The Accident

On 4/16/2010 at approximately 10 to 10:15pm, my Lenny was involved in a serious boating accident. There were 6 occupants of the boat, all were injured. Both Lenny and his best friend Jakie sustained life threatening injuries and were airlifted to trauma centers, Jakie to Las Vegas, Lenny to Phoenix.

I received a call at 1:45am informing me of the accident. I then spent the next 2 hours trying to find him and find out what happened. After calling two hospitals I found Jakie, and then called his mom and she took it from there. I still couldn't find Lenny, so I called the Lake Havasu Police and they got back to me in about a half an hour telling me he was in Phoenix and that the social worker would be calling me soon. Next came the longest 20 minutes of my life. Waiting to hear....

Lenny sustained the following injuries - Completely fractured face from the upper jaw to above the eyes, broken neck, broken ribs, collapsed lungs, and severely broken legs. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I spent the next several minutes rallying friends and getting to YiYi (that is what Lenny calls his sister). We all headed to Phoenix and below I will update you on his condition, how we are holding up, and have a way to communicate with you to keep you updated and be able to answer your questions and be able to get the support we so desperately need from all the wonderful people that love him.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Sorry to have stopped posting!

I was reminded the other day that some people do still check here to see how Lenny is doing....and I had just stopped posting updates. I have to confess that part of the reason is that I am scared of the blog. Going back and looking at all those posts of when we were in Arizona made me hide from the blog. I know, silly, and I should not have left you all in the dark.


Lenny had surgery on left eye to repair the tear duct that was crushed during the accident. The insurance did not approve Lenny to go to UCLA so everything has been done at Loma Linda. His doctor is wonderful, the same type of occular plastic surgeon that did the repairs after the accident. In October Lenny developed a bad infection in his left eye that caused him to be hospitalized for almost a week, and then result in the surgery to repair the tear duct which was the source of the infection. They installed a small clear tube drilled through his nose and laid it into his eye. If you look in the corner of his eye you can see the tube, at first he could feel it and hated it, but he has grown used to it. They will remove the tube in another couple of months.

They are submitting for approval to the insurance for his right eye reconstruction. This is the eye that the eyelid does not function properly so he needs a reconstruction there to repair it. The doctor tells us they will take a part of his ear to repair the lid. We will know more after it gets approved. Hopefully he will have it at the end of December or after the first of the year.

One of the worst long terms effects of the accident for Lenny has been trying to sleep. After the injuries to his legs and fracture in his neck we determined that he just cannot sleep in a flat position anymore. We had to go out and buy an adjustable bed after trying foam wedges, pillows, etc. which was just a failure after failure. I shopped around and we found a firm foam adjustable that he liked, and I am glad to say for the first time since the accident he doesn't seem to be waking up in horrible pain. Please let it keep working for him. 

Times are very hard for us now, Lenny's medical co-pays have been drowning us, but we are trying to hang in there. One day this will all be over and everything will go back to normal. Lenny and I both think 2010 sucks and has been filled with tragedy, and we are looking forward to the new year. Here's to hoping 2011 shows better times for Lenny and I!

Love to you all,
Nancy

1 comment:

  1. I am glad he is doing ok.. He has his set backs but he has been so strong through it all. As you have too. Thank you for updating.. I check back every month to see if you updated. I know it is harder now to post with work and home life.. But thank you for postinjg when you get a chance.. Always in my thoughts.. Misty

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