March and April

Near the beginning of March my Dad went to the Dr. with a sore foot.  Within 24 hours, it had swollen to twice its size and turned a deep bluish purple.  Turns out he had a blood clot behind his right knee.

He was put in the hospital to try to resolve the clot.  

It got worse...

and then seemed to get better, except for some blisters that the surgeon abraded (sp?) and then dressed the wound.  He was sent home after about 2 weeks with home health care to clean and dress the wound.

He stayed home two days and had to go back to the hospital because it started getting worse again.  He was taken to the emergency room by ambulance and readmitted.  He spent his 81 birthday there, and shared his cake with the staff.

As it turned out, the foot developed gangrene and had to be removed, so surgery was scheduled quickly so it couldn't spread.  The surgery went well for a below-the-knee amputation.  Then a limb guard was provided to protect it all.

He was admitted to the heart floor so he could be monitored and they could work on getting his coumadin levels where they needed to be.

By Easter Sunday, he was getting out of the room and moving around a little bit.

He did so well with exercises and healing that he had to spend only one week there, and then he was transferred to Rehab, spending only one week there also.  He is home now and awaiting a "casting" for a prosthesis next week.  He has been an excellent candidate for it!!  He worked out at the YMCA three days a week before he got the clot, so his muscles and stamina were good to start with.  He is regaining his strength and looking forward to being able to walk and drive again.  The average time is around six weeks and he is at week three and already getting fitted for a leg!!  I will add some more pictures as he progresses to walking.  Stitches come out next Thursday.