It's Going Well,

Sherry's just about recovered from the many injuries she sustained back on October 21. Her eye, face, cheek, etc., seem to be healing perfectly. Her arm, shoulder, and elbow are healed too, but in need of lots of therapy.

She continues to see her therapist for the time being, and she continues to diligently do her exercises at home as well. Sherry's very disciplined and she's a hard worker. She will do what it takes to regain her strength and probably more range of motion than her doctor expects.

She and I appreciate all the kind wishes of our friends. Your support, your notes, and your prayers have helped sustain her and me through this journey. Thank you so much.

More Visits to Our Doctors

Two doctor visits today. First --- Dr. Taylor says Sherry's doing great --- bite works -- jaw works --- looks good. I LIKE this guy! And I like his wife too. (More on that later.)

Dr. Gabel, though, has concerns. She has way too much scarring and swelling still going on in her hand. Dr. Gabel got on the phone right there in the examining room and discussed treatments with Sherry's therapist, Dianne.

He shot her with two BIG long needles of cortisone. Sherry looked a little bit like she was going to --- uh -- get red in the face.

Her fractures are healing up wonderfully. She needs range of motion work in her shoulder. AND MOST of ALL, she needs to work her hand back into shape.

Pray for Sherry's continued healing. Use of her hand -- restoration of her eye lids; flex of her elbow and shoulder....relief of pain --- return to free movement and dexterity.

Second Eye Surgery Done

We took Sherry in to see Dr. Soparkar today, and he did the work on her eyelid. They deadened her eye area with a salve much like a dentist would do your gum before bringing in the needle.

I watched the whole thing, but not too closely. He put in several stitches inside her lower eyelid on the outside corner, which pulled the lid up and over to the outside a bit. This brought it back in line with where it belongs; and got rid of the bit of "droop" she had going on there. Plus, it turned the lid back upright rather than hanging sort of inside out like it was doing.

She's resting, and trying to get back to her normal self; and she'll skip her arm/elbow/shoulder therapy for a few days as she recuperates.

Thanks again to all who write, pray, send their best wishes, and their love. We both appreciate your kindness and thoughfulness.

Second Eye Surgery

Sherry visited Dr. Soparkar this morning, and he's decided that she needs another round of surgery. He says it's a minor correction that will be done in the office under local anesthesia. She's set to have this done a week from today.

Sherry and I appreciate your continued prayers, notes, and well wishes. She's coming along but has quite a way to go to full recovery.

Back to Work!

Good news! Sherry's back at work. She's moving slow; typing left-handed; but she's more independent now, and she's looking better each day!

Thank you all so much for your continued prayers, emails, notes, and well-wishes. She's on the mend!

Back to Church!

Sherry returned to church today, for the first time since her October 21 accident. It wasn't easy for her. She needs assistance with bathing and dressing, and everything takes longer now than it did before. Plus her endurance is down.

Ever the faithful servant, she was up before I was and asked if I'd help her get her shower so she could go to church with me. I was delighted at her determination, of course, and I wanted our friends at Palmer to see her in person. They miss her, and she misses them.

She was met with many many gentle hugs and kisses, and everyone made her feel so loved. The kindness and tenderness shown by our friends touches our hearts. We thank you all ever so much for your love, warmth, prayers, notes, emails and well-wishes. She's on the mend.

2nd Visit to Occupational Therapist

This morning Sherry visited her therapist at 7:00 a.m. Dianne exclaimed when Sherry walked in that she looked like a totally different person than the one who visited two days ago.

The swelling in Sherry's hand has greatly diminished, and she's showing excellent ability to rotate her wrist (forearm). She's making a better fist than two days ago. And she's improved in her ability to bend her elbow.

Sherry continues to do the same exercises at home, and is determined to make the most of these therapy sessions. She's a good patient, if I do say so myself.

Thanks again to all who offer well-wishes, prayers, notes, emails, and support.

Follow-up to Face Surgery

Today, Sherry visited the two surgeons who operated on her eye and cheek area. Both report that they are pleased with the outcome of their work and with the way Sherry's healing.

She still has lots of bruising and considerable swelling, but things are on the mend, and we are optimistic. She also continued her physical therapy exercises here at the house, and we're seeing some improvements with her hand, elbow, and arm.

Thanks again to all who have written. We appreciate your notes, emails, and prayers.

