Bad to the Bone

Yesterday morning, I spoke with the hospitalist (an internist) working on Skip's case. She said the MRI results indicated bone infection (osteomyelitis), and her take on it was that it was very significant. Infection was showing on both sides of her hip. She said I'd need to speak to Skip's surgeon about it in regards to treatment, but she thought the treatment would be protracted and significant, indicating that surgery would likely be used to help clear up the abcesses and dead bone tissue.

Oy! I must confess, this was the most worrisome news to date and prompted a fairly significant reaction in me. And, since it's really the surgeon's assessment and recommendation on course of action that matters in this situation, I felt wound up with the news without any way to put it into perspective as to how we'd get it fixed.

I called the surgeon's office and set up a call with him a few hours later. He had not reviewed the MRI results but said he wasn't surprised that bone infection was present after what he'd seen of Skip's wound on Monday in the ER. He said it had taken a definite turn for the worse. He painted a different picture of the treatment than the internist, indicating the infection would most likely be treated with antibiotics and this could be done at home. Of course, I took this with a grain of salt because he hasn't yet reviewed the MRI results.

I got to the hospital around 4. The surgeon came in shortly thereafter (still not having seen the MRI) and did a short debriding session. He is tentatively planning surgery for Friday. I am expecting he'll have additional insights to offer today following his review of the MRI.

In other news, Skip had a special IV line set up (PICC) that can be used for an extended period to handle her daily antibiotic regimen. She got a unit of red blood cells transfused while I was visiting and antibiotics (Zosyn) were next to be administered.

Skip isn't happy to be in the hospital, of course, but she seemed to be in pretty good spirits yesterday. She's still very weak, so I fed her dinner during my visit. I've brought in some books to read to her, and am keeping her up to date on postings here, especially comments, as she's really appreciating them. (I am, too.)