Connor was a good sport about waking up early this morning so we could take our annual "Back to School" pic of the kids. Connor actually completed his summer semester at FSU over the summer, and will be heading back to Tallahassee this weekend to move in for the Fall semester.
Paige was up, bright and shiny, this morning and ready for school. Her friend picked her up so she wouldn't have to ride the bus today, and I took a short video of her leaving the house.
It's hard to believe that it's school time again! The summer went fast and we all enjoyed ourselves, other than Shawn's bump on the head.
We've been super impressed with the 2023 white Model Y that we purchased recently and we need another car for the family once Andrea's Model X has to be returned at lease end. We have been shopping for different options and Andrea found a well priced option at a local Honda dealership. It was painful dealing with car dealers, especially since they were unfamiliar with Teslas. Andrea did the negotiating ahead of going to the dealership and Connor took her out two different times over the weekend since they hadn't charged it before she showed up on Saturday. Sunday she got it finished and brought home the car in a yucky rainstorm. We got one quick picture with Paige and Millie, and I drove it briefly around the neighborhood to try it out. So far we love it, hopefully it is a wonderful lucky car for us.
On Wednesday, July 30th, 2025, Shawn had surgery to repair his fractured skull and broken nose.
In the week and half after my fall, leading up to the surgery, I actually felt better every day and the unsightly dent wasn't noticeable after the first night in the hospital. We were worried there may have been some issues missed with the first CT scan, so on Monday before the surgery I got an additional scan done to check for any bleeding or other problems. The scan looked good (as good as a busted head can look), and I was cleared for surgery.
For the day of surgery, I wasn't scheduled until the afternoon, and I was a little worried I'd be starving or feeling terrible by the time we started. The anxiety staved off the hunger, and I actually felt wonderful. I told Andrea that it was the best I'd felt since the accident, and I felt energetic and like I should be going out for a jog on the beach.
I was prepped for surgery, although the surgeon was running a little behind schedule. Andrea was allowed back in to the pre-operative room so she could wait with me and we watched some basketball to pass the time. The surgeon, Dr. Yang, checked in eventually and marked up my head a little with her pen. We briefly discussed what was going to happen and she offhandedly mentioned that they'd printed 3d models of my skull to visualize the operation. I was thrilled when she said that I could have the models after the procedure. Andrea gave me a kiss for good luck and they wheeled me back to the operating room. It was quite the production, in a large room, with lots of people. I remember moving over to the official table, the anesthesiologist talking to me, and then I was gone.
After surgery was a bit of a blur for me, but I was rolled in to the recovery room and I got to have some visitors. Andrea, Grandma Alice, Grandpa Rick, Abby, and Paige all came to check on me. Surprisingly, as complex as the surgery was, there was a possibility they would send the patient home on the same day. Since my surgery didn't start until late in the afternoon, I was expecting to stay the night. Andrea was willing to stay with me, but my mom volunteered and it was nice to have nurse Alice overnight.
Night one was terrible. Skip this paragraph unless you're interested in gory details. I had nothing to eat before surgery, and afterwards I was not hungry, but very thirsty. I chugged down a bunch of apple juice and cranberry juice, which tasted amazing. Unfortunately, I started feeling nauseous some time after midnight. I was given zofran, but it did nothing for me. Thankfully I'd asked for a barf bag, and I nearly filled the entire thing. The strain of the vomiting busted something in my head and blood was dripping freely. After I got cleaned up, I tried to get some sleep, but the pain was terrible. I had been trying to urinate for hours and finally I had to ask for help. I had a straight catheter inserted and while it was awful, it was a relief. Mom and I finally got about an hour or two of sleep in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Thursday started off rough, I was exhausted from the long night, and Alice ordered breakfast. I was thinking it sounded like a terrible idea and I wasn't hungry at all. Thinking that, I was surprised to find that the breakfast sandwich smelled good. My mom fed me some teeny tiny bites, and it as amazing how rejuvenating just a few bites could be.
