Sunday, August 30, 2015

An Unperfected Day

AN UNPERFECT DAY

Keith is continuing with his Hyberbaric Oxygen treatments and we were so in hopes that his ulcer was going to be much improved when his cast was removed on Wednesday.
We patiently waited while the nurse removed the cast, which she had a difficult time doing and Keith was in some pain.
Keith wanted a photo of the ulcer as he couldn't see it on the bottom of his foot. I snapped the photo which I am sorry I did because it was bigger and worse than the week before. I had to show it to him and he was discouraged immediately.
The doctor ordered new medication for the wound and a different antibiotic. He also took a culture of the wound to see if it contained infection. After digging the dead skin out he rebandaged the wound and put on a new cast. He asked Keith to stay off of his foot as much as possible. All of this took from 7:30 A.M. until noon.

When we arrived home a half hour later, we saw that our mailbox had been torn off the post which it occupied with our neighbor. I went out to the street to investigate and asked Keith not to come as he was to stay off his foot. He couldn't contain himself so he used his walker and strode out to the mailbox. The entire board that held the box was stripped off and the box mashed and crooked in spots. There was no note of whom had done the damage. After several minutes of looking the box over and deliberating about what to do we started back to the house. Keith said, "I'll just let you push me in the walker back to the house as I am tired." I started pushing and hit a groove in the road and down he went, walker and all with me on the concrete, also. I looked and he was bleeding from the elbow, also both my knees were skinned and bleeding. I asked if he was hurt badly, but nothing
appeared broken or hurt too badly, so I tried pulling him up. It was difficult with his cast on for him to get a grip on the concrete and get himself up, not to mention the hot concrete where his hands were pushing. Finally we got him up and into the house to clean his wound on his elbow. His back was bruised but no blood. I cleaned my knees after I bandaged his elbow.
 I called our neighbor who told me the person had stopped and said he would take care of the damage to the mailboxes. He had met a golf cart and thought it was cutting into him, therefore he cut to the right and the mirror of his SUV took our mailbox out.

We know the gentleman very well who had the accident.. He came to our door and we weren't home. I got a text from his daughter saying he would pay for the damages. I felt bad for him because I know he didn't mean to do it. It was an accident.
Since it wasWednesday, it was church night and I am the teacher so I had to go, although we were having a gigantic rain storm. Keith decided he was worn out after all the days excitement so I went to church without him and let him rest.

After church I had a "handy-man" from church come to look at putting the mail box back on its post. He said he would do it the next day. I went to Home Depot the next day and got the mail box. He came in the afternoon and put it on its post. The man who had the ;accident stopped the next day and asked for the bill. I told him what it cost and he paid.

Some days are better than others. Praise God no one was injured. All is right with the world right now.

Monday, August 24, 2015

Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment

When I began writing a blog, I planned to reminence about things that had affected me previously, but this year has been a challenge. Therefore, I would like to tell you about somethings which have affected us.
In February Keith was stricken with sciatic nerve problems. There were doctor visits with pain medication which did not help. Friends suggested many over the counter drugs or apparatuses to ease the pain. He continued to play golf and suffer the consequence of pain. 
Eventually he went to Therapy for relief. He went three times a week for a month. At times the pain was better, but mostly he continued to suffer. At one point he had no pain for a couple weeks. After therapy the pain began again.
In May he had a "crack"on his foot and we treated it but it did not get well. We went to Wound Care on the advice of a friend. For four weeks he was treated for the injury and it healed on the outside. We thought we were out of the woods then.
We went for lunch with our church friends on Sunday a week before Memorial Day. Keith came down with diarrhea and feeling sick. I took him to the Emergency room and they treated him for dehydration and sent him home. The next morning, at 4 a.m. I called 911 as Keith was passing out and still severe diarrhea. They took him to the hospital.  He was diagnosed with Salmonella Poisoning. He spent four days in the hospital. Fortunately the Sciatic didn't bother him too much while he was in the hospital, but enough for pain meds sometimes.
Keith was released on Sunday at noon before Memorial Day. We left for KY and Ohio at 3 p.m. That afternoon. Keith drove to Ocalla and I drove into Georgia where we spent the night. He wanted to make it to Ohio and his Union meeting by Tuesday, which he did and our family reunion on Sunday.
We had a great two weeks seeing family and friends. We got home and returned to normal activities of golf and church.
The Wound Center had asked me to put cream on Keith's feet each night, which I did. I noticed a tiny sore spot near where the other ulcer had been. I put Neosporian on it several nights. It did not get better. Keith went for a check up at the family doctor and he sent him back to the Wound Center. As soon as the dr. Saw him he said, "I'm sending you to the hospital." The foot was infected, but it had not reached the bone. Keith spent six days in the hospital taking antibiotics interveniously.  He Had surgery on the foot.  He was blessed with seven doctors.
When he was released from the hospital he was sent back to the Wound Center who planned to put his foot in a cast in order to keep his weight off his foot. The cast had to wait as Keith was going to his cardiologist, who did an angiogram on his leg and put one stent in his abdomen. Scheduling the next surgery on that leg for September 10, which will be a three hour surgery. The poor circulation is what causes the foot to not heal properly.
The foot was put in a cast and Hyperbaric Oxygen ordered. As I sit here writing, Keith is in the chamber, where he breathes 100% oxygen for one hundred ten minutes. It is supposed to make the healing faster. This is his sixth treatment in the Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber. He is scheduled for twenty. He can gist eighteen in before his next surgery.  The only adverse affect has been his ears. He had loss of hearing previously, but now his hearing is practically gone. They tell us it will return after treatment. 
I am not complaining, but informing how life can change in a flash.