Kyra’s spinal fusion surgery was almost 7 weeks ago,
and we are both suffering from a severe case of 7-week itch. Except for a quick visit to church, the trip
to St. Louis for her post-surgical checkup, and attending her cousin’s wedding
ceremony, Kyra has not left the house.
Her full-body brace, and the doctor’s orders that she be reclined at a 30
degree angle or less, makes it difficult to move her about, and the pressure
sores and lingering incision wound have kept her in bed for days at a time. In addition, our van could not accommodate her reclined wheelchair, so it took at least two experienced adults to transfer her from her wheelchair to the van, and back again. In other words, Kyra and I couldn't go anywhere without help.
Yet, when the dog jumped into the open van door, and
waited… and waited… and waited nearly 5 hours… for a ride, I knew it was time to
dust off my “make do” skills, and get us all out of the house and back into
life.
So, two friends, three days and lots of trials (and
even more errors) later we were ready for a test drive. With the back and middle seats removed from
our Grand Caravan, we rolled Kyra into the back of the van on our re-vamped
ramps, secured her wheelchair with two seatbelts and a chain, and took off for our
first excursion: A private tour of the new Gilbert High School building.
An hour and a half later, Kyra was exhausted from the
van ride, the school tour (complete with an elevator ride to the second floor
and a sneak peek of the auditorium), and hearty greetings from faculty and
staff. As her face faded from an ear-to-ear
grin to a slight smile, we knew it was time to go home.
All in all, we’ve had a successful first day back in
the world. We still have to pack and
dress Kyra’s incision wound and watch carefully for re-infection, keep her reclined
at no more than a 30-degree angle, roll her from side to back to side regularly
to prevent further pressure sores, and administer medicines around the
clock. But somehow it doesn’t seem quite
so daunting: Kyra’s almost at the
halfway mark to throwing away the body brace and sitting upright again. I’m thinking that might be just cause for an
autumn bon fire.
Peace.
