Thursday, May 1, 2014

4/30/2014 Today is Not a Good Day


OOg. 
So, the Shin Divot.   Wellll - here's my Facebook status today: 

"From a band-aid to a toe-to knee pressure bandage, an antibiotic and an appointment for a bone scan(!?!?!?) in 20 hours.

Not my favorite day. I do think this specialist is over -prescribing.... And, while that is not a good thing, I dearly hope I'm right."

Went to my appointment with the Vascular Surgeon's PA today. She thought the wound was awfully  deep - my doc had said - clear fluid, not infected. 
Megan also seemed to think so, but she grabbed on of the surgeons on the run. 
First Sutter medical professional whose care was not that stellar, that surgeon. 
He grabbed a swab to take a culture, jammed it in the wound, jabbed and twirled it about, and said, "Order a bone scan and antibiotics. if it turns out there's an infection in the bone, we'll need to do surgery to clean it out".
Full, general anesthetic surgery. which, of course, I have NO resources to pay for. The hip replacements cleaned me out and then some. 

I was hard-pressed not to cry coming out of the Doctor's office. 

More radiation, more antibiotics. AND MORE POSSIBLE SURGERY. Shit. 
If there IS infection, and if it IS in bone, I am mighty, mighty worried about my healing hips. This is supposed to NOT happen. "Don't fall. Don't get n infection." 
F*ck f*ck f*ck. 
I've been doing the best I knew to get this thing to heal. 

So... I'm reaching for the silver lining that was pretty dented today, polishing it up for an outcome of "no bone infection". I started the antibiotics tonight. 
I have this bandage that involves two different sized Ace bandages, gauze, a huge gob of Zinc Oxide smushed into the wound wrapped tightly, but not TOO tightly, changed twice a day. Don't get it wet. 
(I did have this checked a week after the fall, and the doc said no infection. it took several weeks for it to start looking like it wasn't healing - and what it started hurting, I called right away. apparently it should have been even sooner. 

(Going to have to add black leggings to my black cocktail dress in act II this weekend :P ) 

Tomorrow I will go in at 10 am, get injected with radioactive dye which is given several hours to course through your body and into your bones. The at 2pm, I'll go back for the scan. Information I read tells me that by the end of the day, "the majority of the radiation comes out in your urine. Wash your hands thoroughly. No one you come in contact with is in danger from radiation." 

The lesson here for you, Dear Readers, is that - if you DO do the unthinkable and fall, keep an eye on it. If you get a scrape of some kind, even if, like me, you have no risk of diabetes, heart disease, or other kinds of diseases that might cause vascular problems - this is a "Persistent Vascular Ulceration", BTW - watch it REALLLY closely. 
I though I was. 
If you see any thing out of the ordinary, Get it CHECKED. 

Big hopes and wishes that the outcomes tomorrow are: 
"No Bone Infection, so No Surgery"... and that the pressure bandage and zinc treatment   and the damn antibiotics - have me all fixed up in no time. 

I have concerns abut Antibiotic side effects. I can live with them, but in a show, it is a real issue to have digestive distress - especially if the only loo is in the lobby of the theatre, and you don't have time between most of your scenes to deal with it. 

Fun. "Small bump in the Road" mantra today. 

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