Therapy - Day One

11:45am - Sherry met her physical therapist today for evaluation and initial treatments. It was pretty rough going for her, and she was glad to be done and get back to the house. She's scheduled for two sessions per week for the time being, and for ongoing daily exercises at the house. We really like Diane, and feel confident Sherry's in good hands. Many thanks to all who continue to support Sherry with email, notes, and prayers. We both appreciate it.

Out of the Splint

Sherry visited the orthopedic surgeon this morning and had the splint and stitches removed. She has quite an incision. Thank goodness that heavy splint is off, and she only has to contend with the sling for now.

Her elbow and shoulder Xrays are looking good, and she begins elbow therapy tomorrow and shoulder therapy in a week. She's still in quite a bit of pain, and is moving not so slow as yesterday.

We appreciate the notes, emails, prayers and well-wishes.

The First 48 Hours

1:45pm - It's been almost two days now since Sherry's visit to the Neurosensory Surgical Center at Methodist Hospital.


Today she slept in and was still in bed when I got home from church. The Third-Graders at Palmer were already working on this "Get Well" poster for Sherry when I arrived. So sweet.

Sherry's been resting and sleeping; taking a bit of nourishment; and is right now sitting in front of a canvas painting left handed.

Her pain comes and goes, depending on how much she moves around and how long it's been since her last pain pill. She looks better; her face is symmetric again; but she still has bruises, and now her cheek is swollen following her surgery.

She's not in the mood for visitors, but really enjoys emails, cards and letters. She appreciates all the love and support offered by her many friends, and I appreciate it too.

Resting Quietly

1:21pm - Sherry slept well last night. We're continuing the cold compress treatments (frozen peas from Methodist), and she's passing her red color saturation tests. She's more comfortable in our bed than she was yesterday on that hospital gurney. She's thirsty, but not hungry, and is resting quietly and peacefully. She's looking forward to getting her arm out of that splint. Thanks to all who have written. It means a lot to her.

Home - Sweet - Home

11:12 pm - They released her from the Methodist Neurosensory Surgical Center at around 9:50pm. After a slow drive home, we've got her in her own bed, resting with frozen peas on her face (doctor's orders). Dr. Soparkar called at 11:00pm to check on her, and all seems well.

Many thanks to all the wonderful health care providers we encountered today at Methodist. Nurses, orderlies, assistants, surgeons, specialists, receptionists, et.al., down the line - top notch professional care. I couldn't ask for better treatment.

Out of Surgery!

6:55 pm - Both doctors (Dr. Terry Taylor, maxillofacial/oral surgeon, & Dr. Soparkar, eye plastic surgeon) report that things went well; she looks good. She's sporting a titanium plate in her cheek area, and a new synthetic orbitbal floor. This is encouraging news, and I'm looking forward to taking her home. A couple of hours in recovery, and then to the house! What a relief!

Hurry Up and Wait at Methodist Hospital

We checked Sherry in at Methodist Neurosensory Surgical Center as ordered at 8:45 this morning. At about 12:30 pm., Dr. Soparkar came to tell us that Dr. Alford had taken ill and could not operate. They put in a call to another ENT who agreed to do the operation, but he can't work her in until "the end of the day."

In the meantime, Dr. Soparkar gave instructions to keep her as pain free as possible as she waits. So, she's hooked to an IV; lying in pre-op; drifting in and out; and waiting.

That's where we stand for now.

[They succeeded in contacting Dr. Terry Taylor who's agreed to do the part Dr. Alford had planned to do. Dr. Taylor is not an ENT, but is an oral surgeon who specializes in maxillofacial surgery.]

Elbow Repaired

Took Sherry into the Kirby Surgical Center at 5:45 a.m., and they wheeled her into surgery at 7:15. At 8:15, Dr. Gabel came to give me an update. They decided to go with a plate rather than with the wire as they had originally intended. I saw the xray which clearly showed five screws and a metal plate. She may set off alarms at the courthouse. They released her at 10:30, and she's resting and semi-dozing now. She's wearing a soft splint and sling for now. Dr. Gabel hopes to remove the splint in 10-14 days (along with the stitches) and have her only in a sling for the rest of her recovery and rehabilitation.

[No, this isn't her actual xray, but her's looks very similar.]

