The Patient

Harry fell into an oil changing pit on Wednesday morning as he followed the American owner of the car repair shop across the yard. The sun was in his eyes and the man who always watches his step here in Mexico fell into a concrete hole about nine feet deep. Our beloved friend Liz was with him and she called me after the accident and picked me up at school with my blood drenched husband in the front seat of her car. We got him to the emergency room and an ambulance took us to Cabo St. Lucas. Harry has had wonderful care. He had to wait to have surgery until today because they had to bring his blood pressure down.

He came through surgery just fine, a surgery that was scheduled to take 2 hours took 4 because of all the damage to his face they could not know about until they got inside to look. Three of his doctors told me that the fact he survived this fall was a miracle. They had not seen anything like it before. The good news is his nose has been repaired, the not so good news is that he now needs plates put in his face to reconstruct his cheek bones and jaw. The surgery for these reconstructions can be done in 10-14 days. He will need to have his jaw wired shut for six weeks after jaw reconstruction and then he will have to have his teeth fixed in some way, yet to be explained.

When I went to pick up the car yesterday, the owner of the shop told Liz and I that Harry was the third guy to fall into the oil pit. Liz reprimanded him strongly about the need to cover the pit, I was speechless. It is my hope that after healing for a week or so we will be able to fly home for the rest of the surgeries and treatments Harry needs. It is time to say goodbye to Mexico for now. It is time to be very grateful that my husband is alive.