Ouch!!!

I'm not going to post pictures on this post right now, not everyone has the stomach for bloody gruesome pictures.

Exactly one month ago, on Tuesday, May 8, 2012 I had just returned from taking Cooper to school. I was gettin the rest of the kids dressed, and I was still in my exercise clothes. The phone rang at approximately 8:45 am. It was Vince, a guy Randall works with. I could hear a lot of commotion in the background, and the cell phone he was calling from was breaking up a bit. At first I thought he said, "Scott cut his finger off." In my head I'm thinking oh, that's terrible! But why are you calling to tell me? As he kept talking I realized that it was not Scott he was talking about, but my husband Randall. When I came to this realization I said, "Wait, what?" I think Vince must have sensed a bit of panic in my voice, because he said, "He's ok. Robert is driving him to the hospital, can you meet him there?"

After making a few quick phone calls and waiting for friend to come get Carson, Lainee and Ashlin, I was off. Randall called me while I was driving to tell me what hospital they were at. He told me he was ok, but I could tell by the sound of his voice that he was in a lot of pain. By the time I arrived at the hospital, they had given Randall some pain medication and wrapped up his hand. Randall looked at me and said, "It's not good, Liss." I knew he was very worried about losing his finger. I reassured him that everything was going to be fine. I didn't know that for sure, but I had done a lot of praying during my hour long drive to the hospital, and I felt a sense of peace. But while I felt that peace in my heart, my head was thinking of all the ways that Randall possibly losing a finger would affect our lives. First and foremost, Randall is a veterinarian. He uses his hands to make a living. So I decided right then and there that I was going to trust in the Lord, and that someway, somehow, everything was going to be ok.

We waited for about an hour for the hand surgeon to come in. His name is Dr. John Kloss. I had never met him nor heard of him, so I asked the ER physician and several nurses about him. They all spoke very highly of him, so that made me feel better. Dr. Kloss unwrapped Randall's hand to do his examination. I'm not going to lie, his finger looked gruesome! Only his right index finger was injured, but the damage was extensive! Randall and his crew had been breeding cows that morning when a cow became agitated and somewhat trapped in the breeding box. Randall reached in to flip a bar up out of the way so the cow could go out instead of coming up and over top to where he was standing. As he reached in, the cow rammed her head against the bar, smashing Randall's finger in between the bar and the cow's head. Then she didn't move. Randall had to reach in with his free left hand to flip the bar up to free himself. His crew then came to his aid, and Randall passed out. As they were loading him in the pickup he vomited. Dr. Kloss scheduled him for surgery after lunch.

They began prepping Randall for surgery about 2:00. By 4:30 the surgery was over and Dr. Kloss came to give me an update. He said the nerves were intact, but both arteries were severed. He had to pin the extensor ligament to the joint, which was dislocated at the first knuckle. The prognosis was unknown, because with both arteries being damaged, he was worried about the blood supply to the tip of the finger. I was given strict instructions to keep Randall still and resting for 3 days with his hand propped up above his heart. No smoking (easy), no alcohol (easy), no carbonated beverages (ok), no cold drinks for 3 days (ok), and no chocolate (uh oh- Randall loves chocolate!) It took several hours in the recovery room for Randall to come out of anesthesia enough that we could go home. Even then, he still vomited several times on the way home. After a quick stop to pick up prescription pain pills, we made it home by 9:15 pm. What a long day!

Over the next several days, I was totally unprepared for the amount of pain Randall would be in. After a few short hours of sleep that first night, the block from surgery wore off and I was up every hour trying to manage his pain. The pain medication just wasn't keeping up! I made several trip to the pharmacy for presciptions the next few days. These weren't quick trips given that we live 30 minutes from the nearest pharmacy. I was having them filled at Walmart for convenience, but it ended up being anything but convenient. They messed up not once, but 2 times on his prescriptions. In my sleep-deprived and worried about my husband's well-being state, I was very angry at the Walmart pharmacy. That is another story in an of itself.

We spent pretty much every Tuesday during the month of May at the Dr. office for follow-up appointments. After the first visit post surgery, Dr. Kloss said he was moderately optimistic that Randall would be able to keep his finger. This was a huge relief to us, especially because when they initially removed the bandage his finger did NOT look pretty! I could tell by the look on Randall's face that he thought his finger was a goner! I've tried to be a supportive and reassuring wife, and I've had to remind Randall more than once that he had received 2 priesthood blessings that basically said the same thing... that his finger would be healed and he would regain full use of his finger. So I felt it was our job to have faith and do what the doctor said, and everything would be ok. And I'm happy to report, that his finger IS indeed looking great. He is scheduled to have the pin removed next Wednesday. It may take as long as a year for a complete recovery, but Randall is doing great. He returned to work shortly after his accident, and is now back to doing nearly everything he did before. He just has to be careful with his finger, so he's hired out a few jobs to the local vets that he would normally do. We all feel very fortunate and very blessed.

This accident could have been so much worse, and we are grateful for everyone who helped us out, especially with our kids. I've had to use up a lot of babysitters with all our trips to the doctor. We are even more grateful for everyone who prayed for Randall's recovery, and especially for worthy priesthood holders who were willing to give Randall a blessing when he needed one. I truly believe that those blessings are what made the difference in Randall's finger being healed. How grateful I am for the gospel of Jesus Christ!