Day 1 & 2 - Back in the Lair

Hello everyone - here is the update on what has been happening with MC since he arrived home mid'day on the 23rd.  It was a beautiful sunny day on the 23rd and 24th.  Mike took advantage of that, but today, the 25th was a bit cooler and cloudy.  Mike stayed hunkered down in the house.  He even took a 2 hour morning nap.   But here is what happened yesterday on his first full day home. 

Celebrating 3 generations.  Katelyn came over with Baby Brayden and I picked up Papa so we could all visit together. Brayden is just over 2 months old.  He sure brings a big smile to Mike's face. 

OH NO!  Not sure what thoughts were going through this little man's head, but he sure had something going on.  And YES he broke out into a full on explosion. Time for Mommy! 

Mommy's always know exactly what to do!  Nice to have Katie home. 

Cul-de-sac neighbors Ann and Kelsie came over to visit Mike & Katie.   The Mattila's also came over.  Later in the evening Toni Hoff and Steve Schwab stopped in too. 

Happy, Happy Grandpa - Brayden too! 

Look at this smile - need we say more.  (He was smiling at Mommy)

Next came our picnic in the backyard!  The was perfect! 

Kidderz thought so too! 

Leaves, leaves are everywhere.  Plus it looks like Mike needs a haircut!  LOL

Happy and content.  (both of them) I don't really need to say too much, but you can see that Mike is happy at home and feeling very relaxed in his easy chair. 

So here's Toni giving Mike a well needed haircut.  She cut it at the hospital 6 weeks ago the night before the free flap surgery.  Thanks Toni - you ROCK and you did all that for a hug and a glass of vino.  What a dear sweet friend.   I will have to add that YES, MC's foot is actually purple .  He sort of expired shortly after this picture.  Expired as in "needed to get off that stool and get his foot elevated".  I think both Steve and Toni were panicking - as they should have been.  Mike was turning white.  But we handled it all well.  

Today my niece Lauren and her puppy, Lilly came over for the day to create a spreadsheet with all the hospital bills.  Who is billing what and so on.  Yes we needed a spreadsheet!  We are up to 27 billers so far.  BTW, the puppy Lilly didn't help much with the spreadsheet.  Lauren did a great job and we are so thankful for her skills and the time she gave us.  Thanks Lolo! 

  Overall - life is good and Mike is home!  We have our challenges but we are figuring out how to get up the stairs and in and out of a shower.   Mike has a lot of skills to perfect, but we both know that progress will be made daily!  Please give a call and come by to visit.  We'd love to see you!  

With Love, S&M out from Summer Lake 

HUGS!!!!!

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Home Was the Goal and Home it is for MC Today

MC- IS HEADED HOME!  

Earlier today I posted a little about Mike and the fact that he is headed home today - exactly 12 weeks from the date of the accident.  We spent 4 weeks in St. George, UT and 8 weeks in Portland.  After 12 surgeries, one heart attack, dozens of Doctors, hundreds of Nurses and CNA's and countless others having a part in MC's recovery - he finally closes the Hospital Chapter of his journey.

Here is how the day unfolded.

The last friend Mike saw at the hospital was actually Mike Friend.  (cool name Mike and it was so nice of you to come by and spend an hour or so with Mike)  When you are waiting for discharge, not only does time go in slow motion, but there also seems to be countless, meaningless delays.  OK - not meaningless, but it almost seems that way when you want to GO HOME. 

Mike's Nurse saying her good-byes as well. 

MC - doing those last minute things like making followup appointments and telling me how to pack his bag. Really?   I think this is just a sign of things to come.  Hahaha

No more looking at the INFO board.   ALL DONE!!!!  

That's reason to celebrate! 

 MC's Room with a view.  Watching the fall colors come in this month was very therapeutic for him. 

My view of MC's room.  I'd park and then call him while I was walking in.  We were able to wave hello and good-bye.  No I didn't actually see him, but I knew he was there and he got a sense of the outside world when he saw me coming and going.  Mike didn't make it outside after his Free Flap surgery on September 12th - 6 weeks indoors is a crime.  

