My Next Surgery

All,
Thank you all for your thoughts as both Allen and I are recovering from injuries.

Allen goes to the doctor today and should get the staples taken out and receive a new splint.
We do not expect x-rays until 4 weeks from now. He is back in his room upstairs and has been going to school full-time.

I went to Dr. Arnold yesterday to review the CT scan and discuss my options. What is left of my left patella is still broken and dislocated. As I understand it, the dislocation is preventing my leg extensions (not to mention causing a lot of pain). We scheduled an out-patient procedure for March 6th. He is going to remove more pieces of the patella and graft some new tendon material to hopefully resist the dislocations in the future. I had hoped that the procedure would be sooner, but his schedule is full. I am on the cancellation list.
During the visit, he wanted to x-ray my hips. The overall consult from Dr. Arnold was that he hoped the knee would be better, but the trauma to the hips, nerve damage and drop foot were not good signs of a full recovery.

Keep thinking of Cara as she runs the house around two handicapped people.

J

No Real New News

All,
Allen continues to improve. He went to school for a half day on Tuesday and has been for full days since. Cara will be escaping to the lake this weekend, so me and the boys will be flying solo. I think both Cara and I are looking forward to it.
I returned to school this past Tuesday. The walk from the parking lot to the classroom is a doozy, but I look at it like physical therapy. I feel stronger everyday.
Tuesday, January 20th, will be when Dr. Arnold reviews the CT scan of my left knee. We should have some form of a plan of action from there.
J

Home

All,
I am happy to report that Allen was released from the hospital Saturday evening. When I got home from Little Rock last night, he was using the walker on his way to the dinner table. I wish I found it more humorous to see both of us at the table with different walking aids. I think Cara got some much needed rest in her own bed Saturday night after several nights on the hospital's couch cot. I am sure I interupted her rest last night with my snoring. Sam had a lot of fun spending the weekend with my sister and her kids. He has already said he wants to do it again next month!

Pressing On,
J

Allen is doing well

Hello,
I want to let everyone know that Allen's surgery started right at 5:00 last night and lasted about an hour. Dr. Coker came out and told us everything went very well. He has strong bones and the fracture was fluke due to torque as he came down. He thinks Allen could be discharged as early as Saturday afternoon. I am going to drill in LR this weekend and Sam is going to hang with his cousins in Greenwood. Hopefully this will help Cara focus on Allen's needs and not mine or Sam's. As always, our family is providing wonderful support. You should have seen the case manager yesterday when she walked into the room and saw my parents, Cara's parents and me and Cara. She simply said "that answers that question".
I saw Allen for a couple of minutes just After 7:00. He was obviously groggy after the surgery but in good spirits. I left to pick up Sam from TWD and went home. As expected, Cara stayed the night with Allen. She said he slept pretty good and did not hit his happy button too many times.
J

The Recovery of Allen Hartfield

All,

Is anybody still out there checking this site? For those who are, the Hartfield Saga continues.

Yesterday during football practice at school, Allen fell and broke his lower left leg. Both the Tibia and Fibula were fractured just about halfway between the knee and ankle. Allen is scheduled for surgery today at around 3:00 P.M. to insert a shaft in the Tibia, the larger bone. The Fibula is to heal on it's own with no hardware added.

Allen is in good spirits and in room 1205 at Washington Regional and should be released to go home hopefully on Sunday. There is a link to the hospital here on the blog and I am sure he would enjoy some e-mail. Please be thinking of him and say a prayer for his quick recovery. Both coaches stopped by the room last night and told him they expect back in practice soon.

Please think of our entire family as I am still hobbling around and Allen comes home on crutches.

Thank you,

J

All, the picture pasted in here is from my first participation in the Heart Walk in 2007. I do not think I have a copy of last year's picture - it was the entire Tyson Foods, Inc. team. As most of you know, the motorcycle that I was riding on when I was hit was actually won during the Heart Walk. For every $500 I raised, I recieved 1 entry for the grand prize. Last year I (with the help of a lot of friends and family) raised over $2,700. I think it was Katrenia who heard my name called over the loudspeaker as the grand prize winner.

After receiving life saving heart surgery, I think it is only natural to continue my support for the American Heart Association. I know the donations are for heart disease and stroke research rather than emergency trauma surgery, but it still rings close to me. I have lost family members to heart disease and I have close friends who have suffered heart attacks or strokes.

I have sent out several "canned" e-mail solicitations recently. If you did not get an e-mail or would still be interested in donating to the Heart Association, please click on the link pasted below.

Thank you always,

J

https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=285553&lis=0&kntae285553=8790922906594EF7849E1A216FE825C4&supId=244405022