Week 2 or WTF!!

Monday Dacotah, Seeley, & I hopped on the ferry to Juneau. It is a 4.5-hour ride across the ocean on the inner passage. The ferry left at 6pm so we got to Juneau around 10:30. We took the “BIG GREEN RUMBLE MACHINE”, which is Travis’ new pick-up truck. Dacotah was nervous about backing it in the ferry. They have you pull in and then you must back up in whatever lane they tell you. Of course, she had to back all the way to the end of the ferry-LOL! She kept turning the tires the opposite way that the guy was telling her to and pretty soon we were all laughing. Seeley did well on the ferry and we were able to get her to go to sleep eventually. First, we had dinner. This was a larger ferry so they had a sit down restaurant. Ferry food is generally very good! Coty had booked an AirBnB so we went directly there. It was someone’s home in a residential neighborhood, and we had a room upstairs. The owners had native Alaskan art EVERYWEAR. There were native masks, harpoons, whale bones, and all kinds of taxidermy. There was a bear rug with a big head still attached that startled me when we walked in late at night. 

The next day was shopping day. We went to Fred Meyer (which is a super grocery) in the morning and then I got a manicure and then we went to McDonald’s. It is the only fast-food restaurant in Juneau, and we figured we better get it while we can. Then we went back to the B & B to let Seeley take a nap and then it was off to Costco. It was raining and Coty was bummed because trying to load the truck in the rain didn’t sound like fun. I told her that my new mantra was “I lead a charmed life, everything works out for me“ and sure enough, when we were done at Costco the rain had stopped. Juneau Costco was a prototype so it is the smallest of all the Costco’s but it is still great to get staples that cost 3x in Haines. We packed the rumble machine and grabbed some sushi for dinner. We had to catch the ferry at 7am which means we had to be there at 5am. We usually have phone service when we are close to Juneau and then again when we get close to Haines. At 6:34 am Coty received a call from Steve that went something like this; I have a problem; I think I broke my ankle. What should I do? Meaning, is there an ambulance or paramedics? She told him to call 911 and that she would call Travis. I told Coty that I might need to change my mantra-LOL!

Steve woke up to a cramp in his thigh and stood up to try and stretch it. He must have not put his foot all the way down and the ankle rolled and he heard a, “SNAP, SNAP, SNAP!” when he looked down at his foot, he exclaimed, “What the F*@$???” 

Then he fell down and laid there until he could crawl to the nightstand where his phone was to call us. He also had to crawl to the door and unlock it so that Travis and the paramedics could get in. Steve sleeps in the buff so when Travis got there, He was laying on the floor butt naked! Travis got very well (too well) acquainted with his new father-in-law-teehee! The paramedics came and transported him to SEARHC (Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium) aka-the clinic and ER for Haines. It is also where I will be working. He sent us a picture and then I got very worried. He not only broke it but dislocated it very badly. They tried to put it back in place once and it didn’t work so they had to do it again. By the time they were doing it the second time, we had gotten off the ferry and drove straight to the clinic. I was able to be with him for the second time and video it. They got it back in to place, splinted it up and told us to take the ferry to Juneau to see the orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Hightower. I got to spend 9 hours on the ferry that day-UGH! They had talked about medevac’ing him but since they felt they had it stabilized, they thought we could do the ferry. I ran home, unpacked, and repacked and we were on the ferry by 4pm. We got to Juneau and got a handicapped accessible room at a hotel. During the night the ankle re-dislocated and Steve was again in excruciating pain. I took him to the ER in Juneau that morning and Dr. Hightower met us there. He was worried about a patch of tissue that looked like it might be dying and then they would have to do skin grafts. He went to the OR and made sure he could get in right away. One half-hour later Steve was under the knife. The surgeon said that if it didn’t go back into place well, he might have to install an erector thingy. Like a cage around your leg that they screw into your bone so that it heals properly. We were pleased when the surgeon told me that the skin looked good and that it shouldn’t be a problem. He didn’t need the erector (Thank the LORD!) so the surgery went as well as possible. I want to thank all the prayer warriors that were praying for him. He stayed overnight in the hospital and I tried to get some rest back at the hotel. By Friday he was doing well and the pain was under control so they released him and we went back to the hotel. We both slept until 11:30 am!!! Then we got up and had some lunch and went to Costco. It is a shame (almost a sin in Haines) to let car space go unused. Dacotah had a list for us and there were things I wanted to get the first time that we ran out of room for the first trip with Coty. Then we went back to the hotel and took a 3-hour nap. We went to bed early so that we could catch the 7am ferry back to Haines. Which means we are up at 3:45am, out the door by 4:30, a stop at the Breeze Inn convenience store for coffee and donuts and then drive out to check-in at the ferry by 5am. We were actually 5 minutes early and the second car in line. Not gonna lie, pretty proud of myself. We waited in line and listened to the radio. When it came time to start the car…it was dead! UGH, SRSLY???? WTF???? I got out and told the ferry employee and they were going to jump it for us but then Steve got it started-GRATEFUL!!! We seem to have written Murphy’s Law, what can go wrong, will go wrong.

Our car had arrived on Monday and Steve was able to pick it up on Tuesday so when he broke his ankle on Weds. We took the car on the ferry with us. We also had a wheelchair from Haines so that I could get him on the ferry. He will need to be seen, back in Juneau in two weeks to have the cast taken off and check the incisions. The surgeon wants to see it and make sure everything looks good before giving him a boot. Unfortunately, the boot will just be for healing. He has to be non-weight bearing for 6 wks. We tried to get a scooter in Juneau but there wasn’t one to be purchased and the loaner looked like something for a child. The padded part where you put your leg was only 18” from the ground. We ordered one from Amazon and it should be here next week. Meanwhile it is the wheelchair and crutches. Of course, Steve can’t have regular crutches, he needs extra tall. He bought a “souped” up knee scooter with all terrain wheels and a basket. We are blessed that our apartment is on the first floor, is all one level and has mostly hard wood floors so the wheelchair should work pretty well. Showering in a small shower stall with his leg sticking out the door might be challenging but other than that we should be able to manage pretty well. Steve can lay on the couch and keep his foot elevated while he works.

Our car was packed full of kitchen/food items, and he took them out of the car but didn’t put them away because he wasn’t sure where I wanted everything. Then D & T unpacked the rumble machine and just put everything that I purchased at Costco on the counters also. I have quite a mess to come home to and organize-UFFDA!

This was not how we saw our second week going. Steve has only had one other broken bone. He is usually so athletic and graceful that this is just such a freak accident (more like something I would do). We are grateful for D & T helping us and to SEARHC and the paramedics. Our surgeon was VERY good (trained in Mpls at the U ) and had a great bedside manner. The hospital food was very good and the care he received from his nurses was amazing. On Saturday it was sunny and 59 degrees is Juneau so we are grateful it didn’t rain the whole time. We wanted an adventure and we got it!