My visiting nurse and I called the wound care center that had opened in my neighborhood and explained that I needed to be seen for a second opinion and generally what had been going on. I was able to get an appointment the following week so we continued to treat the wound as we had been with the Prisma.
The day of the appointment with the new doctor I was optimistic that something would be done to help this wound. I went in and originally met with a nurse to give her all of the background information that she needed. The nurse looked at the wound and said that she saw what I meant about the edges being very thick and rolled and that she would be back with the doctor in a few minutes.
When the nurse came back in with the doctor we both explained to him what had been going on and for how long (25 months). When the doctor looked at my wound he completely agreed that the edges needed to be removed for anything to progress. I thought it was awesome that finally a doctor was being reasonable and seemed to have knowledge about how wounds heal.
He also mentioned that I may want to consider 'flap surgery' to close the wound. That had been mentioned to me previously, at the first wound care center. That surgery seemed pretty extensive and also by the time it was mentioned by the first surgeon, I no longer trusted her. So there was no way that I was going to consent to another surgery with her, especially one that extensive.
I explained that it sounded sort of extreme and that I wasn't too sure how I felt about it, but I most definitely did want to do something about the edges of the wound. That is when they explained to me that while the wound was surgical, they did not actually have a surgeon that worked with them so they would have to refer me somewhere else. When it came time for them to give me a referral the nurse gave me the name of someone that she knew and trusted completely. She said that he was very good and that she had confidence that he would be helpful. Until I was able to get to, what would end up being my third opinion, they explained that basically it did not matter what we used in the wound. They had some of the calcium alginate dressings there so they used that and sent me home.
I left that appointment feeling like I had maybe gotten to the turning point. Based on a new referral to a surgeon that this wound would be treated effectively and I could move on with my life. When my nurse came the following day to change the dressing I told her all about what had happened the day before and that I was given a name and number to call. She said that it was great that we had left the first wound care center. That is when I realized that the appointment would need to be cancelled. I was a chicken and did not want to call and cancel it myself so I asked my nurse to do it. It was done in about two seconds. After we cancelled the appointment a new one needed to be made with the surgeon I had been referred to. That was scheduled for the following week.
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