"Do you want to keep them?"

Josh and I feel like we're finally closing the door on what has been a wild ride over the past 2.5 months. At Josh's most recent appointment, the doctor studied the x-rays from that day and made the decision to go ahead and schedule Josh's second surgery.

And today was the big day!

Since we knew Josh wouldn't feel much like celebrating tonight, we had dinner at our favorite restaurant last night...which was made even more fantastic by the fact that we had a discount certificate for our meals. And anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE a deal! (Does half-off shopping at Publix ring a bell?)

Today's surgery was to remove the two large screws that have been holding Josh's tibia and fibula together since his accident. The other 10 screws and the plate are permanent, but these needed to come out once the bones had healed well enough to support themselves. Going into this morning, neither of us was nervous in the least. After all, this is the third time we've done this whole surgery mess in the past year--and that's just on the right leg! But I have to say, I did feel just a twinge of anxiety when I found out he was going back on the ventilator for the surgery and then also when the OR nurse came to take him back.

Can't the medical staff have some sort of transitional uniform they wear when they're coming to introduce themselves to families as "one of the people who'll be hacking away operating on your husband today"? The whole scrubs/shoe covers/surgical hat/mask get-up kind of overwhelms me. There's got to be some sort of cover they could wear that has pictures of little bunnies and lambs on it.

Or maybe Josh should just have any future procedures done at Children's Hospital.

Speaking of scary medical professionals, I've got a loving suggestion to leave in your mental comment box. You have got to remember that although you do this everyday--day in and day out--this is most likely the first time your patient has ever been in this situation. With the exception of the lady in the waiting room who was there for something like her sixth nasal cavity surgery (which she was kind enough to describe in great and nasty detail to all who could hear), we were all a little unaccustomed to the procedure to come.

At Josh's "let's-go-ahead-and-take-the-screws-out" appointment, we asked what would be happening during the surgery, and the doctor's assistant answered with something like this:

"Oh, it's not a big deal at all. We're just going to take a scalpel, cut a couple of slits in your ankle, take a plain old screwdriver, and back out those two big screws that have been holding your leg together for the past two months."

And she said it all while mimicking the "lefty-loosey" action of removing a screw from a 2x4!

Seriously?!?

Neither one of us is particularly squeamish, but I'm pretty sure I threw up in my mouth when she said that. And poor Josh tried to pass off his near-fainting as wanting to lie down for a break after a long day at work.

But back to this morning...

Josh was in the OR for about 25 minutes, and the "cut and back-'em-out" procedure went well. The doctor was pleased with how Josh has healed, and he should only have to go back to see him a couple of more times. The physical therapy group, on the other hand, will continue to receive money from the Lewis family for a while to come!

Now if you're in any way envious of Josh at this point, let me give you something that will really make you drool...

The combination of Smurf-leg and orthopaedic shoe just can't be beat! Of course, I would never poke fun at my precious husband's new footwear (hee-hee), but it doesn't matter, because as soon as we got home, Abby took one look at the shoe and said "Daddy, that's the kind of shoes that Grandma wears. That's neat!" (double hee-hee!)

Josh is resting comfortably now, and he's already got a good bit more range of motion than he did this morning at 9:00. Wow!!

In closing, I'll leave you with the last thing the doctor said before he left the prep room to scrub in for Josh's surgery:

"Do you want to keep them?"


At $800 a pop, you bet we do!!!