Bad news!

[Falkenbach]

I missed this thread until now. OB, I'm with you (in thought). I do know what it's like to not be able to get around, and not be pain-free, but i can't BEGIN to imagine what it's like to be losing your toes. I just hope it fixes the problem for you and gives you back some normality.

[Ohio Buckeye]

Well, Mon. am is my surgery.  I probably won't be on the site for a while.
I will miss you all for a few days.  I wish I could go to Vegas to meet many of you.
Please pray that the graft will help my heel to heal and the toes heal good and
will be pain free.  I hope this is the beginning of the end of this ordeal.
Everyone is being so helpful providing transportation and bringing me in meals, etc.
I have the most caring friends.  So fortunate.
Take care all and God bless!!!
Jan, aka Ohio Buckeye
getting ready to watch Buckeyes play Purdue.  GO BUCKS!!!!

[goofynina]

O.B.  You take care and we will be here waiting for you.    We will miss you also but we know what you are going through and we understand    You just take care of your foot and get well soon and remember, we love you sooooo much. 

[charee]

hope all goes well ob, take care

[Falkenbach]

getting ready to watch Buckeyes play Purdue.  GO BUCKS!!!!

Hope your team wins! 

[Sluff]

OB good luck and I will be praying for you and hope the surgery is a success. 

[paris]

OB- hope all goes well. Saying prayers for you.  Wish I was in Columbus to visit.

[lola]

OB i'll say extra prayers for you, hang in there and we'll be here waiting for you return

[Roxy]

Keeping you in my prayers 

[Laurie]

OB, I hope all goes well, good luck 

[aharris2]

Well, Mon. am is my surgery...I hope this is the beginning of the end of this ordeal.
Everyone is being so helpful providing transportation and bringing me in meals, etc.
I have the most caring friends.  So fortunate.
Take care all and God bless!!!
Jan, aka Ohio Buckeye
getting ready to watch Buckeyes play Purdue.  GO BUCKS!!!!

OB, Best of luck with your surgery. Be optimistic, don't let anyone discourage you - especially the non wound care doctors. It is a specialty for a good reason - cutting edge new techniques are always emerging. It took Rolando 4 years to heal a heel wound (diabetic, brought on by calciphylaxis) and it was interesting to watch the new treatments emerge. He's sleeping now, next to the computer as I write. I look at his foot and instead of a mass of bandages, he has on a sock. Instead of extensive wound care, we now only have to moisturize it. His shoe (special for now) is under the bed. Wounds will teach you patience.

You said something about a boot to keep pressure off? Is it a waffle boot? Rolando has used one whenever something new was put in place on his heel. It was immensely helpful. He even stood up in it and it held up and protected (definitely not what it is designed for, but we have no choice since he only has one leg for transfers).

The question of why not earlier for the graft was presented. For sure the blood supply had to be (re)established first. Also, in reading your posts, it seems that your wound needed and was debrided of dead tissue each time you went to the wound care center. In our experience, the wound bed needed to be healthy (stable, clean, and "beefy red" as they loved to say) before anything positive could be done - apligraf (growth factors), wound vac (capillary development), oasis graft (scaffolding matrix), and/or a regular graft. Perhaps that's why it has taken this long to get to the point of surgery.

[Ohio Buckeye]

hi
I'm still home right now.
OMG, 4 years.
thanks for the helpful info from someone who's been there. 
Can Arlando wear a regular shoe yet?  Does he still have pain?
The wound dr. told me that the graft has tiny antibiotics in it that open
over a 90 day period so I have antibiotics in my heel for 90 days. that's interesting.
Said I can't get it wet but it can't dry out from the mineral oil.
I don't quite understand if the graft is absorbed by the body or how they know if it is
healing with the graft on it if you know what I mean.
Have a good time in Vegas. 

[MyssAnne]

OB, sounds as if the procedure went pretty well. That IS interesting, you have a steady infusion of antibiotics. Why they couldn't do that earlier, who knows. I'm glad you have people taking care of you.

[goofynina]

   Awesome info Alene and very interesting too, thanks for sharing that 

O.B.  Thinking of you and no worries, tomorrow will be over soon and you'll be back home and on your way to recovery 

[okarol]

 
Sending hugs your way OB!

[aharris2]

hi
I'm still home right now.
OMG, 4 years.
thanks for the helpful info from someone who's been there. 
Can Arlando wear a regular shoe yet?  Does he still have pain?
The wound dr. told me that the graft has tiny antibiotics in it that open
over a 90 day period so I have antibiotics in my heel for 90 days. that's interesting.
Said I can't get it wet but it can't dry out from the mineral oil.
I don't quite understand if the graft is absorbed by the body or how they know if it is
healing with the graft on it if you know what I mean.
Have a good time in Vegas. 

Interesting! Tell me about your graft - is it your own natural skin "harvested" from another part of your body or is it something else? I have read about these antibiotic beads before but they were never used on Rolando.

No, Rolando doesn't wear a regular shoe yet. It has only been a couple of months since the heel has healed.
It is a Darco sandal - not fashionable, but not ugly either. We are still looking forward to real (diabetic) shoes.

Regarding pain... As bad as diabetic neuropathy is, there is one good aspect - he could never feel the wound care or the wound on his foot. He could feel the ones higher up on his leg (negative) but they healed faster (positive). I would be optimistic that the surgery will relieve your pain. They will no longer be constantly irritating your heel by debriding and with the establishment of new skin, it will be protected. Regarding your toes, our wound care doctor told us that tissue death hurts a lot. He said that that's what the pain from a heart attack is - the death of heart tissue. And, your toes too have been subjected to the constant, irritating debriding. You will most likely experience some post surgical pain, but then I am hoping and expecting that your foot will begin to feel much much better.

[Ohio Buckeye]

Thanks for the info.
This graft will be artificial skin but will have particles of my skin in it from the
edge of my wound and probably some good skin from the toes.  He said having
some of my own skin cells in it would be a good thing.
The heel pain is bad but the toe pain is almost unbearable.
The dead tissue smells bad also. 
I got a special surgical shoe that has no toes in it and no heel.
It is rather uncomfortable.  I feel better with no shoe on.
I've had one I've been using but this one seems to be better made
and sturdier, but ugly and awkward.
Am looking forward to wearing a regular shoe again (and a pair of hose).
I will be grateful to have the painful debriding behind me. (I hope).
I had no idea before this what wound patients had to go through.
I have a new respect for them.
I'm glad you get to make the trip to Vegas.  wish I could.
It would be great to meet you in person.
My surgery is 8:30am.  As much as I dread it and hate it I hope it will bring
healing.  thanks for the encouraging words.
I needed to hear some today.
 Let me know when he gets to wear a regular diabetic shoe. 

[glitter]

good luck 

[Falkenbach]

So, today is Monday - today was the day for the surgery, I think? I'm not sure what the time is in the US, but I'm looking forward to hearing an update in the coming days, or if anyone knows OB on a personal level, I hope you can update us before then.

[aharris2]

OB, we send you good thoughts and wishes and prayers and a great big A-B-R-A-Z-O 
The Buckeyes won, now it's your turn!

[paddbear0000]

Good luck! I hope everything went well and continues to do so!   

[goofynina]

Sending good thoughts and prayers your way today O.B.  Looking forward to hearing from you again soon.  Get Well Soon  Love ya friend 

[paris]

Been thinking about you all day, O.B.  Hope you doing OK.

[okarol]

{{{HUGS}}} and good wishes coming your way OB.

 

[Joe Paul]

Hope it went well