halfway and then he has to try and stand on one leg so we can pull them up. Realize that he is still out of it from the anesthesia. He's really off-balance and we almost fall through the paper curtain onto another person's bed. Obviously, I'm not strong enough to hold up a drowsy, drugged up man AND pull his pants up at the same time. Which was my point when I said I couldn't dress him.

Anyway, we got home around 12 pm and Neil's mom met us at the house to help. Neil, in his I'm-a-man-I-can-do-it-myself attitude, decides midway up the walk to adjust his crutches because they are too tall. Needless to say, he almost falls into the azaleas. Karen and I are both scrambling to catch him. Pretty funny. I gave him both his pain medications and he was out in 5 minutes. He's all stretched out on the couch with his leg elevated "above his heart."

Hopefully, he'll sleep all day today and maybe tomorrow. His sister is going to come over on Friday and take care of him while I go back to work. Thanks for all the prayers and positive thoughts...keep 'em coming!