Looking good MC!  Fresh air and his car was a welcomed event.  

Getting IN the car was not so easy.  Mike's foot is HUGE with that frame on it.  We just barely got it in there.  He wasn't liking the trunk option that I offered him.  

All thumbs up and sunglasses on - ready for that short drive across town to Summer Lake. 

Here's Mikey coming in the front door.  Seemed like the proper way to come on home. 

Plus I had a few surprises for Mike and coming up the front walk was the best way to appreciate it.  He was sooooo sooooo happy to be here.  I'm sooooo glad he is happy! 

I'll keep this photo small and to the point. No description necessary however I will say - this is the first time this happened standing up since July 31st.  I know you guys out there can appreciate this.  ( BTW I creeped on him to get this photo) 

Mike sitting back in his favorite easy chair with the foot all propped up.  He promptly kicked back and took a much needed and well deserved nap in the sunshine.   I wandered off to grab some pain killer drugs and Kidderz my Kitty joined him for a snooze.  She's so happy he is here again.  Mike tends to spoil her quite a bit.  

If you haven't met Kidderz - Here she is!  Loves to travel and can multitask while doing so.  She's was just a tiny new kitten when Mike and I dated in 02.  She's been through a lot - I can tell she is very happy to have Mike back "in the house"

 I had an interesting evening sorting meds - OH MY!!!   Lots of early, mid and evening doses of prescription and non-prescription pills and patches.   I look forward to many of these being eliminated in the near future.   I'll be doing this all over again next week and daily reminders until I can eventually pass the buck to "Mr. These are my pills and I will take them as I am suppose to". :-)   I'm all about empowering and not enabling - so I expect Mike to be making great progress soon.  Perhaps I should have him start laundry, make the bed and do the dishes in the morning.   LOL  OK, I'm not that mean. 

How can we say how much we love you and appreciate your support? 

Speaking of support, Mike's Dad, Jim bought the 100th MC's Angel T-Shirt.  Seems fitting.  13 more days to get yours.  Would be fun to run into some random person you've never met and yet you are wearing the same shirt.  I guess you would have something to talk about. 

GUEST TOPIC:  Mike would love to have guests.  Just give a quick call and see if he's home and up for the visit.  Chances are - YES & YES!

SB & MC out from Summer Lake (together) 

PS Stay tuned for upcoming chapters and updates.  Remember it will be another 12 weeks before Mike will even be able to put his foot on the ground.  This will first require an additional surgery to remove the frame.  Then the real therapy begins.  Go Mikey Go!!

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12 weeks ago today ... & MC finally gets to go home!

Hello FFF,  (Family, Friends and Followers) 

Fall is in the air and have we every had a more beautiful October here in the Willamette Valley, Oregon?  Yes, it's true, 12 weeks ago this morning Mike had that accident that will forever change his life and touch the lives around him.  In some ways you could consider it a gift, in other ways perhaps one would see this as a burden he will endure the rest of his life.  They say (not sure who they is) "Change your thoughts, change your world".  MC will be coming home today and he gets to decide what life will look like for him now that he's back in his own domain.  12 weeks is a long time to not sleep in your own bed, or cook in your own kitchen or even kick back and watch your favorite TV show from your favorite easy chair. 

I'll post more this evening once we take that journey out of room 3503, down elevator A, to the main entrance of Legacy Emanuel, into the SHO (MC's car) , 15 miles through town and into the suburbs to Mike's little slice of paradise on Summer Lake Dr. 

Fall really is in the air!  I tackled the leaves and grass in the back yard over the weekend.

This job took a few hours, 20 lawnmower bags full, 4 LARGE hefty bags and a lot of gas.  :-)

Only to look like this the next day!! 

And you should see it today!  But never fear, we have a young lad coming by on Saturday to gather all the leaves once again. 

