We arrived in Augusta about 4:00 P.M. Joe’s boss had driven over in the night and was there with Kay when we arrived. When it came time for us to go in to see Joe, I was very hesitant. I was not eager to rush in to see him at all! I wanted to wait until he was better. I wasn’t prepared to see him so swollen and with so many tubes going everywhere! Thankfully, his head had been protected by the hard hat and his face was not too badly burned. There was one place about the size of my hand on his right cheek that had 2nd degree burns and was covered with pig skin. Pig skin?? I had never heard of such a thing! Pig skin, as well as cadaver skin, is stapled on and used to temporarily cover and protect the burns while the patients own skin grows underneath.
The kind and helpful nurse that went in with Jeep and me to see Joe that first time, told us that the drugs he had been given and the fact that he had the ventilator in his mouth would keep him from being able to talk with us, but that he might be able to hear us. I remember telling her that I didn’t know what to say. She said just talk naturally about the day, the weather or anything like that. He looked so pitiful, as he was bandaged from his neck to his ankles and was so swollen. I was too emotional to talk to him much, but I tearfully asked Jeep to put his hand on Joe’s head and pray for him. As Jeep prayed, I felt sure that Joe would be healed in God’s own time.
First Thessalonians 5:18 says, "In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you". Sometimes it's hard to give thanks when everything seems to be so overwhelming. However, it didn’t take me long to find things for which I am thankful. "Thanks be to God that someone at the workplace knew to put cold water on Joe. Thanks for someone driving him to the hospital instead of waiting for the ambulance. Thank you Lord, that Joe’s head, very little of his face and his feet were not burned! Thank you, that Joe was brought to one of the best places on earth for treatment! Thank you that Joe’s medical expenses will be covered by insurance. Thank you, that Joe has a loving wife and family who are pulling for him. Kay was there for every visit with her positive attitude always trying to encourage her husband. Thank You, Lord, that Joe has a compassionate and caring ‘boss’ who went far beyond the call of duty to see that Joe’s family’s needs were being met. Thank you that many people are praying for Joe’s healing. Thank you that Joe decided not to cancel their AFLAC Insurance. Thank you for Sherry, our own personal ‘angel’, whose title is, Patient Advisor with Joseph M. Still Burn Centers. And a big Thank You for my husband of three years, Jeep, who never questioned whether or not we would go to Augusta and stay there with Kay until Joe could come home....Jeep, who was a solid rock and anchor for us, especially during the most difficult times....Jeep, who tried to keep us up-beat day after day...and in all the two months we were there, never even one time, acted like he had rather be somewhere else. Thank you, Lord, that Jeep always showed love and compassion for us at all times.
Those first few days are sort of a blur in my mind, but during this time there were plenty of things to be thankful for. It seemed like at every turn, someone from Workers Comp. Insurance or AFLAC Insurance, were there looking for Kay and wanting to know if she needed anything. They wanted to know if she needed some money up front, was she behind, or about to be behind, with any of their bills. They also were busy getting all the paper work done to get payments started which covered most of Joe’s salary and would be directly deposited in their account. Kay began to get many phone calls and get well cards, some containing money to cover her expenses for meals, etc. Meanwhile, back home Kym and Jesse were taking care of the house and pets and getting themselves off to school and college. Some very caring friends set up an account at the bank and advertised in the local paper that deposits could be made there to help with their expenses. A benefit was also planned and held while we were gone. Yes, we had so many things to be thankful for! Many of the people we saw coming through the burn center were not nearly as blessed as we were!
Kay, Jeep and I spent the first week in a hotel room with two queen size beds. Joe’s boss paid for this as well as made two more trips to Augusta to see Joe and take us out for a meal. Although the hotel was very nice and we were grateful for the room, it gets to be a little too much togetherness after a week. Kay asked the Patient Advisor, Sherry, if she knew of any apartments that might be available to rent near the hospital. This is when Sherry told us about the Open Arms Foundation that furnishes a few apartments to families who have to travel a long way from home and will be needing the apartment for a long period of time. She told us that a family was moving out and as soon as they could get the apartment cleaned, we could move in. The apartment had two bedrooms, two baths, a living room, dining room, and kitchen. The TV cable, phone, Internet service, all utilities and linens were furnished. She said we could stay as long as Joe was in the hospital and then for another week or two if we need it, at no cost to us. The apartment was only five minutes from the hospital! This was a real Godsend for us! It is funded by Mid-America Apartment Communities, their employees and other donations and fund-raisers.
There is also a Retreat near the hospital, with dormitory type rooms, and a few private rooms for couples, available to families of burn patients on a first come, first served basis. Since we were going to be staying in Augusta for two months, we didn’t feel like we could stay in the retreat for that long. We understood that you had to take all of your ‘stuff’ out with you until you came back to stay the next night. There are baths that are shared with the other families staying there. Two meals a day are furnished to the families of burn patients by about 60 churches in the area. There is no charge for any of this.
This morning when we visited Joe at 9:00 A. M. we were very pleased to see that he was looking much better. Much of the swelling has gone from his face and he is looking more normal. In the midst of all this, we are so very thankful that his face was not damaged!! We will be eternally grateful for that!! He opens his eyes and knows we are there, responding by nodding or shaking his head, yes or no. We hope and pray for him to show this much progress each day.
