Nerve Damage

Good news ... bad news ... hopeful outcome.

Big day today ... major milestones achieved! Conor put himself into the car this afternoon. We had an appointment with the neurologist for a nerve conduction test. Ciaran wheeled Conor to the car ... and he loaded himself in. No assistance required.

When we got back from the neurologist, Conor made it down to the basement. He has been bugging us and bugging us ... and finally today I relented. Going down was not a problem. He went down on what is left of his arse! Then hop .. hop .. hop into his room and onto his computer to download his music collection onto his iPOD. He is truly home! Getting back up the stairs proved a bit more difficult. He was going to try "hopping" up the stairs ... but decided on using that wee arse again ... in reverse. When he got to the top of the stairs he scooched on his bum until he reached Mikey's chair ... then pulled himself up. Not the most graceful undertaking ... but oh so independent!

Now for the part in between these two milestones ... the nerve testing. Thank you Tommy for preparing Conor for the test! Again, not near as bad as the mental image. Conor had needles inserted into his leg at various points and electrical current is passed through the needles. The tests show that Conor has suffered severe damage to the femoral nerve. This is a major nerve which starts in the spine, runs through the pelvis/hip, down the thigh and through the inside of the calf. They tested the nerve activity at his pelvis, at his knee, and mid-calf. There is lots of activity at the pelvis ... but very limited activity at the knee. As a result ... Conor has some sensory changes in the middle of his inner calf.

Remember back 7 weeks, to when the original injury to Conor's leg occurred. He had no pulse in his foot and the Vascular surgeon made an incision on the inside of Conor's thigh. The pulse returned and the femoral artery bypass was not required. Then remember why Conor had the fasciotomies in his calf .. to relieve the incredible pressure building up in his calves. Immediately after the surgery ... his thigh was as big as me ... but after 24 hours, the swelling decreased and fasciotomies were not required in the thigh. This is probably when the damage to the nerve occurred. The neurologist is reasonably satisfied that full strength will return to the nerve over the next few months ... but perhaps not full sensation. His inner calf may feel "odd" ... but ... in the grand scheme of things ... Conor was in real danger of losing his leg --- a little sensation change in his calf we can all live with. The neurologist was happy to report that no surgical intervention was required (now or in the future) ... yet again ... time (and lots of physiotherapy) will heal. Conor took the news in stride ... I made sure he understood what the doctor was saying ... Conor shrugged it off, just pleased that there would be no more surgery.

Tomorrow morning we have an appointment with the ortho ... cast off the wrist and perhaps weight-bearing on the leg. I've negotiated with Conor to have him sleep on the main floor tonight (early start in the morning and I don't want to have to do grumpy!) and he can sleep in his own bed on Friday night. I don't know who is more thrilled with this arrangement ... Ciaran seems pretty chuffed to get his own bed back!

These are all such baby steps ... but they are incredible milestones in his recovery. Keep those prayers coming ... good thoughts required to keep those "baby steps" headed in the right direction!