Happy, Safe, Fourth of July to all of you. Yesterday we drove to Portland so Mike could see competent doctors/surgeons in wound care. He will be followed weekly by a vascular surgeon and a wound care specialist at OHSU. His swelling is down so much- the size of his legs look almost “normal.” His legs will never be normal looking, but the good news is that he will heal! It will just take a very long time. He is on bed-rest for a long time (months actually) He can dangle his legs for 3 hours (max) a day. He can travel. Walk etc…but he has to have these special compression wraps on when he does. He also now weighs 310 pounds.
We will be driving to Portland every week. The gas is going to be a challenge, it is a long drive but we will make it work. He is now in the best hands he could be in. We had a home health care worker come on Tuesday to “care” for him. All I can say is “Ugh!” She had no idea how to put the circaid on his legs, she said she was going to “rewrite” all his orders from the hospital because they were “wrong.” First of all, she doesn’t have the authority to rewrite doctor’s orders and I followed her outside and gave her an order all my own. I told her not to come back, she is not going to be his home health care worker. Then I went into the house and called the service and cancelled any health care worker coming here. Yesterday, the surgeon who will now be seeing Mike weekly in Portland applauded my actions. He will be following Mike closely and he said that if we run into any issues to contact him immediately. So that is what I am doing.
Mike’s legs are crusty- but they aren’t the angry red color they used to be. He’s grumbling about the bed rest- but he has to grumble about something. LOL I have to say I am the most encouraged I have been in quite awhile about his legs and the care he will be getting. I will do my best to get him to lose the weight they want him to lose ( a slow gradual loss of 150 pounds is what they are shooting for.) Once he is healthy and slimmer, they will go in and do a surgical debreedment of his legs but not until then. They wear these tags at this hospital that says “I Care” I have to say, by their actions yesterday, they live by their motto.
I met so many people yesterday who have been traveling great distances to this hospital to get quality care. One woman drives from Medford to Portland weekly! She has an autoimmune disease and she said that for the first time in 8 years, she can finally breathe again. She’s off oxygen entirely now and said the trip is arduous and expensive but well worth the rewards it has reaped for her and her family. Medford is 7 hours from Portland.
Happy 4th to you!! And it sounds like Mike is in the best hands.
This is excellent news. It sounds like the trips will be well worth it.
I am astounded at how bad some health-care is these days. What’s the point of living in these times with all the much-touted advances in medicine if they are not available, or are too expensive, or incompetently applied? The net result for the patients are often no different than they were a hundred and fifty years ago.
But it sounds like Mike is in the right hands now. Well done!
I think it speaks volumes that people such as Mike and myself are willing to drive 2-8 hours away to find competent healthcare. I know the local hospital has a long list of medical malpractice suits against it. I hear horror stories daily from people who go to this hospital and are misdiagnosed, given medicine that harms them. I talked to a lady whose grandson was sent to this hospital. The boy was 3 years old and pooping blood. They were told the child had swallowed a bunch of aspirin, his stomach was pumped and he was sent home. He got really sick at home so they took him to OSHU and found out he had a bad strain of e-coli!
I should read your blog more often. I wasn’t aware of the latest health issues for Mike. I’m glad he’s finally seeing the kind of dr and staff he needs! I know how I’ve lost my weight is probably not what they’d recommend for Mike, I also believe it would work. You haven’t seen me in a long time, and you would no longer recognize me. I’ve lost over 177 pounds.
Pat! I have been wondering how you’ve been? Congrats on the weight loss. Guess I should post in the forums more often if it flushes you out. 🙂 Mike’s weight loss has to be gradual. Right now, he is down 58 pounds- I’ve lost enough weight to take my belt in three more holes.
He goes in for his procedure on the 17th. he will be in the hospital for a few days and probably not feeling the best once they de-breed his legs. But hopefully, it will be okay in the end.
I just learned that an old board member has passed away. Tania, the gal I partnered in with kitten-rescue is no longer with us. She was 36 years old when she died. 🙁 All those kittens she rescued were so lucky to have her. I will miss her tremendously.
I saw your top post on this blog about Tania..makes me very sad. I agree about gradual being the best – I’ve done this over the past 3 years+, usually just a steady 1+ pounds per week.