Home

It's been 15 days since johns surgery and he is finally home. The days have been long and exhausting, more so for him than me, but I know I will sleep better now he is home. In fact as soon as I sat down on my couch the relief was so immense I could have slept right there! :) probably should eat first :) I am amazed by how well he is doing and how well he is getting around :) thank you for all your prayers and support :) 

Therapy dog!

Today we had a private visit from Kallie! She is a puggle (half beagle, half pug) :) apparently this is johns second visit of the day with her as he snuck a visit this morning where she fell asleep on him :) this time she had much more energy. After a tough day of therapy it was just what john needed :) 

Rehab day 5

It's another gloomy rainy day in Boston but inside the Spaulding rehab "iron man", as our friend Aimee calls him, is making strides! He has 3 hours of collective therapy every day; normally split into a morning and an afternoon session. I (Amanda) spent my afternoons here so I get to attend that session. Today he walked really far and even did a short obstacle course with his walker. He lifted his legs, stood up and sat down many ones and did some arm weights. John was a little preoccupied today though. He found out yesterday that this hospital has therapy dogs. He is now a man on a new mission, find the dogs :) hoping we can find them soon :)

Rehab Day 4

This is the real first day. It started off a little shaky, John was dizzy upon rising and passed out a few times. This was probably a little dehydration and he is feeling less dizzy now. This afternoon he went to the therapy gym and began learning to stand and move his legs. It was obviously very painful but he did everything he was asked without complaining or whining. He is so strong. He has already come so far :) I bought some photos do in today so now the faces of the people he loves spur him on when he feels low. I know he needs encouragement so much these days so if you want to sent a him a note you can send it to me or request our address at amandalouisecaton@gmail.com

Sunday reflections

"You cannot quantify human suffering" the nurse said to John as he told her our story. This is reflective place. It's eerie to know so many others recovering here were injured by the Boston marathon bombings. I see them around and my heart aches. They began their lives the morning of April 15th not knowing their lives would be permanently changed. As John and I sat by the water yesterday another couple sat not far from us, both weeping; this is place full of stories, full of suffering. As John told his nurse our story she spoke with such wisdom. She said "John, there will always be people you can look at who have suffered less than you and you can feel like a victim or even superior over them; there will always be those who suffer more than you and you can use that to somehow feel better or justify not complaining but really you cannot quantify human suffering, you can't compare yourself to other people so make the best of what you have"

Even as we sit here beginning the painful weeks and months of rehabilitation we are thankful. We know we are blessed not cursed. As we were walking around the hospital there was a Gandhi quote engraved on the wall which reminded me so much of John, below is a photo but just in case the quote is not clear it says: 

"Strength does not come from physical capacity but from an indominable will"

Rehab Day 2

The sun is finally shining in Boston! And we took full advantage walking the harbor today - I say walking, John was rolling. The physical therapist saw him this morning and estimated he would be here between 1-2 weeks with additional outpatient sports therapy. Johns pain is managed very well and he is in good spirits. The real work starts on Monday! The road is a long and painful one but he is in a great place! Resting this weekend :)

Rehab

"They tried to make him go to rehab and he said yes, yes yes"

I think john is fed of me singing this to him. John is going to Spaulding rehab hospital in Charlestown at 4.30pm today. This is very exciting as this one of the best in the country. Again we stand amazed at how God always provides the very best for us. John has been doing exceptionally well in his physical therapy here but has a long way to go. Not only recovering from the bilateral hip surgery but also learning to walk again as he has not walked normally for over a year. We had a very funny interaction with our nurse today. She said "John you have such a peace about you in fact when I first saw you reminded me off...well God...it might just be the beard, it does make you look like Jesus". We all laughed but its actually not far from the truth: no john is not God but he does carry his presence strongly and brings His peace and how encouraging to know gods presence is tangible, not just to us but to others. More news to come...

He is walking!