I slowly felt better throughout the day, and some of the surgical residents and students stopped by to check on me and change my dressings. Family came to visit and eventually the case managers and nurses, asking if we were ready for discharge. I talked it over with the physicians and as poorly as the night has gone, we decided I'd be better off staying one more night.
The second night was much better, and I was able to get up out of bed to use the restroom, walk around the unit, and be more mobile. On Friday morning, I was discharged fairly early and Andrea picked me up with Abby. It was good to get home, Paige was waiting for me with Millie Mae, and the pupper dawg was very happy to see me. I took a long shower once I got inside, and Andrea helped me to shave the last bit of hair on the back of my head that the surgical team hadn't been able to reach during surgery.
Since getting home, I've had ups and downs. It's been mostly up, but the pain has been constant and annoying. Millie Mae has kept me company constantly throughout the process, and everyone's been good helping me out so I don't have to lift anything or stress.
Andrea helped me to take a few before/after pics, which I'll eventually update down the road once things heal more and I get the splint and stitches off. I've also downloaded some of the Mayo Clinic images from my chart, and combined a few to make animated GIFs. I've also tried to take some pics of my skulls, but the clear plastic they're made from is hard to photograph.
Hopefully will have some good updates in the future. I definitely want to thank everyone for all the help, Andrea has been my strongest advocate, my mother was an angel staying the nights with me, and thanks to my father for driving to pick up Connor from Tallahassee.
Video of my drain removal is private, because it's gross and awful.
Abby came in town on July 26th to help us out with things while I went through surgery and we had a really nice time together. While there is never a good time to crack one's skull, we were in the middle of a busy summer and there are a lot of things that had to be canceled after my accident. Some things, like Connor moving back from FSU and our upcoming move, could not be postponed, and it was extremely helpful to have Abby around to help keep things going. Abby helped to drive Paige around to appointments and to run errands for us when Andrea and I went to doctor's appointments prior to surgery.
We still had some time to relax together and we swam with Millie Mae in the pool on one especially hot day. It was actually so hot that the pool water was not refreshing at all. It was the first time I'd been in a pool in the summer and still hot after being in the water. With my upcoming surgery and recovery, and then our move, it may have been the last time we swim in the pool!
Paige, Andrea, and I worked a lot around the house in preparation for the move. We cleaned out all the closets, storage areas, dressers, side boards, boxes, and old junk. We sold a few things on Facebook Marketplace, including our potted plants, garage refrigerator, garage freezer, outdoor umbrella, family room chair, etc. The hardest job of all was the garage, and it was also a hot and uncomfortable chore. Thankfully I got the last closet done on the day before my surgery, so hopefully the movers can do the rest and I won't have to hurt my back or hurt myself in general during the move.
Early in the morning, Shawn got up from bed to use the restroom and turned out to be a terrible decision. I was lying in bed, half awake, debating whether to get up and use the restroom or just go back to sleep. I finally decided to get up and I was barely awake as I walked around the bed and to the bathroom door. The next thing I knew, I felt a painful crunch on my face and I was screaming in surprise and agony. It took me a moment to realize that I was sprawled out face down on the tile floor. I clutched at my face I could tell that I was hurt badly. Things were broken. My teeth were not lining up, blood was dripping from somewhere, and everything hurt.
I woke Andrea up and she called 911. We eventually decided that it would be faster to just drive me to the Emergency Room. I hadn't thought that I could get to the car on my own, but Andrea suggested I crawl and that worked. We were leaving the house just as the ambulance and fire truck arrived, and since we drove ourselves we could be sure we would end up at the Mayo Clinic.
The check in at Mayo was a bit of a blur for me as I was in a lot of pain and was happier to keep my eyes closed. I could feel that the left side of my head was injured, and my left eye didn't always seem to cooperate or focus like I would expect. I was taken for a CAT scan and put in a very uncomfortable neck brace for a while. Eventually they decided that my neck was sprained and nothing was broken in there so I was able to remove the brace. After being brought to a room in the ER, I was finally given a sufficient amount of pain medication so that I wasn't in agony and could start to think straight.
