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DH's 18 year old nephew (the one who worked for us for awhile) had a really bad dirt-bike accident on Sunday night.

He was riding his DB in the woods, and his leg got caught on a stump. Apparently, his tendons were stronger than the bones in his leg, so his knee broke in half, and his tibia is broken badly too. He has to have multiple major surgeries.

I feel so bad for him! He just graduated from High School a few months ago, got a job, and was starting out his adult life, then this happens!

I am just prying that the surgeries go well - the first specialist they took him to wouldn't even touch him.  He has his first surgery tomorrow, and if all goes well, he may be able to walk on that leg again in 6 -7 MONTHS! Ugh!

 

 :hug: Hugs to you & your family.

I hope it goes well at the doc!  Poor kiddo. 

They finally found a surgeon who was qualified to perform such extensive knee surgery. His surgery team actually consisted of 3 specialists, since besides his knee, his leg was broken in multiple places too.

The operation took 9 hours! Then, when he was coming out of the sedation, he started scratching his eyes - and the nurses didn't notice until he had scratched himself bad enough to cause Cornea abrasions!

Now he has to stay in bed for 30 days. SIL has to change his ice packs every 4 hours, and since he is not allowed to move his leg at all - his bedpans too. I feel SO bad for them! Fortunately, BIL was able to cancel a business trip, and will be home for the next few weeks to help out, now that SIL is a full time nurse to her 18 year old, on top of caring for their 4 year old Autistic son.

Once he is feeling up to it, I am going to take DS over to visit & play video games with him to try to help keep his mind occupied.

I am just really worried about the long term effects. 30 days in bed is going to have serious complications as far as muscle loss and strength. Plus, I am concerned about him having to take powerful pain medications for such an extended time. Then, he will be facing long term physical therapy to regain use of the leg. It is all just so horrible!

His parents should make sure he gets physical therapy while at home.  They can also be trained in the exercises to do when the P/T  is not there since usually no one gets a lot of P/T hours. The doctor should be able to give him a referral. 

Although he has to keep the entire leg immobilized for at least 30 days, I dont see why he couldn't ay least start some therapy to maintain some of upper body strength once he feels up to it. I'm sure his Mom will help with that, and DH could probably help too - with his history of back surgeries and physical therapy.

I just don't how much the added injury of the cornea abrasions will set him back on top of everything else!