Mike has been cleared by his skin Doc, bone Doc, heart Doc, OTs & PTs & his entire Trauma Team!   It took an army, a lot of will power and vision to get Mike home today!  Stay tuned for the update on his journey HOME!!! 

Thanks for all the love and support thus far!  As you know this is just the beginning of the "next" chapter.  

Sherry & Michael Scott Colligan 

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MC's Angel T-Shirts - GET YOURS WHILE YOU STILL CAN!!!

Hi Everyone, This is a special note today generated by something that Mike's oldest Daughter Katelyn thought to do for her Dad.  Read on:

To all my dads ridding buddies and friends , 
PLEASE take a look at the fundraiser I started for him..all the proceeds are going directly to him to help with his hospital expenses..MC's Angels t-shirts are $18..every little bit helps, help me meet the 75 shirt goal so we can pay it forward!

The next post from Katelyn
Facebook friends and family...so far 28 shirts sold..I'd love for us to exceed the goal of 75 maybe even hit 100! Remember all the proceeds from these shirts are going directly to my dad...its only $18 for a shirt, but the impact will be tremendous!!! ! A BIG thank you to everyone who has bought a shirt and is showing their support! Fundraiser ends Nov. 4th, so click the link below and get your shirt TODAY!!! 

And the Next:
Hey everyone so there's still 24 days left of the fundraiser and we've sold over the goal of 75 and are now at 82!! I'm hoping we can reach 100 if not more by the closing date Nov. 4th so if you haven't already gotten a shirt theres still time!!! 

This is how things look today - Katelyn hopes you'll get your MC's Angel T-Shirt TODAY!  

Great Job Katie!!!

www.booster.com/mcsangel

The photo above is NOT a link, but you can go to www.booster.com/mcsangel to order your shirt today.  

On another note:

Mike is doing it!  He made it to the gym yesterday!  He even did his stairs up and down.  I know he felt a real sense of accomplishment!  If he keeps this up, he'll be home inside of another week.  This is great news for all of us.  (Mike's foot is looking red/purple, that's because it IS!!  His blood vessels don't know how to carry the blood back up and out of his foot.  Dr. Frome has said it will need some training.  Lots of up and down time during the day.  The UP time has to be much greater than the down.  It's all a process.  One that can be tackled!  

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Hugs and more Hugs from the S&M couple!!  

Mike steps OUT and the Family Drops in - Katelyn, Madison and Grandson Brayden are in the house - room.

Good Day All - happy to report in that Mike is having some great days.  Pain is getting manageable.  OT and PT are keeping him busy.  Dr. Frome & Just Craig also stopped in for a much needed / wanted visit.  Dr. Frome likes how the flap is looking despite "how it is looking".  Dr. Dustin came in and helped Mike adjust the 6 struts on his frame that will need daily tweaking.  Much like braces, the struts will be moved slightly each day, bringing the foot up to a normal position within about 3 weeks.  The frame will be on for 12 weeks or so. 

Here's MC just a day out of surgery taking a walk to the hallway and back.  Today the dressing has been changed and the bleeding has stopped.  Basically they wrap the frame instead of the wound.  Things look much cleaner today. 

Mike is rather proud of his ability to get out of his room and to the hallway with his walker and back again.  Once they are back they do some light weightlifting exercises.  All in a days work. 

Yesterday's biggest blessing is that Katelyn came by with her baby boy Brayden.  This is Mike's one and only Grandson who turned 2 months just a couple of days ago.  Miss Madison was there as well.  Not much makes Mike happier than having his family around him.  Baby Braden is a huge win for his day!!!  Just look how precious this little guy is! 

  

  

Mike really enjoyed sitting in his easy chair with that baby all propped up on one of his pillows - sound asleep doing all the stuff babies do in there sleep.  You know, they squeak, they stretch,  smile, make noises that came from ? and make sucking motions with nothing in their mouth - oh the list goes on.  You just have to wonder what they dream about. 

