Health Improving - RAY!!!
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| Tue, 07-06-2010 - 2:07am |
Hi EveryBuggy. I'ts been a bad time since mid-March, but finally things are on the mend. Venous ulcers started forming on the right leg, same side as the broken hip. Even with visiting nurses they continued to worsen, ending up with major infection. 3 weeks on oral antibiotics made no impression, I am allergic to several of them. There were a few visits to ER, but they would not admit me. I kept asking for the dressings that had worked in the past, but they kept refusing. Eventually on 28th June, when I was on daily nurse visits, I was admitted to hospital, and put on intravenous anti-biotics. Improvement was dramatic, although the pain was still at 15 out of 10 LOL The wound specialist came to visit me and put me on the dressings that I had been asking for. Phenomenal - dramatic improvement in a couple of days. All the dead skin, that was toes to knee, disappeared, and the ulcers are slowly healing. I was sent home after 4 days, with a PICC line in my arm, so that there could be continuous intravenous anti-biotics, with nurses from the hospital coming daily to change the pump bottle. The line was removed last Thursday, nursing is back to the community nurses - wonderful! I have had a carer come in 2 days a week, for the last month, to help me shower when needed and to prepare veges and meat so I can cook for a few days. That is due to finish this week I think.
Sorry for the lengthy doom and gloom, but it is no longer here. I finally feel hopeful that maybe I really am about to become a bit more active. Currently a volunteer driver has been doing the shopping for me every fortnight - before that I would go with her - looking forward to that. I don't drive and, after the bus accident, I am too scared to catch buses again. I've been issued with 50% off taxi vouchers, from the government, so that helps heaps. Love and hugs, Jenni

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Glad u are on the mend & hopefully, u will continue improving.
Take care. God bless u & yours,
Joan
Jenni, you aren't about doom and gloom.
K
Oh for heavens sake Jenni...you don't come here and complain...ever! I totally agree with Karen. You are about courage and strength and how to fight the fight. You are here supporting others when you can...you don't just fly in and complain and leave.
I'm so sorry for all you have been going through. My sweet Mama Blu had those horrible ulcers on her legs a few years back...and I think she would agree with you about the pain being a 15 on a 1 to 10 scale. I don't know how either of you stood it. They were so difficult to get a handle on. They finally used a dressing that had silver something in it and that started the healing process for her. It took sooooo long to heal and left a nasty scar that never did go away. After her dementia set in she would say to me, "I sure do wonder what happened here to leave this terrible looking scar." She didn't remember the whole ordeal which I was thankful for.
I'm so happy you are on the mend now and have some people to help you out. Good to have you back in the Garden.
Dear Joan, Karen and Blu. Thank you so much, I do appreciate the kind words, they help a lot. Blu, it is the silver stuff that they are finally using, I've had it before and it does leave scars, but I don't care, 'cos it works! The nurse came today, and next visit will be Friday, back to Mon,Wed,Fri, the improvement continues. This particular nurse is one of the seniors and had not seen the leg for about 5 weeks - she was stunned.
There have been some good things happening also, DS1 is here on vacation from Thailand - arrived 28th June, leaves 14th - he and a friend from here are off to Bangkok, then for 10 days to Vietnam. he has been dropping in most days - often bearing breakfast. Yesterday he went to the library for me - I have not had library books since January. Everyone has been rallying with books LOL
My 2 new GrandBabies are doing so well with learning English, they are more confident every time
Oh Jenni, I knew you had been having health
Good morning, Jenni,
Your system must be different than ours.
Kathey
Dogs have families, Cats have servents.
Thank you, BB and Kathey. I am so much better now, that it is sort of receding at last, thank goodness.
ER here probably is different, this time I went in a non-urgent ambulance, with a letter from a senior nurse, but there were 70 people ahead of me in the queue, so it was a long, long wait. You have to be seen by a triage nurse first, then wait for a doctor - it is on their say so if you are admitted or not. There is technically a 4 hour turn around and a lot get sent home. This time I was admitted to the Acute Assessment ward, and the intravenous anti-biotic was started at mid-night. I was there for 3 nights, and then sent home, with their nurses coming daily to visit me at home. There are never enough hospital beds available. As an age pensioner I get free ambulance service and hospital, even the home visits. I am very lucky and I do know it. I was transferred back to community nursing last Sunday, and will be back on Monday, Wednesday and Friday visits. Saw the doctor this morning, just to monitor the blood levels with the Warfarin medication. They had found a deep vein thrombosois back at the beginning of May, so hopefully it is only another month on Warfarin. While I was in hospital I had another small TIA, which has again affected my speech. It is not too bad, but I am conscious of it. Love and hugs, Jenni
My 2 dear sons, plus the new grandbabies certainly give me a reason to keep going. I never expected DS2 to marry again and certainly not to someone who already had kids, but I am so very glad that he did. My DDIL is a great joy to me.
So glad you are improving rapidly now.
Lots of needless pain & suffering when they should have been listening to you.
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