Back to the Wound Clinic

Last Thursday, the day that Sally died, we canceled our wound clinic appointment. Neither one of us was really up to it. Since Skip's wound has been progressing beautifully, it also seemed to be a very low-risk move.

So, yesterday found us back at the clinic for Skip's rescheduled appointment. Skip's aide, MW, came over about an hour before we left to give me a hand in the final prep to get Skip up and out. (I'm not exactly sure why, but getting Skip out of bed nowadays seems like a much bigger effort than before she was hospitalized. I think it's because it's no longer part of our regular routine and more of a special occasion.) The sling is working very well for the transfer and causes no pain for Skip at all.

At the clinic, once we got Skip settled in on the stretcher, the wound nurse removed all the old dressing and took measurements. While the wound hadn't shrunk as dramatically as in prior visits, the key measurement of length of the tunnel was smaller, so that was good news. The plastic surgeon came in and gave us a warm greeting, he is a very warm and friendly person. Last week, he called to give his condolences about Sally's death and he again brought up it to say how sorry he was. When he looked at Skip's wound, he declared it "superb," so everyone remains quite pleased with the healing progress.

In two weeks, when we return to the clinic, we'll meet with the infectious disease doc who consulted on Skip's osteomyelitis when she was hospitalized. He can determine when to have an MRI to confirm the state of the infection (that is, confirming its eradication!) and check the state of Skip's tissue on the left side of her butt (the MRI that disclosed the bone infection also showed damage to her left buttock tissue, a precursor to a wound on that side that has never developed).

Unlike our last trip to the clinic, the weather yesterday was mild for February, above freezing and in the 40s F, so no issue with iciness. Skip felt good being out and about. During our unusually long wait before being seen, Skip remarked how much better she felt being up and out in the world. Perhaps our next outing can be a visit to her hairdresser to get her haircut, which is about 6 weeks overdue. While we were sitting there, I joked that I should get a Flowbee to give her a haircut. On my blackberry, I googled Flowbee, and there it was, on its own website, still in existence, even though I haven't seen it advertised on tv in years. Maybe she should just get a buzzcut now while she's spending most of her time in bed. That might be fun!