I really liked this photo of Mike and Brayden - I'll just call it being reflective and enjoying the cycle of life.  At one point when the girls had left the room for a few minutes, Mike was looking at Brayden and said "look what I had a part in making" ( something like that)  It can be a little surreal when you are holding a precious new life!   

MC was warming the toes and doing baby exercises with Baby Brayden.  I've added all the baby photos because honestly - this is a huge part of his recovery, his journey and his ability to realize that there is life outside those Hospital walls.  And it's all waiting for him! 

It's fun playing Grandma and knowing some of the tricks to stop the fussy baby blues.  A little pressure on the tummy and a wrist to suck on and Brayden's world ( as big as it is - since he ONLY lives in the moment. Something we should all strive to do.)  becomes just fine. 

Folks, I have to say - Katelyn and Cody did a great job on this little guy!  He's just about as cute as they come.  Still a tiny one, but his growth spurt is just around the corner.  

Big, Big Blessing to have the girls and Brayden come by.

TODAY'S PLAN:  Mike is very excited about today - He gets to take a shower for the first time in 36 days - translated that's 5 weeks and 1 day.  Not to say that he hasn't been cleaned, but when you haven't had any water run over your body in that many weeks, you tend to feel a little dried out.  The other big item on his agenda today is to make it to the PT Gym on crutches and do a workout from there.  Mike is even going to attempt to do some stairs.  That is the one task he will need to master prior to coming home since sleeping downstairs is NOT an option for him.   Looks like home may be just another week away.  

Have a blessed day everyone - be safe always!! 

Love from the S&M couple.  

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Can you say "Hurry Up and Wait"?

Good morning Friends!  

It was a little too late last night to bring you the latest.  You know they say "no news is good news".  Hope I didn't leave anyone hanging.   At least not hanging like the Doctor left us yesterday.  Mike's morning surgery turned into an evening surgery.  I wanted to arrive in plenty of time since I always go with MC to pre-surgery.  It turned into a 12 hour day...   We actually wondered if it was even going to happen.  We also hoped the Doctor was going to have the energy and focus to do one more surgery.  Apparently he had his patients lined up for the entire day.   While waiting, Mike and I had plenty of time to chat and catch up on things we hadn't talked about. No visitors, just a revolving door of Nurses.  When you can't eat or drink that also tends to make for an extra long day.  

This Photo is what a patient and his best friend look like when you have been waiting hours upon hours to be taken away for surgery.  It was borderline comical. Mike is wearing the Bair Paws Gown , his not so favorite attire.  He tends to get warm in it, but refuses to hook up to the "hose".   Go figure. 

Finally into Pre-Surgery with Dr. Gellman giving those last minute comments as to what he is going to DO to Mike this time.   The plan, BTW, is to add 3 wires into Mike's heel bone.  Once this is accomplished, MC will be given a sheet of numbers and a daily schedule starting Tuesday (today) to being making adjustments to the struts on his frame.  These adjustments will begin to bring his foot up to a neutral position.  That process will take about 3 weeks.  He expects Mike to be in the frame for at least an additional 12 weeks from this surgery.  Mikey was ready, but as usual a little melancholy about going under again.  Lots of hugs, kisses and "see you on the other side in a few minutes" goes a long ways.

  

While we are waiting for MC to get out of surgery, I thought I'd show you how well his skin grafted area is healing.  The Doctors are very pleased with this.  You can see where the skin shaver went a little deeper than needed in some places.  OUCH -  It's a little sore, but for the most part doing fine.  The skin on his foot also seems to be very happy and knows it has a job to do!  

