This should have been on the website two weeks ago, but it sort of slipped through the cracks (our website has cracks). We saw most of Julie Baker’s family over the weekend while we were at the hospital, and even got to eat lunch with Julie and Greer. We learned that Greer was in a wheel chair, and that Julie had (in addition to pushing him around) send in some information about the whole ordeal that we somehow overlooked. Better late than never, I guess…
A couple weeks ago Greer fell asleep on the comode in the middle of the night and woke up on the floor. On his way down he broke the bone that goes from the knee to the ankle. There are 2 bones there, and he broke the smaller one down by his ankle. So the next day he drove himself up to the VA hospital in Columbia. They x-rayed it and said it needed to be operated on. They put him in a boot and sent him home. He was able to hobble around pretty good considering.
Wednesday was the operation. He ended up spending the night because the place that gives out walkers and wheel chairs was closed by the time the operation was over. (He went in at 8:30 am and was told he would be the second one in line. Well the Doctor had to be called away for an emergency and they didnt start on him until 2:00 or 2:30.) Nothing to eat or drink after dinner the night before. They let him have 4 crackers since it was taking so long!!!
So now he has a plate and 2 screws in the lower part of his leg. The leg is not to ever touch the ground even for balance. NO weight on it at all. So they sent him home with a traditional walker and crutches. Now either way he has to hop to get around . I am afraid he is going to break the other leg now! I am going to look for a wheel chair for him so he can get around easier. It really takes a lot out of him. Shawn barely got him in the house the day he came home. (makes me wonder about the VA sending an old guy home with a “walker” with instructions not to walk on that leg) He hopped back to bed last night and now back to the living room this morning and thats all he can do. He said it hurts worse now that it is fixed than when he was walking on it when it was broken!
He was room mates with and interesting fellow. The man was with Pattons 3rd army in WW2. He shook hands with Patton and Montgomery. He is 93 years old. He had 2 Sherman tanks blown out from under him and is lucky to be alive. He was in because he burned himself on his wood stove. He had lots of visitors and was going home the same day Greer was.
Julie has since found a wheelchair for Greer, and I can report that Greer is his usual chipper self. Please add swift healing for Greer’s foot to your prayer list. It hasn’t been a good month for the Sommerer family.