A couple people have been asking about the estimated timeline for recovery:
We are estimating 6 weeks until he can go back to work but it depends on how much pain he has when he sits with his foot down. Right now he has to keep his foot elevated or it just throbs.
It is probably about 3 months until he can put enough pressure on his foot to be able to drive.
So I will have to drive him to and from work for awhile. We are hoping he finds a friend that lives close by that he could drive with -- at least for 2 or 3 days of the week. Otherwise it will be on my agenda to drive him downtown and pick him up. Not the end of the world but not crazy about it.
It is estimated that it will take about 6 months until he can walk.
All of these estimates are dependent upon how quickly the bone and bone marrow regrow. It is kind of neat - they take an x-ray - and the huge whitish area that shows up is the packing that they stuffed into the bone area. The packing eventually gets reabsorbed by the body as his own body starts to repair and remake the bone. That will then show up as normal bone on the x-ray. So the white area on the x-ray will get smaller and smaller as he heals. That is how they will know when it is time for him to start putting more pressure on it or when he can start trying to walk, etc.
We knew all along that it was going to be a long recovery but I think the 3 months until he can drive really got me. I am now one person driving and taking care of all the needs of 4 others. (Breathe, breathe!) But this too shall pass and we are very grateful that this is all fixable. Other diagnosis would not have been that positive.
A friend of mine said it very nicely - instead of looking at only 6 months, Tom is looking at 6 months of recovery and then the rest of his life to enjoy. We are truly blessed.
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