Become an Insider

Knee Infection* The girl with the two fake knees

I'm glad it's done and you're home safe, Jen.

Best wishes for good healing.
 
Here's my fancy wound vac. I have no idea how to work it, but I got a bag of stuff that I brought home. I'm just going to leave it alone and ask my visiting nurse tomorrow what to do when I want to shower. There's drainage in it already.

[Bonesmart.org] The girl with the two fake knees


Here is the former hole!!! The dark purple/black is the foam that's in the new incision. The tube leads to the vac for drainage. The tunnel snakes back to where the doc's initials are.
[Bonesmart.org] The girl with the two fake knees
 
Wow, Jen! I know you're glad it's over with. I pray this is the cure you so badly need!
 
Did they start you on antibiotics or did the swab come back clear?
 
@KarriB

I have been taking Kefkex TID 500 mg since Tuesday. I didn't get a clear answer about infection today. I'm not sure if the cultures are back yet. If I do\did have one, it has not gotten to the implant...the surgery today was to help prevent that from happening!!

Jen
 
Wow. your wound vac is a fancier model than I had. So glad to see your all hooked up. When you shower, and unhook your gadget, wrap everything up with cling wrap it works better than saran wrap. Sometimes I would forget to charge my unit, I could get a full day at work out of it but would need to charge it shortly after I arrived home each day.
I am so happy to see you started on a plan to get that wound closed up.
 
@zzevi

Mine has already beeped at me three times, two of them to charge it! I got a really long cord to charge and plug it in, so I do it while I'm sleeping. I wrap it in a towel and put it under the pillow when I sleep so the noise is muted.

When you had your I&D done, how much larger were your wounds than mine? How long was it before you didn't need a vac any longer? I know everyone is different, but I didn't have a chance to make a list of questions because this all happened so fast, and I know you had to go through this too and have knowledge! I am also super anxious about unhooking it to take a shower. For my previous vacs, which were smaller and disposable, I kept it on a shelf just outside the tub. I was going to try to do it with this one, but maybe I shouldn't? I never had a problem with the smaller ones. I'll figure something out, but I still feel uncomfortable cutting the suction off!!

I'm doing okay. I'm not moving around too much because whenever I stand up or bend it, my wound hurts a bit more than I would like. Hopefully, it will start to close soon. It sure is draining!!!

Jen
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I hope they gave you some pain medications as well s the antibiotics, Jen.
 
Wow, this is some story! I really hope you`re on top of the infection now and that healing can continue apace. Those pictures are awesome though quite startling. Your attitude is amazing, especially given your back story; such a lot of loss to deal with. Yep, you`re amazing!
 
Jen,
Glad you are on top of your wound, wishing you a complete recovery so you can get on with your life.
 
I am so glad that your doctor took this seriously and took action right away. I hope you are on the mend now and will be okay in a few weeks.
 
@ACDCJen don't know what I&D means. It's probably something I went thru but don't recognize the initials. Went back to look at my dr. notes my wound was 1.5 x 2 cm open area. The depth of the area was 0.5 cm with with 2 tunnels at 8 and 10 o'clock. After wound was swabbed and cultured it showed staph and strep infection to the wound and antibiotics were started. Even though by looking at the wound it did not appear to have any infection to it, no redness, heat, and min drainage. I wore the wound vac approx 4/5 wks, would have been longer, but my good skin that was being covered by the draping had become irritated to the point that it felt like a bad rugs burn that itched and stung. But at that point the wound had healed enough to go to another route of using special medications and packing to finish the healing process, which was like another additional wk or so. But the wound care dr, had told me to stop all p/t at the start of the wound vac process and when I was done was asked not to stretch on the wound because the new skin closing the wound was thin. So I probably had about 6 wks of actual caring for the wound. It's a slow healing process even with the wound vac. Saw changes right away by just getting put on a antibiotic between my first visit with the wound care clinic dr and the following week when the wound vac was applied.
One big issue I had with mine was I was working full time with the wound vac on and the extra walking and bending of the joint at times made it hard to keep a good seal and some medical staff was better at getting it on and getting a good seal than others. ( the wound dr, I had would always mark how many pc's of packing she had in the incision and she told me when others were changing it, to count and make sure all packing had been accounted for. She would write on the draping with a sharpie marker. )
I got used to the sound for the most part, was kind of embarassing (sp) at work when it made strange sounds and I work at a school, but the kids never asked about it.
Think they thought I was carrying a purse around all the time with me.
I think if your home and still at the resting, yours will hold better without breaking the seal.
For bathing I would clamp the clamps off, disconnect the unit and press and seal my leg area. The dr told me I could have it disconnect for 30 mins for showering, which was 30 mins of bliss.
Charged unit while relaxing at night watching t.v and while I slept, was able to get thru the work day with out having to charge the unit.
Hopefully I have given you answers to your questions. The main thing now is your on the road to recovery, I am so happy for you.
zzevi/ Lauri


Also clothing Walmart carries some inexpensive knit pants, or sweats that allow you to have plenty of room in the leg of it and run the tubing up your leg to the waist area.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Glad you're back on the road to recovery! Best wishes to you!
 
Thank you @zzevi for your perspective. And to everyone who is reading my story, thank you for the kind words and thoughts!

I&D is incision and drainage. I like it better than wound modification for some reason!!!

I am doing ok. There is a bit of pain in the opening and to the side, like before, but it's manageable. My wound vac has been talking and beeping at me a lot too. I didn't get any instruction about how to take care of it, but I have figured it out. There is a 250 ml canister to hold the drainage, and it is getting full. I see the doctor tomorrow (well, the PA) and hope to have it changed. I have been staying home because of the noise it makes and the fact that most people would probably be grossed out by my blood being sucked through the tubing! The Keflex I'm on is making me feel sick and lethargic, so it's difficult to get out anyway. Most MWF, my niece Josie comes over after preschool and we get to be silly for a few hours. She crawls right into bed and is one of the coolest 4 year olds ever! She's my mini me and says she likes the same thing I do. We listened to my mp3 player last week, so hopefully I can pass my kind of music down to her!! Next step...The Golden Girls!!

So, I'm just waiting for the hole to heal more and can move on to the next step. I feel that this will set me back at least a month, but I guess that just gives me more time to plan for the future!!

I think that's all for me for now. I'll find out what the culture showed, how big the tunnels were, and more about the vac tomorow. I'll check in after.

Keep on keepin' on!!!

Jen
 
Thank you for the update, Jen.

I hope your visit to the PA tomorrow will be encouraging. Do let us know everything you learn. won't you?

I'm glad your little niece comes to visit you, Four-year-olds are delightful, aren't they? We've just said goodbye to our little 4-year-old granddaughter, who has gone back to England. I miss her a lot, but it was lovely having her here for a while.
 
@Celle

I sure will!! I know someone asked before, but no, I am not diabetic, thankfully!!

I am most nervous for tomorrow when the foam, dressing, and tubing are changed. The thought of just seeing the big open wound with nothing on it is slightly unnerving! I'm sure it will look better than the hole did and I'm also sure I'll be fascinated, like I usually am! At least I'll be able to get a refill on my percocet so I have it when I need it!!

Jen
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Corganics CBD
Active Antimicrobial Hydrogel

Members online

No members online now.
Total: 2,584 (members: 1, guests: 2,583)

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom