Our neighbor Don is not only a great cook, he's also an ER doc, and he had lots of recommendations about with whom to follow up locally for Nick's different injuries. Our friends (and fellow hockey players) Michele and John Piccaro have been wonderful, Michele keeping Nick in soup and thinking of what we need before we know we need it, and family doc John being our command center, unifying all Nick's care, sending us to the hospital when we thought there might be a blood clot in his leg, telling us what to buy when Nick reacted to a pain killer (itching rash all over his trunk, arms and legs - you know, because he wasn't uncomfortable ENOUGH), visiting the house to make sure we're all okay, and making calls to the eye doc at home to ensure we were being sent to excellent retina specialists in Denver.
That trip happened on Monday February 21st. We packed up the girls' bags again and brought them over to Inge and Brad's this time, great friends who also have kids in Riverview, on Sunday night, and organised for Satcho to go home with Jeanette again - who in the meantime, had been on missions to find the fattest straws in Durango, clove oil for Nick's teeth, and who knows what else. Jeanette always thinks of everything.
We'd been to the ophthalmologist (one of Acacia's friend's Dad, and also a fellow hockey player) on Friday, but the ultrasound revealed nothing as Nick's eye was still too full of blood. Nick hasn't even been able to detect light, and everyone we've seen has said that that's not promising, so we've been prepared to hear that his vision is gone. But the eye doc mentioned that he has seen someone be completely sightless because of a blood clot obscuring all vision. On our way home Nick was livelier than he'd been in ages, and was talking about not filing for a single-eyed medical for the FAA just yet. The ray of hope we were given was more tenuous than a single thread of a spider's web but he latched onto it with such force, it tore my heart into pieces.
We were sent to Denver for a vitrectomy, cutting into Nick's eye to remove the blood and see why he has no sight. We drove the seven hours there, saw the eye doc who said his eye was too full of blood to see anything, and that he needs a vitrectomy, please come back in a week. Huh? Isn't that why we're here? The doc felt it was too soon to cut into Nick's eye, that it may just fill back up with blood, and that after another week they'd have more success clearing things out. So we turned around and drove seven hours back. I was tired.
So here we are, another week later, another Sunday night packing up the girls' stuff and Satcho's food, after spending the day trying to fix the water heater. I played hockey this morning and a teammate came over afterward to help us figure out the issue. Scott spent the better part of his day here, I made three Ace Hardware runs, and a neighbor brought over some 10 gauge wire, but alas, we still have no hot water. I boiled some to wash the dishes that the Gervaises brought over dinner in - I love our neighbors - but showers will have to wait until the hotel in Denver. The lasagna Catherine made was the first real food Nick's eaten (I chopped it to smithereens so he didn't have to chew) and he had three helpings. This is fabulous news as he's already lost about 20lbs. That's what happens when you're a food snob. :) (Just kidding, babe.) Actually with the mega-blender Nick's sister Sophie sent, and the super-soft French cheese his parents shipped from France, he's doing all right.
Tomorrow we'll drive to Denver and Nick will meet the retina guy for a pre-op visit. Tuesday morning they'll do the vitrectomy and we'll have some news. After that, we'll probably drive around Denver looking for a water heater!
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