Friday, October 1, 2010

Axis wound taken on September 29th, 2010

The picture pretty much sums up the progress of the wound as of today. Less pain now. I am now finally on the upswing of my recovery. You can still see the squares from the skin graph on the inside of the wound. The depth has decreased from 3 and 1/2 centimeters. to now .5 centimeters.
The nurses and surgeon are amazed at the rate of healing and recovery. I have to admit that when I originally saw my wound, I was sure it would take months to recover to this extent. The graph wound is getting better but has been more painful that the axis wound. The adaptix bandage is finally gone. the wound is now scabbed, itchy and peeling. I still cannot wear anything except skirts and dresses. Finally yesterday I made it to half of my sons football game. I overdid it. I thought I was recovered enough to make the attempt and the nurses gave me the thumbs up as they understood for weeks now that it was my only goal. I have missed every game since this process began. The car drive and maybe two hours away took a serious toll on me. I even said on the way home that I just wanted to cry. It really gave me a reality check. The nurse and therapist who came to see me today was not surprised that I am paying a price for the decision to go to that game. Even just half of the game. I am proud that I made it. I feel defeated that I was wrong about my own progress.

Removal of the Vac machine from the wound

Here is the wound after wound vac removal. I believe this was done on Monday, September 20th. I am not sure now. I have been in so much pain. My arm and leg prevents me from doing much of anything. I still have not been out of my house except for surgeries and appointments and didnt care to even really even make it to the bathroom. Which was another intense task in itself! I cannot stand, be seated, walk, change clothes, reach anything, or even get into or out of bed without help. Lori gives me sponge baths and shampoos my hair every few days. You can see clearly the graph from my leg, inside of axis wound. The vac machine has done an amazing job of speeding up my healing process. So many things would have gone wrong without the help of my Home health care nurses. I would not have survived without my family. I would not recommend this surgery without Insurance, home health care nurses, vac machine, family support, and lots of money in the bank. I have spent a lot of money on wound care supplies that I didnt even know existed!
Also, plan on being off work and completely unproductive for atleast a month.
No matter what your surgeon tells you!