A lot has happened since my post last Friday about the infection in my foot.
It continued to get worse and by Saturday I ended up in the emergency room at Edward Hospital because of a hole that had developed in my foot.
The ER doctors were concerned that the infection had possibly spread to the hardware in my foot and/or bones. They called my orthopedic surgeon (Dr. Arndt) and I was admitted to the hospital and started IV antibiotics immediately. They scheduled me to have surgery #4 the next morning (Sunday) to try to get rid of the infected tissue and to see if it had spread (the surgery was performed by Dr. Arndt).
The surgery went well, and there were no initial signs that the infection had spread to the hardware or my bones - yay! Dr. Arndt successfully removed all of the dead and infected tissues, and took many cultures to determine which infection(s) were present. All but one culture has come back, and so far I've tested positive for E. coli (not the type that's common with the digestive tract, but a kind that can sometimes occur in an incision after a surgery). The team immediately switched my IV antibiotic to one that is geared toward this type of E. coli.
They placed a "wound vac" in place, which essentially is a foam pad over the incision with a tube that connects it to a vacuum-type machine. This machine virtually sucks out any drainage as it develops, helping to prevent another infection from developing and speeding up the healing process. I will be using the wound vac at home 24/7 for the next two to three weeks, having a home care nurse coming three times per week to change the foam pad dressing.
I had my first dressing change in the hospital today, and was pleasantly surprised to see that most of the incision had been able to be closed with stitches! We were told by the wound care team that the foam pad is typically placed inside the open wound and changing it is very painful. But since I have the stitches in place, the wound is almost completely closed, so the dressing change was a piece of cake! They will continue with the wound vac, as there still has been drainage, and we need to be certain that it gets sucked away from the incision.
I was discharged from the hospital this afternoon (Tuesday)! However, I was told that this next week is critical to ensure that a new infection doesn't develop, as the tissue in that area is very fragile. I was sent home with an oral version of the antibiotic for this strain of E. coli, which I will probably be taking for several months. Having so much hardware in my foot puts me at a higher risk of an infection developing and/or spreading in that area.
My instructions for the next week basically have me elevating my foot as much as possible. The wound care team said that I need to avoid any swelling as much as possible, as that is basically drainage inside the wound that can cause another infection. I can still be up and around briefly using the crutches or knee scooter, but only when I really have to be.
In one week I will go back to Dr. Arndt to check my progress and see where to go from there. Fortunately, from an orthopedic standpoint, nothing has changed in terms of my recovery from surgery #3 six weeks ago since my bones and the hardware were not affected by this infection. I will also be needing to go see the infectious disease doctor in a couple weeks so that he can assess the wound and take cultures to be sure that I continue to be infection-free.
We cannot even begin to thank all of you for your kind words of support, thoughts and prayers during all of this! And especially to those who have been helping out with our family while I've been in the hospital for the past four days (and of course those who've called, texted, emailed and visited me)!!
Many of you have asked how you can help (we don't even know what to say...we have been SO blessed by our very LARGE supportive community over the years with Ella's diagnosis & surgeries, and now my surgeries in the past year!).
Right now we're still trying to figure out what our needs will be, as this infection/surgery was unexpected and we're not sure exactly what my recovery will entail (there may be last minute appointments, setbacks, etc.). A lot of people have asked about starting a meal train, and we definitely feel that dinners will be extremely helpful right now! However, with the uncertainty of what each day will bring, it's hard for us to commit to any type of schedule for people to sign up to bring a meal. For those families who have asked to bring a meal, we are wondering if it would be possible for a couple families to go in together on a restaurant gift card for a place that either delivers or has carry out. We've learned from Ella's past surgeries that this provides a lot of flexibility for us when we aren't 100% certain of what each day will bring.
We're not sure yet if we'll be needing an extra set of hands on weekdays once the kids get home from school before Michael gets home from work. We will have to take it one day at a time and go from there.
Again, we can't thank everyone enough for the love and support you have given to our family. We are so incredibly comforted knowing we are not alone during all of this!!
