NOW WHAT???

And now THIS time, my two docs say things seem to be at a standstill and the surgeon wants to re-open the incision after we get the culture report in a day or two from the germ doc. It seems the bug is fighting back and con possibly only be killed with exposure to air and the incision allowed to heal in from the bottom up by itself. This can take weeks and I REALLY wanted to have my knees done, but the ortho doc wont until all incisions are closed and there is no sign of infection anywhere in my body ......RATPOOP!!! It's enough to piss off the Pope.

Saw my surgeon today. He says things are healing very well judging by the decreasing length of the sinus tract and the minimal amount of drainage coming from them (2). He thinks I may have complete healing by the end of September which is 10 days, but I see the sinus tract as half full which is the opposite of the pessimistic's "glass is half-full". 'nother words, I think it will be not until the end of October.
After no more drainage and total closure of tracts, I get to go off my IV ertapenum (IVANZ) antibiotic and IF the bloodtests after those two weeks are OK, I can safely have my knees fixed. Both hurt like HELL< but I will press for having the left one done first to remove and replace the total joint which is wornout after nearly 12 years and maybe the right will hurt less if the left is working better. Just a shot of Cortisone in the right may help, too. Well see. At any rate, things are coming along.

Waiting is irritating

I am waiting for a whole lot of things--some good some bad and some both.
The best "both" is waiting for the infection in my abdominal incision to heal properly so I will be considered germ-free so I can go have MORE surgery--I have pain in both knees varying from 4 to 9 on the "OUCH SCALE".By the way, the Acronym OUCH stands for OH YOU (U) CAN HURT. This was invented at the University of Hard Knox by Perfesser Boithaturts and his staff when when their studies over many years proved that some pains hurt worse than others:
Pimple on nose
Punch on nose
Smash on head with punch bowl
Smash on toe with bowling ball
Bowling ball sized cannon ball through abdomen
Any how you get the idea. Their main contribution to the medical world was to quantify these pains so nurses and doctors would know how much sympathy to show on their faces and possibly how much pain relieving drugs to give Many care3 givers seem to think that every single pill or shot for pain is personally coming out of their own pocket and it must be wrong to not have pain anyhow. A secondary component of this "OUCH SCALE" is known as the "How turrible is the verbal"--meaning how loud the patient is mentioning, yelling, screaming, bawling, and so on. This can also be quantified on a scale of 1-10. The best results can be gained by combining BOTH scales.
A small collarary to the two scales is the difference if the pain is YOURS or some other guy. Yours is ALWAYS WORSE BY AT LEAST TWO STEPS THAN ANYONE ELSES.
So the abdominal pain is only 1 or so now and the post-op knee surgery pain will be up to 8 or 9, but I am hoping I get a surgeon who has had surgery before and has good sympathy so It can be brought down to 3 -4 which is tolerable as that is where the pain in my left knee has been for aver thirty years. I also hope after the surgical pain is gone,I will be pain-free and can bend the knee to 90 degrees so I don't have to sit on the aisle all the time with the leg stuck out. I'd like to try riding a bike again and to be able to do the Walk For The Cure once. We'll see.

Rarities of disease-a family connection??

Grandson Steven just got out of the hospital after being diagnosed with viral pancreatitis. This is a very rare occurrence in a kid. He had a stomach ache and pain over both kidneys and a fever. The doc at Children's Hospital in St. Paul had it diagnosed in less than two hours when the internet suggests it may take up to 6 days to do so due to the rarity. WOW!! Nice going Doc.
In the family, Sessa (Steve's Grandpa) has had over 34 operations and the oddest thing he had once was Tolosa-Hunt Syndrome (Vasculitis of the blood vessels behind the eyes in the brain)---severe pain in head treated with Prednisone for 9 months and cured with NO re0currence.
Steve's Grandpa's Brother naned Michael had a rare form of TB and got cured and ten years later, he got Wegeners Granulomatosis which is a rare auto immune disease that killed him after two years of fighting it.
Sessa and Mike's Mother died from malignant melanoma and their Dad of stomach cancer. Everyone else is healthy and now that Steve has had the pancreatitis and is OK again, this should be the end of it (God willing-and the creek don't rise). We are all sure glad our prayers for Steven and his family worked out and the sigh of relief was immense.