I got a frantic call from Natali on Thursday night, October 16th- Andrew was hurt bad during his soccer game. It seamed to be his knee. I knew that with most knee injuries the ER can't do much so typical Lisa, I tried to convince her to just take him home and take him to urgent care in the morning (it was late enough in the evening that we were looking at another ER visit just weeks after his shoulder one). She said his knee was bad and he was screaming whenever his leg was moved. She started crying at this point because she was so worried about him so I gave her the go ahead and they headed to the ER, again.
Meanwhile, once carrying him to the back of Natali'd car, his team finished the game to win the championship. They had AI add him to the team photo.
His collision with the goalie must have been pretty back because he managed to fracture the end of his femur and tear his ACL. It would be a few weeks before we knew for sure about the knee but for the next few weeks his leg would be entirely imobilized to let the femur heal.
He looked pretty silly going to church that weekend because his roommate had to leave early and couldn't put his shoes on for him. Yes, for several weeks Andrew's roommate helped him get socks and shoes on everyday. He also helped him get meals and did his laundry for him. What a saint!
Andrew finally got in to see a doctor who recommended surgery, so we got it on the calendar and I booked a hotel room so I could stay with him while he recovered.
Day of surgery, November 11th, he marked the correct knee in pen and got ready to be put out.
A few hours later surgery was over but it was another couple of hours before Andrew was fully awake and ready for some food.
The doctor said the ACL replacement went great but the cartilage damage to the femur was pretty intense and probably explained a lot of Andrew's pain. He cleaned it all up so it should move smoothly now and hopefully it won't cause pain in the future.
I got him to the hotel and got him some lunch then he fell back to sleep and Natali stayed with him while I grabbed his meds.
Grandma and Grandpa Dame brought the two of us dinner on their way to Arizona for the winter and we watched the BYU game together.
And thus began our next few days together. He slept a lot. I kept him feed and iced and made sure he did homework. Washing his hair was a dangerous endeavor but after him almost falling the first time we had a better plan the second time. Natali made frequent visits and I took him to campus a few times to see some friends.
Then Friday Kate rode the bus from Rexburg so she could hang out for the weekend. I loved the time with my kiddos.
And we were all very interested in seeing his knee unwrapped at PT. The girls and I hung out and encouraged him while we moved his knew the most he had in days.
Andrew was still in a fair bit of pain if he was up much but he was going crazy in the hotel room. So that night we went out to Olive Garden. While there, Mack texted that Blake was going to be born that night. What a week!
Saturday we met up with the Wilford boys and Derek Salisbury for lunch in the Cougar eat. Everyone was getting excited for the football game but I had to give them all hugs and head home.
It was hard to leave him so helpless but I was grateful Natali was around to help him as needed. So glad she is such a helpful oldest child. I'm not sure what Andrew would have done without her. She got a handicapped parking pass and gave him rides to school every day. He had some rough days, weird swelling, and calf pain but he managed it all while going to school and still attending every football and basketball game he could. It was a pretty brutal first semester.
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