The Horse vs. Dad

As we were on our way home from Boston, my mom texted me that Dad had been in an accident with the horses. I then received another one from my brother saying, "So dad fell off a horse today and fractured 9 ribs, clavicle, scapula, and has a small pneumothorax. He was transferred to O- Regional." Anyone that knows my dad knows that he loves horses and also knows that he's quite a tough guy who can't sit down for a second. I called my mom when were in Baltimore and found out what happened.

He took the neighbor's grandkids out for a ride that morning and one of the horses bucked off one of the kids (luckily he just had some bruises and was sore). So to settle the horse down, my dad got on. The horse had a different idea of what was to happen at this moment, and threw my dad. My dad got back up and was able to walk to the trailer to wait while all the supplies were put away. My mom then drove him to D - Hospital where they took a look at him and then sent him to O - Regional in an ambulance (in case he needed surgery by a specialized trauma surgeon). My brother was working at D-Hospital that day and was able to give him a priesthood blessing before they took him to O-Regional.  There he stayed in the IMC unit until Tuesday (the accident happened on Saturday morning).

My dad has only been hospitalized after a couple surgeries and has never even broken a bone before. He was in quite a lot of pain and couldn't move hardly at all without experiencing excruciating pain. It was difficult to see him like that and not know how best to "make it better".  Luckily for him, he didn't end up breaking any legs or getting paralyzed. We count ourselves lucky that it wasn't worse (my dad knew of a man that had been thrown from a horse around the same time as him, and they were having  his funeral the same week my dad was discharged from the hospital). By the time he was discharged from the hospital, he was doing a lot better (just as long as he kept up with his pain meds).  We set up camp for him in the family room of his house. He has always been one to push the limits as far as recovery time goes, and he is always determined to do his best to recovery quickly. He is moving a lot better and doing well (except for not sleeping so great), and of course has his up and down days.

He went in for an appointment with the doctor the week after discharge and was concerned about the circulation in his hand (on the side of his collar bone and scapula injury).  The did an x-ray with contrast and found that he had blood clots in his lungs. He hadn't noticed any changes as far as breathing went, so it was very lucky that he went in for the appointment. He was re-admitted to O-Regional on heparin for 3 days. He was discharged on Sunday and is doing well at home. He will be on coumadin for quite awhile. We are lucky that nothing serious happened with those blood clots in his lungs. We are also grateful for the power of prayer and fasting! Hopefully he can heal quickly and won't need to be on blood thinners long so he can return to doing what he loves (riding horses) and being the overly-active man he is. Love you, dad!