Doctors Appointment Today and an update

I finally have some information to share again on the leg front. I had my second follow up appointment with Dr. Higgins, the plastic surgeon, this afternoon. He was again very pleased with how things look and said that I could start doing dressing changes at home. More importantly - I CAN SHOWER!! Whoopee! It has been 43 days since I've been able to take a shower and wash my hair. P U! Granted I've been bathing with a wash cloth, but it just isn't the same. I can't get the PICC line wet, so I'll have to duct tape a plastic bag around my bicep, but that is a small price to pay to be able to sit and let glorious hot water pour over my head and body. I can't wait.

The appointment was pretty entertaining. Since he had told us last week that we would start doing dressing changes after today, both of my parents came back to the exam room so that they could receive instructions and/or ask questions. My nurse case manager had another nurse along with her today to show her the ropes. Her name was Paget. So when they called my name I brought an entourage of four along with me to the exam room which was pretty tiny. Dr. Higgins was pretty amused when he came in.

As was the case last week, it still looks pretty funky, but it was noticeably smaller and the graft area is filling in. Dr. Higgins was again full of explanations about how things looked and what to expect. I thought the most entertaining part of the visit was when he was reassuring my parents and I that we didn't have to be ultra careful about messing up the skin graft. He illustrated this by poking the area with his fingers and even lightly slapping my knee a few times. It still has a ways to go before it is healed, but he wanted us to feel comfortable that we weren't going to ruin the skin graft by touching or washing it. It was quite comical.

I've still got two more weeks to go of the antibiotics and then another two weeks before Dr. Brumback, the orthopaedic surgeon, comes back in the picture to assess how the bone is healing.

On an unrelated front we've had a bit more drama here lately. Danielle was in a car accident Monday night. She is perfectly fine, but her car is most likely totalled. It was raining like crazy Monday night and an oncoming driver attempted a left hand turn, pulled in front of her and they hit head on. She doesn't drive stick, so she can't drive my car. Right now she is dealing with police and insurance companies to get a replacement vehicle. She just started substitute teaching last week, so the lack of transportation has thrown another twist into our already complicated lives.

With the help of friends and family we have been managing and will continue to do so.