Approximately a week later I got the chance to look at my boyfriend’s wounds again and discovered that it had changed how it was responding to the treatments we were using. When I attempted to remove the Calcium Alginate from inside the wound I realized that it was sticking, as opposed to easily disengaging. To me that was a sign that the wound was no longer moist enough to warrant using Calcium Alginate and something else needed to be used to care for the wound. I then told my boyfriend what I felt like was happening and that it was my opinion that we should again put the Iodosorb in so that some of drainage would be absorbed but that a portion of it would react with the iodine and form a gel so that the wound wouldn’t become too dry. My boyfriend at that point said it was okay with him if I again changed what we were doing because his wound care appointment was a couple of a days later and we would be able to get professional advice then.
When my boyfriend and I were on the way to his appointment I asked him if he wanted me to explain to the doctor why we were no longer following her directions to care for his wounds. My boyfriend said that he absolutely wanted me to explain our thought process to the doctor so I went into the appointment with him ready to explain and yet also somewhat nervous that the doctor would be upset that we weren’t listening to her. When we got to the appointment my boyfriend and I explained what had changed and what we were doing to the nurse so that she could document all we had done as well as photograph the wound for my boyfriend’s records. When the doctor came in she told us that she had seen a picture and that we were right it did look different. I then told her what it had looked like the previous week and hesitantly, the steps we had taken to take care of it. The doctor told me that she liked the change I had made and that it was okay that I decided that because I, “know wound care”. I was relieved that she didn’t feel like I was overstepping and also that she agreed that what we had decided to do was the right decision. She then told us that she was somewhat concerned that its wet and somewhat macerated appearance was due to an infection although we all felt that was unlikely because my boyfriend had no other signs of infection. A wound culture was taken and we were told to continue treating the wounds as we had been and that she would call if the cultures showed anything that “impressed her”. We made a follow-up appointment for two weeks later and left hoping that we would not receive a phone call saying that he needed to start antibiotics.
It was around this time that I experienced a freak accident. I was getting into the passenger side of my boyfriends car as I always do when somehow I managed to bang the back of my shoulder incredibly hard on the doorframe. My boyfriend who was outside of the car at the time actually heard the impact and was at my side seconds later asking what had happened. After a minute, when I was able to get words out, I told him what had happened and that I was in a considerable amount of pain. My boyfriend then quickly put my wheelchair in the trunk and got in his car so that we could decide what needed to be done about my shoulder. I explained to him that the point of impact was on the back of my shoulder in the area where the arm meets the shoulder but that I also had pain radiating up my neck and down my arm, about half way to my elbow. My boyfriend then looked at my shoulder to see if it looked swollen or was beginning to bruise. He told me that it looked fine but that it was up to me what I wanted to do as far as treatment. I decided that we would just go back to my house where I would apply ice and take some ibuprofen. I did that, knowing that it was important to try to prevent or at least decrease swelling. A few hours later, before my boyfriend left, he asked me what I was planning to do as far as my shoulder because the Ibuprofen and ice hadn’t really helped my pain. I told him that I was just going to go to bed and would reevaluate it in the morning. I went to bed anticipating feeling muscle soreness the next day but not really anything more than that. Unfortunately, after five days of regularly icing my shoulder and taking ibuprofen on a schedule, my pain had not gotten any better. I knew it was time to make an appointment with my primary physician.
I was able to get an appointment with my doctor for the next morning, which my boyfriend brought me to. When I saw her I explained to her what I had done and also handed her a rough drawing of my injury. She found my drawing helpful and after examining me she told me that she could feel a very severe muscle spasm and said that she was going to give me a prescription for something stronger than regular ibuprofen. My doctor also told me that she wanted an x-ray of my shoulder, although she felt it was highly unlikely that I had broken anything. As it was much more likely that I had done some damage to the tendons or ligaments, she explained that she was going to have her office staff contact my insurance company, regarding authorization for an MRI.
After I left her office my boyfriend and I dropped my prescription off at the pharmacy and proceeded to get an x-ray. When I went to get my x-ray, the technician asked me how I felt like it was going to be easiest to get the views they needed, while also trying to prevent my pain from getting worse. I explained that while I understood it was unlikely to work, that I would prefer to stay in my wheelchair. The radiology technician was unsure if that would work so she asked one of her coworkers into the room so that we could brainstorm. Ultimately, we decided to try it with me in my wheelchair and see if the images were clear, I was happy to hear that they could view what needed to be seen and that I was not going to have to transfer out of my wheelchair. I waited a couple of days for the results of the x-rays before I heard back from my doctor. I was told that the x-rays had come back negative for fractures and also for signs of a separation. At that point, I wasn’t being told anything other than what I already assumed. Then it was just a waiting game, while I waited for authorization for the MRI. For a few days during this time, my mind did start to wander into the “land of pity party” while I do not like it when other people pity me, I couldn’t help but feel somewhat sorry for myself. Here I was, still in a splint months after injuring my wrist so my mobility had already suffered when I suddenly injured my shoulder causing me to be nearly completely immobile. Luckily enough, I do have a support system in place so I was able to rest and let other people take care of me to a certain extent, all the while, helping to monitor my boyfriend’s wounds.
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