Friday brought an entire range of emotions as we walked into Travis' appointment with Dr. Jones for the March femur fracture follow-up. T last saw Dr. Jones in May, then we heard the healing looked better than expected at ~8 weeks post-op. At the time of the fracture, lots of uncertainty loomed in the air. Would T be able to walk again? Would the fracture heal? Would T's muscle work after removing 5cm of femur? Would the bone paste help generate new bone? The rod diameter exceeded the diameter of some of the removed femur bone, the part that kept breaking. Would this re-purposed brittle bone actually help create new, strong bone? All we could do was pray...
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| Imaging time |
One could call T a professional in imaging at this point. He walks in the room, holds still for the process (MRI and x-ray), and walks out like a seasoned pro...a seasoned pro at 8. Shortly after arriving in the exam room Dr. Jones walked in. Quick "hellos" and he goes to T to ask him how he's doing and about racing. I love how T's doctors take the time to learn about him as a person in addition to as the patient. Travis described /taught Dr. Jones the details of the NASCAR Chase process. Dr. Jones listened intently to Travis before starting the physical exam.
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| Dr Jones listening intently to Travis describing the NASCAR Chase process. |
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| Dr. Jones checking out how T's leg is functioning |
Smiles and laughter filled this appointment as the imaging showed lots of great, new bone growth in Travis' left femur. :) Another orthopedic doctor worked with Dr. Jones during clinic this day and joined in on the appointment. This doctor commented he participated in the femur fracture repair surgery in June/July, as the appointment listed femur fracture follow-up. Dr. Jones and I replied something to effect that T broke again and a second repair surgery happened in March. Dr. Jones explained how he removed the ~5cm of femur during the second surgery and the complications that may arise from removing that much bone. We also laughed and joked during this time, something that could only come with seeing the great results. The body heals in amazing ways...
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| Lots of great new bone growth |
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| Amazing bone growth |
We talked with Dr. Jones regarding the chances of another femur fracture. He stated the rod ends in a thicker part of the femur and the likelihood of breaking again remains very low.
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Sept 24, 2015 (L) and May 8, 2015 (R)
Lots of great bone growth |
Instead of completely discarding the problematic section of the bone, Dr. Jones used that bone in a position to create tremendous healing. Once removed, broken apart (crushed), inserted in a bone paste (re-purposed), and placed into T's leg (new environment), created something better than anyone could have imagined or dreamed. Taking a step back and reflecting...I wonder if our greatest growth comes from situations/parallels like this. God sees the bigger picture for all of us and maybe, just maybe amazing things come only from radically changing the current situation. Bigger, better, beyond our wildest dreams...
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