WARNING: Graphic material written in a delirious sleep deprived state of mind.
We spent the entire day at the hospital with Nick today, taking turns, 2-by-2, going into Nick’s room and just comforting him.
He was in and out of sleep/consciousness the entire time. It was painful to see such a strong bull-dogged man in such a vulnerable position. He has a breathing tube in his mouth which he begged to be removed all day, and a brace around his neck. Poor guy is soooooooooooooooo thirsty, but of course, cannot have any water. Pretty tough for a dude used to drinking a gallon+ of water everyday.
The only way he could communicate with us was writing on a piece of paper in his funny all-caps chicken scratch. The first thing he communicated when I got there this morning was “TAKE PICTURES BONES STICKING OUT.” Yeah. That’s Nick Fener for ya! Of course I got pictures, and of course I’ll post them… but not yet.
By the way, there are no bones sticking out. Not anymore. His legs are swollen, and there are huge metal stabilizing braces drilled into his shins and ankles. But it doesn’t look as bad as I had imagined.
His abdomen wound is pretty impressive though. This is where they opened his gut and took out his gushing spleen. Not only does it run from his diaphragm to his pubic region, but it completely splits his infamous “Adrenaline Junkie” tattoo in half. Oh, and it’s not sealed up yet. They’re keeping it open for a while to monitor other possible internal injuries. It’s very painful to him though. He wrote that it felt like a knife twisting in his stomach.
Sorry I’m being so graphic. Again, I’m wickedly delirious… and very optimistic for his recovery. There’s no crying in his room. Only smiles, laughs and awkward cuddles.
He also informed me that he was “pretty fucked up from the meds.” But I already knew this because he asked me 13 times what happened to him.
He was very cooperative and understanding about not moving around or tugging on tubes. But was also eager to experiment with the ability to move his legs, despite our urging not to. With broken vertebrae dangerously pushing against his spinal cord, it is imperitive that he moves as little as possible, to not risk paralysis.
He is going into spinal surgery tomorrow morning at 6am. This is a huge deal, and a very taxing operation. Please pray or send good vibes or meditate, or whatever you do, for Nick to have a successful spinal operation tomorrow morning. Our goal is to preserve the sensations he DOES have in his legs, and hopefully alleviate the swelling and pressure on the nerves that is causing loss of feeling and mobility in his feet.
Also, for anyone trying to reach me, Lindsay, please bear with me, as I’m exhausted and overwhelmed just trying to deal with what’s going on. That’s the entire purpose of this blog, to keep everyone informed without totally wearing me out!! =) Oh, and this journaling is super therapeutic for me too.
I love you all!!!
Nick Fener 