Joe was in surgery for the from 1:30 til 5:30 Wed. afternoon. The doctor came out and talked with us and he is pleased with his progress and thinks everything is going as well as possible. He has 63 percent of his body burned and 10 percent is 3rd degree and the rest is 2nd degree. The doctor said that he is strong and healthy and has a lot of things in his favor. It's going to be a long hard road ahead. They do not plan to do any more surgery before Monday.
Perhaps at this time I should mention that we were allowed to visit four times each day. There were two 30 minute visits and two visits one hour long. Two family members could go in at one time. Each time we visited, we had to wash our hands and dress out fully as though we were nurses going into the operating room. We put on shoe covers, a plastic gown that covered our clothes, a hair net, gloves and a mask over our nose and mouth. Then we took all this off and washed our hands again at the end of our visit. The worst part of this outfit was the mask, which made me feel like I was smothering!
The Joseph M. Still Burn Center was being remodeled when we arrived and all the burn patients were housed in the Doctors Hospital. The two facilities are connected by a long, wide hall.
May 1 - Today we are celebrating because they took the ventilator tube out of Joe's mouth and he can breathe on his own and talk!!! To us, that is a big victory. God is SO good and is answering the prayers of many people! Someone just told me that their prayer group and also people from AZ and Alaska were praying for Joe! When I hear news like that, I am so touched that I have to shed a few tears. You would not believe how nice and accomodating all the hospital staff has been!!! We feel that God is at work in smoothing our way, and trust that he will be with Joe and his family through the long and tedious healing process!
May 2 - At our time to visit at 9:00 on Sunday morning, we started suiting up for our visit and then were told we couldn't see Joe until 12:00 noon. They did let us wave to him and say "Good Morning" from a distance. He replied that it didn't feel like a good morning! They had him unwrapped and airing out. They gave him a bath, washed his hair, etc. It took them all morning doing this and re-doing his bandages. They had given him medication to make him more comfortable during this process, so when we finally did get to go in to see him, he wanted to sleep instead of talking with us.
The nurse told us that they plan to try to get him up tomorrow and let him sit in a chair and/or walk. This seems soon to us but I know he will be better off if he is able to move around some.
May 4 - It was a week yesterday since the accident happened. It seems like it has been a month! They told us a few days ago that Joe was making progress faster than normal for the amount of burns he received and the amount of time that he had been there. He even passed up some pain medicine that he could have had! However, they told us today that he has an infection and they are fighting that. When we left the early visit today, they were planning to sit him up in a chair. Tomorrow they plan to put him in the whirlpool and then do more surgery. That will be a rough day for him.
May 5 - Going to the whirlpool this morning (Wed.) made Joe feel a lot better! He had some medication so he had rather sleep than stay awake and talk with us. After the surgery, the doctor said that the burns they originally thought were deep second degree were now classified as third degree. About half his burns are second and half third degree. No infection was found in the wounds.
May 6- This morning Joe was alert and hungry! Kay fed him eggs, link sausage, toast, grits and coffee. Both of Joe's hands are bandaged so he can't do much with them. On Thursday afternoon we came home for a break and to make room in the apartment for Kym and Jesse and several of Kay's family members who were going to be there over the weekend. The break was good for all of us.
May 10 - We are back in Augusta as of yesterday about noon. It was good medicine for Joe to get to see his kids over the weekend! He was feeling bad yesterday, but this morning the nurse said he is feeling a little better. We didn't get to visit this morning early because they had all his bandages off for the doctor to check him out. We may get to go back at the noontime visit.
It is a cool, sunny, perfect looking day here this morning in Augusta this morning. Kay, Jeep and I got a good night's sleep last night and now we are just in the waiting room, doing the waiting thing until they say we can go back and see Joe. Please keep on hanging in there with us in lifting Joe up in prayer!
May 11- Today Joe wanted food from KFC! The nurses told us it was a good sign when they asked for something other than hospital food. He thought the chicken was SO good! He had some left and told Kay to bring it back and he would eat the rest for supper. It turned out he didn't want it tonight, but he was hot and thristy and swigged down a cold Boost in two sips!
He spent two hours in the whirlpool, getting some of the staples out, etc. Tomorrow he is scheduled to have the whirlpool again and more surgery.
May 13 - Yesterday we got to the hospital in time to see Joe just a few minutes before they took him to the whirlpool. From there, they took him to surgery and he was there until 5:00 P.M. The doctor and his assistant both talked with us and found that after the two weeks it appears that 45% of his body has third degree burns and 20 % has second degree. That is about reversed from what they thought at first. They are supposed to get his skin, which is being grown from his own cells in Boston, about the 26th of May. They will also have to harvest some of his good skin, and he doesn't have much of that to spare! I'm wondering if they could use some of my skin to graft directly to him. (Sometime later the doctor told me the answer is, "No".)
This morning when Kay asked him what he would like for her to bring him for lunch and after thinking about it a little, he said he would like some loaded potato soup and FIVE rolls from O'Charley's! We brought that to him at lunch and kidded him about wanting so many rolls and he didn't even remember saying that he wanted them! At least he ate one of them and some of the soup. We had a good laugh about the five rolls!
