6/22/2012-I almost feel a little guilty tonight. I really want to continue my story but we have had such a great week, I don’t want to jinx it. We actually had two doctors appointments this week go in our favor. For a change, Hallelujah!!  We finally received the news we have waited nearly nine months for. The tibia is finally showing signs of new bone growth. The infectious disease doctors have cleared him from any bone infection. Of course, we have heard that before. But still, good news all around this week. We have an appointment scheduled for Monday for a physical therapy evaluation. He can start gait training. He can start learning how to walk again. I am beyond ecstatic.

We just had our forty fifth doctor appointment yesterday, since we have been back to Charlotte. Forty five trips to some doctor, who frankly, didn’t have the answers we needed to hear, whether it was infectious disease, orthopedics or psychology. We have been spinning our wheels for nine months with little to no progress. No moving forward, no light at the end of the tunnel. For months we have heard, “It’s only temporary” or “Everything will be okay.” We can’t make plans for anything, our kids can’t make plans for anything. We have had no idea what is going to happen tomorrow, let alone a week or a month from now. But a sigh of relief yesterday, the breath of fresh air we all needed to feel.

It was so cute yesterday at the orthopedics office. The nurse practitioner, Beth, who we absolutely adore, asked Scott if he could stand on his prosthetic. You have to understand that Scott has one of the best prosthetics available and hasn’t really been able to utilize it to its potential because of his other leg. There is a waiting list for his Genium and only the military boys take precedence. How we got that, is another story. He said, “Yeah, do you wanna see?” She, of course, said she did, and said she wasn’t really sure how tall he was and wanted to see it for herself. Beth is about five foot tall, and when Scott is standing, he is 6’4”, well, technically 6’2” now after they had to shorten his tibia to put his leg back together.

When he stood up, using the counter to brace himself, she looked up at him and shook his hand. I think Scott may have been puffing his chest out a bit, but that’s okay. He’s earned a little bravado. With a genuine grin from ear to ear, she said “It’s so nice to meet you Mr. Fisher and it’s great to see you from a different angle.”  I am not sure who was more proud. Scott, for standing up with little help or Beth, for aiding in his recovery since we got back to Charlotte.  

Beth has been the one, from the very first moment we met her, to show true compassion and empathy. She was the first one to be aggressive and manage Scott’s pain at Carolinas Medical Center. Scott’s pain at the time was unmanageable from the trip back home. When she came into the room to do her orthopedic evaluation and seen him clenching his fists in pain, she immediately went over the head of Scott’s nurse.  Within minutes the floor charge nurse was on Beth’s heels, taking Beth’s orders to get him out of pain immediately and informed her that there was no excuse for a patient to be in that much pain.  

She was the first to unwrap his wounds and evaluate his healing. She didn’t seem to mind that I was hovering over her shoulder with my hands over my eyes. I didn’t want to see what she was about to uncover. I can’t stand to watch that on television, let alone see it first hand on the love of my life. I didn’t know what to expect. What would it look like? How would I react? Would I throw up? Would I pass out? How could I care for him? So many thoughts ran through my head in the two minutes it took her to unwrap him. It had been forty two days since the accident. I had been with him nearly 24/7 and had not seen his legs unwrapped.

She was the first to comfort me in Charlotte and tell me he was going to be okay. She told me that considering what he had already been through and the extent of his injuries, he was going to be just fine and I should be thankful that he was still with me. She was the first to tell me that the surgeons in New Jersey did an outstanding job and everything was really going to be okay. She had never seen such a great save of someone’s limbs and live in her entire career.

 I believed her then, I believe her now and I value her even more.