Arms don't seem that complicated to me

Once I got the kids settled for the night I realized I couldn't sleep (which is never a problem for me.)  The surgery was expected to take 2-4 hours and they had instructions to call me when they were finished.  They called around 10 to tell me they were just about finished and would call me again once they were done.  I finally fell asleep and woke up around 1 in the morning.  I just knew they had called and I'd slept right through the phone.  Jeez, what kind of wife does that?!  So I called them and they said they hadn't called yet because they weren't finished yet.  Apparently they were done at one point and then decided the screws they'd used were too long so they redid the whole thing.  It ended up being a 6+ hour surgery.  I don't get why it takes so long--my last surgery was a 30-minute C-section and I produced an entire human being; Jerel took 6 hours and all he came out of it with was a non-functioning arm.

Both of our families were very concerned and anxious to help.  Jerel insisted we would be fine and told his dad not to send his mom up.  They'd told us probably 3 days in the hospital and I guess Jerel thinks more of me than I do because he thought I could handle that no problem...So I took my sister up on her offer to come down and help.  She arrived the next day and was so helpful to have here.  She watched the kids, mowed the yard, did the dishes, laundry, diapers, etc.  It also made it so much easier to visit Jerel at the hospital.  The kids would beg to see him but then get bored after about 30 seconds, so then I would end up taking them for walks and I wouldn't get to see Jerel either.  So it was nice to have someone to help.  Theresa brought her baby with her and her husband & my mom took care of her 3 other kids.

This is a picture of Eliza when Jerel got home.  She was so happy to see him!  Zay was too, but he was very nervous about Jerel's arm and didn't really know what to do.  He's had a hard time since then with worrying that when Dad leaves he's going to be gone for a long time again.  Anytime I take Jerel for a post-op checkup, Zay asks if I'm going to leave daddy at the hospital again.  He likes to review the plan for the day over and over so he can hear again that it includes daddy coming back home.

Anyway, Jerel got out of the hospital on Tuesday (the fall was on Saturday) and Theresa headed back home Wednesday evening.  By then Jerel realized I was in over my head and he was in a lot of pain, plus the arm was in a splint so he wasn't very functional, so he gave in and had his mom come up.  I think he likes to be independent, and I'm sure we could've managed it on our own, but it sure was wonderful to have help.

Trudy was so much help too even though she had a really bad cold.  She played with the kids and let them drool all over her iPad (they both love it) and helped with the housework and diapers and all of that.  We were especially glad we asked her to come because the day she arrived Jerel ended up back in the hospital for a second surgery.  He had a fever and some other symptoms that made the doctors nervous he could have infection in the bone (since it was an open fracture the bone was exposed to air (ie germs).  So I got him settled in the pre-op waiting area and then headed to the airport to get Trudy.

Jerel had a Priesthood blessing the night before the second surgery in which he was told that there would be no infection in the arm, and it turns out that is just what the surgery revealed.  They took samples to see if anything would grow, cleaned it all up again, and stitched him back together.  Nothing grew, which sort of means the second surgery was a waste, except I feel like when it comes to a good solid diaper-changing arm you don't want to take any chances, so I'm glad they did it.

We're so thankful for Theresa coming to help, for my mom & Josh helping with her kids so she could come, for Trudy giving up her Spring Break to come help, for the friends who stepped in to watch our kids, those who brought flowers, etc.  We're blessed to have such a strong support system.