We celebrated Father’s Day right here at the rehab facility. Nick’s Dad, Zach, and my Dad, Frank, both came out for a pizza lunch and to watch a remote control helicopter flight by Seth. Thank God Seth is a better helicopter pilot in real life than he is a remote control pilot! (Sorry, Seth, hope you don’t mind me sharing!) Everything was going very smoothly for the first 8-10 seconds of the flight, then something got out of control and it began spiraling down and crashed really hard into the dirt lot across from us. The battery pack went up in flames! It hit hard too! Now, mind you, this isn’t some $30 toy helicopter you buy at the mall. This thing is no joke! Seth has spent many, many hours on a computer simulator learning to control it, before ever making a real flight. The first thing Nick said was, “Wow, I wonder if that’s how hard I hit the ground.” Yeah, probably!
Sitting outside on such a beautiful afternoon was amazing. But sadly, Nick was in a lot of pain again. He toughed it out for 40 minutes though, before getting back into bed. He doesn’t complain much either. I don’t know how he does it. Any other person would be wimpering from the pain, but not Nick. Sometimes you can see the furrow in his brow, but rarely a peep out of his mouth.
Today was another day-off from formal PT sessions, but we did our own workouts. It’s absolutely incredible to see the progress each day. His progress is measurable! Just two days ago, he could not lift his right leg up off the bed at all. Yesterday he could lift it about three inches. And today, he got to about 6 inches. He is also able to lift his left leg and reach forward to grab it, giving him a nice hamstring/glute stretch. Just yesterday, he was unable to do that without assistance. He’s working hard!!
I am so incredibly proud to be his girlfriend. I’ve been telling him this every night before sleep, but I want to tell the world! The man that he is, his spirit, his core-being, is so beautiful, peaceful and strong. He is so nice to me, and everyone around him, despite his immense pain and suffering. His gratitude for life and for the support he is receiving, is pouring out of him every time he speaks. We are living in extremely tight quarters here, and despite the feeling of being “on top of one another,” we haven’t had any frustrations, or squaks, or arguments with one another. Just love. It’s like it’s always been, but with much more of a deep respect for each other’s situation and unique roll we’re playing in our relationship now.
Anyway, enough mushy stuff.
We’ve been changing the wound dressings on his stumps each night. And each night, we see vast improvements from the night before. The wounds are healing nicely, the swelling is subsiding, and the pain is getting more manageable. I’ve been massaging his legs several times a day, and am looking forward to massaging the stumps soon. Ok, I know that sounded weird, but the sooner we can begin introducing that delicate, highly sensitive area to various tactile influences (soft, rough, cold, wet, etc), the quicker his “phantom sensations” will diminish. But for now, I just use light touch through the thick bandages. He says the right stump feels electric. Like there is electricity running up his leg.
And for those of you concerned with his bowel movements: he finally took a shit on the toilet.
WINNING!
Nick Fener 