Everything had been going well in the six weeks since I was discharged from the Wound Care Center, and in the three weeks that I have been discharged by my visiting nurses. During this time I had continued to monitor the spot where my wound had been so that I would be aware from the beginning if anything changed. Last week I asked my boyfriend to take a picture of it so that I could see what was going on. I got a little nervous when I saw the photo. It seemed to us that a tiny bubble had developed at the same part of the wound that was the slowest to close. My instincts told me to call the doctor right away but for some reason I decided to wait. Why I decided to wait is completely beyond me, especially after all I had been through in the past three years. A few days later when I saw another photo I was less disturbed by it because the bubble seemed to have flattened out. I was calm, yet still felt like maybe it was worth a call to my surgeon. I decided to wait another few days, until I saw a third picture. The third picture wasn't exactly of a bubble but that spot had turned very red, it looked almost like a bright red jellybean, except a whole lot smaller.
I called my surgeon's office to try to get his opinion on what he thought I should do and it turns out that he was out of town. After I had sent messages to my surgeon through his office, I was told that he had said he would be back the following week but that I could go to the Wound Care Center before that if I did not feel comfortable waiting for him to return. He also said that I could also email him the pictures if I wanted his eyes as close to the situation as they could be at that point. Needless to say, I had had enough of waiting and immediately called and set up an appointment for the next morning, and then emailed the pictures to my surgeon. Obviously I was nervous about what was potentially happening but I also had it in my head that sometimes I get a little overly paranoid about this sort of thing and so there was a chance that I would be told that everything was fine when I had my appointment.
When I got there I saw one of the nurses that I had seen before and was very comfortable with and explained to him what was going on and that while I hoped I was just being paranoid I really couldn't be sure that I was. When the wound was looked at I was told that a small part of it had opened again. To say that I was displeased with this news was an understatement to say the least. When the doctor that I was seeing came in, I told her a little bit of the backstory and of what I felt was going on and then she proceeded to take a look. When the wound was probed she said that it had some depth to it. I held it together at that news but was incredibly unhappy. That is when I was told, that my instincts to get it checked were correct and that it was good that I hadn't been complacent. The doctor then told me that we would need to call and get my visiting nurses back and that she wanted me to use Hydrofera Blue again. She also said that although on physical exam she did not appreciate any bone involvement, she did want to order an MRI just to be on the safe side. At this point, being on the safe side is totally okay with me!
My instincts to get in touch with the doctor when I first saw that something may have been weird were correct. The feeling was not of absolute doom and gloom though so I waited. Waiting, though probably not the best decision was one that I myself made and I realize that beating myself up over it is not going to help anything. I am currently waiting for the MRI to be scheduled and hopefully that is able to be done before my surgeon comes back next week. I am now playing the waiting game until we find out more information.
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