Bad news is hard to write...

I have delayed in updating my blog because I find that bad news is hard for me to write. A week and a half ago I went in to see my other surgeon and the wound had separated so far that the skin broke free from the stitches. No wonder it had been hurting!

Wound Care Center:
She and my plastic surgeon talked and decided to send me back to the Wound Care Center. That was an experience. They are so good but really aggressive when it comes to debriding a wound. The doctor goes after the wound with little scissors and a scalpel cutting and scraping away ALL tissue that he thinks is not healthy. Whoa baby. The first time I had to change my bandages at home after that, I had to go lay down. I broke out in a sweat and got light headed just from looking at the wound. For those who know me well, it tells you what it must look like to have that effect on me. I am usually unphased by that type of thing.

Hyperbaric Oxygen (HBO) Treatment:
The wound care doctor called the Hyperbaric Oxygen (HBO) doctor and I went directly from the wound care center to the HBO center at John Muir. They evaluated me and began HBO at 8AM the next morning on a Saturday. They wanted me to be treated twice a day for the first few days, but I told them I would go everyday, but not twice a day. There is a risk for oxygen toxicity if you spend too much time in 100% oxygen at 2 atmospheres of pressure. I didn't feel that the benefit outweighed the risk.

I have had 5 treatments. They think I will need 40-60 treatments. That was a bit overwhelming to hear. I got home and had a good long cry. Ron just sat with me while I cried and ran his fingers through my hair and quietly prayed for me. It was just what I needed. The next day I felt much better and stronger.

Surgery:
I saw my plastic surgeon again yesterday. He said the tissue in the wound looks good for the most part. Thank the Lord there is no infection. There is still some necrotic (dead) tissue that has developed since the last time the wound was debrided (cleaned out). He said that he hopes in two weeks with hyperbaric treatment and wound care that the necrotic tissue will be gone. If that is the case, he wants to take me back into surgery to close the wound. It just continues to get wider and wider, so he has to do something. The least invasive would be to cut away some of the tissue in the center and then bring the skin that is left back together so it will heal. If that does not work, then he will do a skin graft. I am praying the first surgery will work. They hope that since I will have a couple of weeks of hyperbaric treatments already done and will continue to go to treatment for a number of weeks afterward that the surgery will work. I will probably have surgery the week before Easter, if all goes well.

Thank you for your prayers. I had great favor to get into both the wound care and the hyperbaric treatment so quickly. We got to know everyone in both places well last time around. They were all very happy to see us, though sad that I had to be back. I trust the Lord has more for Ron and me to do in those places, we desire to be a blessing and used by the Lord there again.

Thank you for your prayers, especially that I can stay focused on the Lord and His goodness. This delay was not in my plans, so I am having to give my agenda and time schedule to the Lord again. He knows and I trust Him. Thank you!!