The Primary Care Physician

Today we took Sherry to see Dr. Garb, her primary care physician, to get a clearance (required by Methodist Hospital) for her to undergo surgery. Tomorrow we take her over to the Kirby surgical center to have her elbow repaired.

How's she doing? She's very tender; moving slow. She's in good spirits. She appreciates all the prayers, thoughts, and well-wishes.

The Second Face Doctor

We took Sherry's new CT scan films to Dr. Eugene Alford, and he walked us through the procedure he and Dr. Soparkar plan to do on November 4. Dr. Alford will use titanium plates to hold her various fractures together. He had the same surgery done himself by Dr. Soparkar, and let Sherry feel the plate under his eye. We like this guy.

The Orthopedic

Thanks to PCAC member and fellow Palmer Parishioner, Tana Key, we were able to get Sherry in to see Dr. Gerard Gabel first thing today.

He proposed using wire to repair her broken elbow; in the course of his examination, he noticed extreme tenderness in her shoulder, and he ordered xrays of it. He found two fractures there which he decided not to treat with surgery or cast.

Rather, his explanation is that the wearing of the sling following her elbow surgery will sufficiently protect the shoulder injury and allow it to heal on its own.

Sherry's elbow surgery is set for Friday, October 28, at the Kirby Surgical Center.

More Imaging

Dr. Soparkar ordered more CT scans; we went to the Hermann Memorial Imaging Center on Richmond and had another round of scans done. We delivered one set of films to Dr. Soparkar's office. He called to say he'd reviewed the films and was set to do the surgery.

First Round of Specialists

We took Sherry in to see Dr. Key at Methodist, and he gave her a clean bill of health on the condition of her eye; but noted that she needed extra help with the multiple fractures of her orbit and face. He got us in to see Dr. Charles Soparkar within an hour.

Dr. Soparkar looked at her emergency room CT scans and suggested surgery to repair the multiple fractures. He set us up to see a second "mid-face" surgeon (Dr. Eugene Alford) to handle the cheekbone repair.

Dr. Soparkar's explanation is that the fracturing of the cheek structure and its subsequent dislocation inward toward her nose and eye had shattered the orbital floor. This left her with a "flat" cheek on that side of her face, and with nothing but the displaced cheekbones supporting her eyeball.

The plan is for Dr. Alford to repair the fractured maxillary sinus and zygomatic arch; and to rotate the entire structure back into its proper location; which then, leaves nothing to support her eyeball.

Dr. Soparkar will then place a synthetic bone in to replace her shattered orbital floor. This then will become a part of her as the tissue grows into the synthetic bone. All of this surgery will be done on November 4.

To the Rescue

At 9:00 A.M. Saturday morning, our first incoming phone call was from Dr. Jim Key, ophthalmologist, who also happens to attend our church. Jim had been on call Friday night, and saw Saturday morning that the emergency room had attempted to contact him regarding Sherry's case.

For some reason, Jim missed that call last night, but saw later that a call had come in on a "Sherry Byrd." Jim graciously followed up to see if the Sherry Byrd was "our Sherry Byrd." Of course, it was. He told us to have her in his office at Methodist first thing Monday morning. A head start.

Bike Accident

At around 8:30 pm on Friday, October 21, 2011, Sherry lost control of her bicycle and flipped over the handle bars. I was with her, and rushed to her side immediately. She was unconscious, lying on her back, and a pool of blood formed under her head.

She regained consciousness within seconds, but was obviously dazed and confused.

Several passersby offered to help; including one physician who gave her a quick look and told me to take her to the hospital.

We were less than two miles from home (Sager & Loch Lomond). I called our son Sam and told him to load some towels in the car and come get her. He took her home; we left her bike with a neighbor there who stored it for us; and I rode my bike home and was there in probably less than 10 minutes.

Sam called a physician friend of his, who also recommended that we take her to the hospital. We took her to the Bellaire 24/7 Emergency Clinic on Rice, and got great care there.

They did xrays of her elbow and a CT scan of her head and face. They "glued" closed a cut next to her eye and put her right arm in a splint; sent us home about 1:30 A.M. Saturday morning.

Here's an excerpt from the discharge report:

Acute fracture of olecranon process of ulna; depressed fracture of the midportion of the right zygomatic arch; fractures of the anterior, lateral and medial walls of the right maxillary sinus; fracture of the lateral wall of the right orbit; comminuted fracture of the right orbital floor