Finally resting peacefully at the end of a very long day.  I spoke with Dr. Gellman after surgery and he was very happy with the placement of the wires.  He said Mike could start to add weight to his walking plate right away.  Not full weight, but PT and OT have their work cut out.  Mike is ready to go HOME!!!  His goal this week is to really get moving.  Learn stairs and how to use his walker and crutches  along with his walking plate.  Once that is accomplished - 3-5 days, we may see him released to head home.  Wouldn't that be a blessing.  The end of today marks 11 weeks in the hospital - this sweet man deserves to go home and sleep in his own bed.  Besides, the cat misses him dearly.  (his GF too) 

That's it for this morning - I'm sure Mike will be up for visitors soon.  I will add he was in a lot of pain last night, through the night and even this morning.  Lots of dilaudid for punch through pain  management and he is back up to his max pain pills as often as they will let him have them.  So a call or text would be recommended this week if you are planning on a visit.  ALSO - you'll want to be sure he is still at Hotel Legacy... 

Love to all, have a beautiful fall day, S&M out for now.

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Surgery #12 is tomorrow October 14th 2013

Hi everyone - remember me - Sherry the Blogger.  

I hear I'm a blogger and I didn't realize I even had it in me to do this.  I really enjoy keeping everyone updated on MC's progress, but I will admit, I took a week off and it was a much needed vacation.  :-)   I'm BACK!!!  Feeling a little more refreshed. 

MC, as you can see from his photos, is doing pretty darn good.  On the positive side:  It's been 2 weeks since his skin graft and it is 95% healed.  Looks amazing.  His H&H blood counts are coming UP. His energy level and even his appetite has increase slightly.  He's also claiming "I want to go home".  These are all positive markers.   On the not so great side:  Mike is still pretty weak.  His foot needs A LOT of healing and he has another surgery scheduled for tomorrow morning at 11:30.  Surgeries also set him back a little bit.  We estimate his weight loss to be about 50lbs.  The hard way!!!  OUCH.  He is working hard to get plenty of protein in his daily diet and also making healthy choices.  

Overall, MC is looking and feeling so much better than he was even a week ago.  He's even dressed! 

On the fun side of things, Mike has had so many visitors.  I manage to capture a photo if I'm there when the visitors are there, but I just can't seem to turn Mike into a Photo Journalist.  :-)  So I have missed photos of so many of his wonderful friends that have come by to see him.  Too many to even remember who they are.  I was in yesterday and managed to grab some new shots.  Here we go...

Ed and Ann stopped in after waiting in the Family Lounge for PT to finish with Mike.  They had a wonderful visit and they did a lot of reminiscing. 

Next JR and Stephanie rolled in.  M&M's and a People magazine - what more could you ask for.  While they were visiting, Mike's Nurse came in to do a dressing change.  Stephanie had a tough time with it.  I guess I'm just used to how it all looks.  

Mike is VERY GOOD at telling each Nurse (new ones all the time) how to change the dressing on his foot.  Here he is raising his foot up with his chair hoist.  They have gotten very creative when it comes to getting proper and easy access to his foot. 

Once the bandages are off, ON they go again.   Mike usually has to tell them how to get all the bandages to fit.  It's also the Project Manager in him.  I think he feels like he's at work and he feels very engaged in this, his own project.  After all he is very invested in the outcome. 

After Julie finished the Gonzales Family came by again.  This time with a surprise visitor, their son Alex was home from school for the weekend.  

I wasn't there this morning when Doc Dustin came in to look at Mike's foot but I did get to listen in on Mike's speaker phone while he assessed the foot.   Dustin was representing the Frome and the Gellman Team.  Word from Dustin is that everything looks great.  There is a lot of swelling but due to the fact that the skin (now Mike's skin) on the foot is taking so well, that seepage and drainage is not occurring. The swelling will go down over time.  We could only hope.  

Tomorrow is surgery #12.  Dr. Gellman will be putting wires through Mike's heel bone via a small drill.  Once these wires are in place he should be able to begin to add weight to the foot plate on the bottom of the frame.  That's the idea!  Dr. Frome will most likely be there too and there may be a reason (or not) to take a little more skin from Mike's leg due to the fact that there are a few places that didn't take during the original skin graft 2 weeks ago. 

That's it for now - will keep you update after surgery tomorrow.  

Big hugs from the S&M couple. 

We love you and thank you for ALL the support that keeps coming Mikes way. 

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