The next day

It was quite an eventful night. Due to his fevers and low blood pressure John was transferred from the orthopedic ward to bone marrow transplant ward which has many benefits. The first is he gets his own room and its cleaner so much less chance of him catching an infection while he is here. However the downside is the nurses here are not trained to deal with hip replacement patients. The physical therapist has come twice today and worked with John. The exercises he did were incredibly painful and although both times his blood pressure dropped and he had to lye down the physical therapists still said he "did well for his first day". His fevers went and blood pressure normalized early this morning but seem to return intermittently. He also has intense pain in the incision sites, and sporadic nerve spasms in his left leg. They are also culturally a blood and urine sample just in case the fevers are related to infection. There are few ideas flying around as to why he keeps having temperature and blood pressure problems; the first is he didn't get enough fluids during surgery, the sedation and epidural caused it (that's my theory after speaking with a number of people who have had epidurals) or its an infection. Suffice to say seeing John in intense pain is very hard but I take solace in the fact that after the pain will come the freedom. After all the joy comes in the morning and morning is coming...

14 Hours later

Hospital days are long, surgery days are almost intolerable. Those of you who have been or who have cared for a sick loved one can relate. Around 1.00pm this afternoon the surgeon told me the replacement had been a success. I waited a further 2 hours to see him; he was groggy but it was good to see him. They then asked me to wait an hour until he was transfered to his room. I waited for an hour. And then two. The third eeked by at snail pace and by the 4th I knew something was not right. They then called me back down to the post op ward. John was having trouble moving his legs; he had had an epidural but the nurse said it didn't normally take this long to gain range of motion. Suffice to say in the next 20 minutes John was lifting his knees (he's a crafty little bugger, it's like he heard the nurse say he couldn't do it and he thought "I'll show you") With that resolved we were left with 2 more issues. He has quite considerable pain at the incision site, again maybe nothing and he is runing a fever of 101. As with the first it could simply be his body adjusting. This was a big surgery and his body just got packed a whole lot of sedatives! So at 7.30pm I am back up in the family waiting room, my 10th (maybe more) cup of coffee in hand and hoping for the call any minute to go to his room and settle him in for the night. As I sit and write the verse comes to mind that talks about our battles not being flesh and blood but of spiritual darkness and light, the principalities above. I feel that in my mind. A part of me which says "despair and pity and worry" and yet another stronger part of me that says "trust, do not worry and have faith". I won't lie, I didn't have some long quiet time this morning, I haven't spend weeks fasting and seeking God for hours, I didn't "earn" this peace as I think sometimes we think we have too. The peace and warmth I feel from the Lord right now is a gift from Him to me; it is perfect Father giving his often faithless daughter the gift of trust. What a faithful father.

Hips don't lie

It seems about once every few months we have a "today's the day" moment. Here I (Amanda) am again frequenting the hallways of Brigham and Women's hospital waiting for John to come out of surgery. Fortunatly this was a planned surgery and one we have been anticipating for a long time. His pain started 14 months ago. His legs began to ache and then his hips began to feel tight. He assumed at the time it was the hills of Pittsburgh as we were visiting there, if you have ever been you will understand. It was a few months before he was diagnosed with severe avasular necrosis (John has a habit of getting oddly named diseases that very few have heard of). To put it simply when he had a bad GVHD reaction during transplant he was put on high doses of prednisone (insert blood curdling scream here *if you have been on it you will understand). These doses restricted blood flow to the hip bones and this caused them to die and become brittle. Due to medical red tape we had to wait till now to have this surgery. I am unsure if me crying at our appointment helped push the date sooner. 7.30am they wheeled him away from me, that moment is one I have never got used too. The emotion almost overwhelms me everytime. Bi-lateral hip replacments (both hips at the same time) take about 4 hours and with preperation time I was told not to expect any news till 1.00pm. As many of you know and have read I really believed it would not come to surgery. I believed I had a word from the Lord, several in fact, that God was going to heal John. I held to this. I proclaimed this. I have wrestled with this. But as I sit today I feel a deep sense of peace. And dare I say it I feel the Father's pleasure over me, like He is proud of me. I may have looked like a fool in the eyes of the world but I proved to be faithful in the eyes of my heavenly Father and that, for sure, is worth more than any earthly affirmation. In the end God was and is faithful, John is being healed, he will walk again and the "new season" that God has confirmed time and time again is coming will come to pass. Who am I to question his ways? Finally as I logged onto this blog to write I noticed our blog has had over 9500 views! I hope every person that has come and will come here will be infused with strength and hope that only Jesus can bring and please if you know anyone struggling with health issues direct them here. My next entry will be an update on John post surgery and coming soon an entry about how God used John and I to encourage a family facing a stem cell transplant. God is so good.