The doctors discussed what they saw in the images and from my blood tests. It seemed like the issue wasn't heart related or anything that would put my life in immediate danger. Although the damage to my face was a bit gruesome, it was not life threatening, and did not require surgery at that time. A plastic surgeon came to speak with us, and we scheduled to have the surgery in a bit under two weeks on the 30th. She described what would need to be done, and although it sounds horrible, I would rather get it over with than live with a dent in my head and a possible weak spot on my skull. The surgery would require them to cut the skin from one ear, over the top of my head, to the other ear. They will need to peel the skin down over my face to repair the cracked skull, and small break at the bridge of my nose.
With the plan in place, the next step was to get me well enough to go home. I was apprehensive about internal damage, and I was still in a terrible amount of pain by the afternoon, so we all agreed I should stay the night at the hospital. I was moved to a hybrid care unit, which was only a few doors down from my ER room. It was a tiny little room, without much space, but at least it was private.
Grandpa Rick, Grandma Alice, Paige, and of course Andrea came to visit me and keep me company throughout the day. I was super groggy from the pain and medication, but I was thankful for my nice family to be with me. Unfortunately, Millie Mae wasn't allowed to visit.
In the evening, everyone went home and I insisted that Andrea go as well. I would have liked to have her with me, however it had been a long and uncomfortable day for her. She'd been woken up early in the morning and hadn't had a comfortable place to rest or sit all day. She brought me a bunch of stuff from home for me and I spent the night in restless sleep. I was woken up a bunch of times to have my vital signs taken, blood sample taken, and medication. I was also woken up multiple times as I thought I was falling again, and I'd snap out of sleep with my heart racing. Definitely not a good feeling.
In the morning, the pain had subsided significantly and I was happy that I no longer needed opioids. I had planned to stop taking them as soon as possible, and was relieved that I could tolerate the pain. Andrea came in the morning and I was discharged after a brief review with the staff. It was good to be home, and together again with my family and Millie Mae. I spent the weekend mostly laying in my room, trying not to think very hard and being very careful whenever I stood up.
It is still a long way to go for me to be back to normal, and I am dreading the upcoming surgery and recovery, however I know I am lucky that things are not much worse. I will never forget the moments of terror I felt, clutching my face on the cold tile floor, feeling blood on my fingers, wondering how badly I was hurt and whether I was going to die.
I've titled this post "Shawn's Skull Fracture - Serious Syncopy Episode #2 - The Sequel Nobody Wanted", because unfortunately this wasn't the first time something like this has happened. I've experienced lightheadedness for years whenever I stand up from a sitting or supine position. Back in our old house on Dumont Place, I had a serious incident overnight which was very similar to my 2025 disaster. I was out of bed in the middle of the night to use the restroom and was walking to the bathroom door, which was next to the staircase. I lost consciousness and the next thing I remember I was tumbling down the stairs. It was a terrifying moment, I hit the back of my head, managed to sprawl out and stop myself from going down all the stairs, but it hurt. Thankfully nothing was seriously injured, and ever since then I've taken it very seriously when I start to feel light headed. Unfortunately for my 2025 incident, I was half asleep with my eyes partially closed, and didn't feel it at all. Going forward, I am planning to take things much slower and force myself in to a routine to make sure I'm steady before I start moving.
Paige had a fun experience at Camp Pinnacle summer 2025. This was Paige's sixth year going to Camp Pinnacle. It was different than previous years since she is now in the "Wolfpack" leadership program and also because she went to session two this year instead of session one. She had a couple girls that she knew and enjoyed hanging out with from previous years and she had a good time with them and meeting new people. This is the third year that Paige and Kahla have been together and Paige became closer with Brady. In the Wolfpack they interacted with the boys that are also in the leadership program and she had a fun group of boys and girls during her summer adventures.
One of her favorite parts this years was the cabin of ten year old youngsters that she mentored and helped out with. Paige took our old Canon camera with her, and although it didn't survive the trip, she got a few pictures and videos before it broke.
