Friday, May 22, 2009

I made it!  The wound is now closed and secured with staples.  I may not move my ankle or put any weight on it for about two weeks so I don't tear the thing back open.

As I told you earlier, I was feeling really lousy on Wednesday night before the surgery.  Annika was very distressed by this.  She said, "I know I am not supposed to worry about you and I am trying to be positive but I am looking at you and you do not seem the same like you were before like when you were laughing and joking and now you look sick again and that is making me think that you are not getting better and maybe you are getting worse . . ."  While Doug was working to reassure her, I was trying to reassure myself.  

I was still feeling very faint and weak by the time I went in for surgery on Thursday.  So, my ever-faithful Nurse Judith hooked me up to the IV and put some liquids back in me.  That helped a lot.  

It was so funny going through all of the prep that I had just done two days before.  From the nurses to the lab techs--people kept saying, "Weren't you here for surgery just the other day?!?!?"  Yep--I just can't stay away from being poked, prodded, and knocked out!

The funniest part was seeing people's reactions to the Dermaclose apparatus on my foot.  Dr. Carbonell told me it was the first time it was used on a patient at Jackson Hospital.  I could tell.  Everyone who came by would look at my ankle, smile, and then do a nasty-faced double take to look at it again. 

The anesthesiologists were particularly grossed out by it. (You can see here in the pictures that one felt the need to hold his nose, while the other kept saying, "Eewww!"  I told them that was not very professional.)

Although it looked terrible, the little thing did its job . . . IT CLOSED THE WOUND.  Praise the Lord.  Dr. Carbonell and his residents were very excited to see how well it worked. 

Dr. Carbonell finally got a look at my x-rays and told me that there are signs of bone death along the top ridge of the talus.  That is not very good news.  If the bone continues to die over the next 6 months (the usual time range for bone death after an injury), we will then have to consider more serious options (ankle replacement or ankle fusion).  However, if the bone is finished dying, I should be OK.  He said that he has had many patients who have been able to function well with the same amount of bone death that I have right now.  So, let's just pray that the blood supply has been restored to the bone and that it is in the mood to stay ALIVE!

Last night, I had this conversation with Elise . . .

"It's good that you don't have to wear your big boot anymore. Right, Mom?"

"Yes, honey."

"And, it's good that you don't have blood all over your bandage. Right, Mom?"

"Yes, honey."

"And, it's good that you didn't die during surgery. Right, Mom?"

"Yes, honey."

Sometimes life is just about the simple things.