One Tough Cookie

well, i wrote this blog once earlier, but something went wrong and it didnt post. its fine because i have a new update anyway!

my little brother, nate (age 14) has had a pretty rough few weeks. almost 2 weeks ago (1/5/12) we was snow boarding with some friends and took a nasty fall! being the tough guy that he is, he got up and wanted to try another run, but didnt make it all the way down before he had to call ski patrol to come help him the rest of the way down. we all thought it was nothing more than a bruise and told him to shake it off. i know that my mom and some of my siblings feel pretty badly about things that they did or didnt do to help him out. on monday of last week, nate went in for a sports physical to get ready for his upcoming wrestling season and they found protein in his urine. before they would clear him to play, they asked that he go see an orthopedic doc on friday. on friday, they immediately sent him to the ER for an x-ray and then a cat scan. upon review, it was obvious that nate broke his pelvis/hip. :( for just over a week he had been walking around and trying to get by on a broken pelvis. seriously one tough dude!! he had surgery on saturday early morning and they placed a plate and 3 screws. he seemed to be doing "ok" outside of some mood swings on his pain meds. he was supposed to go home today, in fact, the first i wrote this that is what i said. but, in the last few hours things have changed. this morning, nate's fever was a little high and his blood count was low. they decided to send him back into surgery as soon as his doctor was out of another surgery. i just heard from mom that they had to go in and clean everything out, put in two drains, and give him a blood transfusion. while he was under, his blood pressure dropped pretty low and his heart rate was high, so they were in a hurry to close him up and get finished. right now they are deciding whether to take him to ICU over night.

poor nate! he has been through so much the last 2 weeks! he really is one tough cookie! everyone is totally amazed that he was able to walk around on a broken hip for over a week! he is going to have a serious recovery! right now he is on total bed rest while he has the drains. before he goes home, he will have to be off more meds. he will not be able to put any weight on his hip for 3 months. he will miss out on all of his favorite winter sports (mom had just bought him a new snow board and bindings and new wrestling gear) and some school time (nate is not disappointed about that). originally, mom was going to have to give nate shots, but that all changed with the drains...thankfully for both of them!

please pray for my mom! i know that she feels bad about all that happened, but we al know it is NOT her fault!! please pray that she has patience during this long recovery and that nate's mood swings will not put mom over the edge! :)

please pray for nate! he is going to have a long few months of appointments, rehab, sitting around, school work catch-up, and boredom. boredom for a 14 year old is NEVER a good thing! :) please pray that this last "clean-up surgery" did the trick and that he will be on his way home soon! please pray that his spirit is not too discouraged by what he will be missing out on!

i know that nate is a tough kid and that he will be just fine...hopefully sooner rather than later! crazy thing is, now he and mom have matching scars! a broken hip and a hip replacement...weird!

thanks for all the prayers!

blessings, ALo