Become an Insider

Knee Infection* The girl with the two fake knees

Jen, sending positive energy your way. You are so strong, so determined! It's awful to feel down. This recovery process even without any complications is so arduous. I watched a movie last night that made me smile, its The Christmas Cinderella. It was uplifting. Here is a hope that tomorrow is just a bit brighter....


Sent from my iPad using broken link removed: https://r.tapatalk.com/byo?rid=75543
 
Thank you so much for the well wishes. I do feel better today. I was able to get out of the house for the first time on 12/26 and it was great, but it was very tiring. I've not been out again since, but I have my OS on January 3rd. I am just enjoying the peace and quiet and reading, doing crosswords, watching stuff on TV and Netflix, all sorts of stuff. I'm also winding down my football pool for the year, so that will be good too! I may place in 3rd, which is a huge change for me! In the 10+ years that I've run it, I've never been higher than 7th or 8th and I'm usually last! It's fun, but I do need a break until next season so I can cheer the Oakland Raiders on to victory!!

I am continuing to do wound care. I'm more concerned about it because there seem to be "pockets" that open up each day, or actually one pocket that gets bigger. The fill-in nurse mentioned last week that there is something they can use on it to get the slough off and that will help with the healing. It seems to be getting smaller around, but deeper. I used a lot more aquacel today when I put it on and I'm now having to "pack" the ribbon into the pocket. So, I'll see what my OS says. It still doesn't appear infected, but I can see one of the internal stitches above the pocket and it's getting a little more uncomfortable. I do take a picture every day just to keep track of it. I'm afraid it's going to get deeper and deeper and more desperate measures will need to be taken. I'll just keep an eye on it and do what I need to do!

Here is the latest picture I took today. This actually looks pretty good. The top of the picture is my thigh/femur and the bottom is towards my kneecap. You can't tell how deep it is in this one, but you can see that it at least goes down a bit. The edges are pretty defined, but it's still deep.
[Bonesmart.org] The girl with the two fake knees


I hope everyone is doing well. I've again been awful keeping track of recoveries. Hopefully this week will be better and I can be more involved like I want to be!

Happy Sunday,
Jen
 
You're right, it doesn't look infected, but I'm glad you're seeing the OS on Wednesday. I wonder if he'd put a butterfly or a stitch in it to help it close.
 
I agree with KarriB.=, that your surgeon does need to see your wound,

I don't think that a stitch will help now. Although it doesn't look infected, it is going to have to heal by granulation, from the bottom, up. That's going to take a while. unfortunately.
 
Please let us know what your OS says open your opened area.
 
@ACDCJen......dang, I know it's up in the thread but what is that wound from? Sounds like you're feeling pretty good today so that's good.

Only day 6 for me today. It's a bit of a "blah" day.......I imagine I'm in for quite a few of those
 
I'm glad that you will be seeing your OS in a couple of days. It might take a while to get it closed up. Have you gone to a wound care center? They are usually the best people to handle your type of situation. If the visiting nurse is speaking about the cream that I've used for patients then it is only useful to remove dead skin cells and can also be very costly if not covered by insurance.
 
@mbrown part of Jen's TKR incision isn't closing as well as the rest of her incision.
 
Jenn, it looks like your doing a great job keeping that wound clean and healthy. I hope it starts granulating soon. Let us know what the OS says!
 
Had my appointment today, only the second time out of the house since December 2. My wound is 4.2 cm deep and 1.5 cm long/wide. The PA and nurse were surprised it was that deep, but it has gotten progressively deeper over the last few days. They think it may be that the stitch is trying to work itself out, but they aren't sure. So, I will be using Dakin's solution and packing the wound with gauze. The solution is made of bleach and I have to soak the gauze in it and stuff it in the wound, as much and as far as I can. Hopefully this will work!! Other than the wound, my knee looks great!! It feels good too!! I do need to see the doctor next week for a follow up and more often to keep an eye on the wound. Whew... I'm still very pleased, but I wish I didn't have a big hole in my knee!!!

Jen
 
I'm glad your doctor saw the hole in your incision at last. It is deep, so I'm afraid it will take quite a while to heal.
 
I wish he had sent you to a wound specialist. I'm sure they will if they think it's necessary.
 
I'm glad you saw the dr and he's going to see you again next week. After my infection surgery the wound continued to seep, so my OS saw me twice a week until it stopped. Even though the infection was still active I felt better knowing he was seeing it every few days.
 
I feel better too, about seeing him more often. I'll get the new stuff tomorrow, so I used the Aquacel tonight. I am not panicking, but it keeps getting deeper and bigger, almost like a cave that keeps going on further than you can see. When I first started the Aquacel, I only had to use maybe 2 inches to place on the top of the wound. When I used it tonight, I had to use about a foot just to pack the wound, and I could have used more, but I stopped because it was getting uncomfortable.

Oh well, such is life. As long as I don't get an infection, I'll do whatever I need to for it to heal. I have 500 miles of kayaking to do this summer!!!!

Jen
 
Jen whereabouts are you going to kayak? I am starting next month but my knee trip was not as big as yours!
 
Did the nurse or PA take swabs from your wound, @ACDCJen ? It would have been a good idea to do that, even though it doesn't look infected. The fact that it keeps getting deeper is a bit of a concern.
 
I, too, love to kayak. I've never taken any trips, just done it locally. I look forward to this spring getting back to it. I was unable this past summer to do it. The knee was just too weak and sore. Next year's acomin'!
 
I'm glad you have a wound care plan. Did they tell you to make sure it heals from the bottom up and the "mouth"of the wound stays open? If that were my wound I would request a wound care team consult. They may have tricks to heal it faster like the wound vac your familiar with. I'll be praying for nice vigorous granulation!
 
@little red canoe
Scott and I have kayaked in the 1000 Islands off of Kring point state park; Allegheny State Park, the Erie Canal, and the Buffalo River. I haven't been much because last year was a bust for me, but it is so much fun! I love to fish from my kayak. We usually try to find a place with a kayak launch, but hopefully my knees will allow for more hand launching. This year, we hope to hit many more state parks and the Allegheny Reservoir in Pennsylvania, and Presque Isle also in Pennsylvania. I'm getting so excited!!!
Jen
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Active Antimicrobial Hydrogel

Staff online

Members online

Total: 2,938 (members: 3, guests: 2,935)

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom