We seem to live in the orthopedic’s office these days. We went in again today for what was supposed to be a routine cast change and wound cleaning. While we were in the waiting room, the doc saw us there and asked how we were doing. We weren’t supposed to see him today, just his nurse, so it was good to touch base with him. I told him all was well. We chatted a sec and then he went back in. Apparently, he asked his nurse to get him when it was our turn so he could check on Derek since he was there.
We got into the cast changing room and the nurse used that loud machine to take the cast off. It must have been painful this time, because Derek cried and begged her to stop.
Derek sporting his new red cast after playing in the backyard all afternoon with his brothers. That is Troy next to him.
We were both kind of surprised by that. When she removed the dressing off the wound, she went and got the doc. He came in and looked it over. He didn’t say much at first, and when he did, I could tell he was trying to find the right words. Apparently, the skin graft is not taking in certain parts of the foot. In the areas that are fine, the graft area has a lot of new, pink skin growth. In the areas it is not taking, it is white and looks like snake skin that has been shed.
He told me that it is possible that we could wait and let the skin slowly fill in the areas that are not taking at the moment, although that would make the healing process take longer. He also gave me the option to do another skin graft on Monday. Wanting what is best for Derek, I asked him what he thought the best option would be. At first he started to make an appointment for another skin graft, causing my heart to sink yet again, envisioning more pain at another donor site and another week of the wound vac, but then he changed his mind. He said that we should wait and see how things look in 2-6 weeks. He said that if we wait and let the skin fill in on its own where the graft didn’t take, there is a chance the scar tissue will be too thick and we would have to go back and do a skin graft again anyway, but this way we might also be able to avoid it. It was not the best doctor visit today.
I trust this guy. He has been really good and thorough thus far, so I will take his advice. This was definitely not the kind of news I was expecting or hoping for when I went in today, but I guess it could have been worse. The good news is that the exposed bone is now completely covered up with natural tissue, so the risk of bone infection is almost nothing. Apparently they were really concerned about that, although they did a good job minimizing that fear with me.
After he left, the nurse put on a new red cast. In a few weeks, they will put a cast on with a
Derek stuck in a tree after the doctor's appointment.
door-like thingy so I can go in and change the dressings myself instead of bringing him in all the time. I think that is supposed to be a good thing…
We go back on Tuesday for another cast, another change in dressing, and another investigation. I should know more about what we are going to do about the skin graft then. For now I have to keep Derek from climbing trees. After we got home, Derek went straight to the back yard. A few minutes later, Troy comes running in all panicked, telling me he is stuck in a tree. Only Derek.
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