The Daddy and The Leg.

The last time that I posted, my dad was about to have his spatial frame removed. Well, my friends, after two long years of a broken leg and 19 months in his spatial frame, we have gone from this:


to this!!:

NO CAST! NO FRAME! (forgive my daddy for the appearance-- the man had just been through surgery, although he'd totally disown me if he ever figured out how to find the blog address that I've emailed him Lord knows how many times...)

In all honesty and seriousness, the first time that I saw this picture, I bawled.

Once we found out the frame was coming off, it was a complete "not until" game. Not until he checks in for surgery will I believe that this is really coming off. Not until he sees Dr. Brinker... Not until I talk to him after surgery... Not until they discharge him and he's home will I believe that it's not only coming off but STAYING off. But it is.

By this point, he's an old pro at the hospital stays and doctors appointments. As I was panicking from a thousand miles away and sending out prayer requests, I was receiving picture messages like this:

gangsta, fo sho.

Always the comedian. Whether it was for my sake or due to the pain meds, his humor was still in tact. My mom called about 9:30 to let me know that they'd taken him back, and by 9:40 she called back and said that they were done and he was in recovery. Y'all, that is mind blowing. They removed that frame plus the pins in under ten minutes. My mom called around lunchtime to tell me that she was with him and although groggy, he was awake and with it. She put him on the phone and I asked how he was feeling. His response? "It's a boy!" And then he fell asleep.

In all honesty and sincerity, it is overwhelming to think of how far he's come and how strong he's been. When my Grandpa, his daddy, called later that night, he told him that he's his hero. My grandpa is not a tender, sentimental kind of guy, so for my dad to hear that from him was huge. Every single person who I've shared his story with can only admire his strength and determination and patience. Dr. Brinker is a genius and a Godsend-- he saved my dad's leg. The doctor that my dad saw prior to finding Dr. Brinker said that there was an infection in the bone and that nothing could help to save it, that he was going to lose his leg. To go from hearing that to seeing this:

is beyond all of our wildest and most hopeful dreams.

There is still a lot to be done. He's on crutches until next Monday, the 31st, and is 150% non-weight bearing on this leg. There's no cast or anything now, just a bunch of really really tightly wrapped gauze and bandages, as you can see. When they go back on the 31st, they'll set up the plan for his recovery. He has months and months of rehab ahead of him, which he's prepared for and has been anticipating and anxious to start for a really long time. He is strong and determined and I feel like things are downhill from here on out. If he can endure what he has for the last two years, the effort that it takes to get his body back will be a snap.

I basically have to agree with my grandpa on this one. My daddy is indeed, without a doubt, my hero as well.