Thank you everyone for your supportive thoughts and prayers for Laura.
On the afternoon of August 1st, Laura was riding to Missoula to visit her grandfather when a car turned right in front of her on highway 93 northbound. Laura was traveling below the speed limit and had the right of way. The motorist simply didn’t see her.
The nurse and her husband who were the first to arrive at her side were surprised to find her awake, trying to sit up, taking off her helmet and asking to call her Grandma. And of course she was profusely thanking them for their assistance.
Laura sustained significant injuries to her right leg. Her femur was fractured, two-thirds of her knee were eliminated and since the popliteal artery was compromised the lower part of her leg was deprived of blood supply for an extended period.
Laura was airlifted from Missoula to Harborview Trauma Center in Seattle. She underwent 7 hours of emergency surgery in an attempt to restore blood supply and stabilize the fractures.
A second surgery on Friday morning revealed that the muscles in the lower half of her leg were no longer viable. During a family conference on Saturday morning Laura established her goals for recovery and decided to proceed to amputation.
On Monday August 6th at noon Laura will undergo her third surgery. She will recover on the surgical orthopedic unit followed by a few weeks on the rehabilitation unit.
She will come home to her Seattle house hopefully by the end of August. While all plans are fluid at this point, we expect her to undergo a revision of her femur in 3 - 4 weeks. Prosthesis fitting will follow.
Our physician team suggests this will be a 6 month recovery so we plan to have Laura in Seattle until January.
Your support has been very meaningful to us. We are grateful.
