Thursday, November 6, 2008

Day 38 - November 6, 2008

We had doctor appointments yesterday!

We saw both the orthopaedic doc and the spinal doc.

The spinal doc took out the staples, and was very pleased with her progress. He'll want to see her again in about 4 weeks to do some x-rays. But, he's happy so far!

The ortho doc spent a great deal of time with us. He undressed all her wounds and took out all the remaining sutures. They also removed the staples from her left leg. The staples in her right leg remain since that's a plastic surgery wound rather than an ortho wound. He wants her to be working to gain more ankle motion - so, pending a discussion with plastics tomorrow, she'll start working on getting motion back in her ankles. Additionally, he wants her doing more bending at the knees. His plan is to look at her again in 2 weeks, then start to make some decisions regarding timing of remaining surgeries. The surgery to do the bone graft will depend at least somewhat on plastics. Since the bone graft will be directly under the muscle graft, ortho wants to be certain they won't damage the graft when they do surgery. As such, plastics may have them hold off awhile longer before beginning that repair. He also informed us that it may take more than one surgery to get her right leg fixed. As much as we all want to think that just one more surgery will get it, it is entirely possible that it will require more than one. He also reminded us that if they are unable to get that bone to heal, an amputation is still a possibility. As far as the left foot goes, they're still not sure what they are going to do. They'll continue to watch how it is progressing and determine if and when they will do surgery. It is possible that her foot could begin to heal in a "satisfactory" manner. If it does so, she won't require surgery. This probably isn't the most optimal situation on a long-term basis, however. They would be able to better repair it surgically, but will just watch to see how it behaves. He also reminded us that on a long-term basis, the left foot is the biggest threat to her mobility.

So, we're back to rehab for now. She's progressing well on the rehab front. She's able to do many things on her own, which is more than the rehab folks thought she would be able to do. The report from this morning is that she will probably be able to go home early to mid week next week!

That's all we know for now. Please keep Mom in your prayers. She definitely has times when she gets worried about all the challenges that still lie ahead. I think she's looking forward to getting to go home, but also nervous about the challenges that will present. We also need to add another request to the list - please pray specifically for the ability of her body to heal her bones and accept a bone graft. That truly appears to be our biggest challenge of the moment. It's a big unknown and has significant implications for her long-term. We need as successful of a graft as possible - on the first try. Please keep that specifically in your prayers!

Alright - I'm going to get back to being productive at the office. As usual, thank you so much for your continued thoughts and prayers. We truly believe they make a difference!

2 comments:

Tyralee45 said...

Yeah! Home is getting closer. Once she gets home and sees that she can handle it...the nerves will settle down. Sounds like everything is still moving forward. Encouraging ankle and knee movement sounds like they expect those parts to start working. I will pray the foot starts healing on its own and for the bone(s) to heal. Everyone here keeps asking about her and we are all continuing to pray. Thanks for taking time out of you busyness to update us.

Anonymous said...

Dear Patty, Just wanted to let you know that WOCS is still praying for you. We lift you up in our devotions almost every school morning. God has you wrapped in His hands. Have a good weekend. Joanie and the WOCS staff.