Long Overdue Update #1

As is typical of me, I haven't posted anything about doctor's appointments in a while. A quick search of my previous blog posts puts the last real update just before Christmas, with that tiny little blurb about an echocardiogram looking good stuck in at the very end of December. Two months seems like a long time ago. So much has changed, but then so much hasn't - odd how time works like that. Anyways, that's just me getting side tracked. Back to the point - medical stuff.

The first appointment I had in the new year was with my infectious disease specialist on January fifth. The appointment did not go as hoped. Like the previous appointment, I was first seen by a student - the same one my ID specialist has had since I saw her in September. I did not like the student either time, especially not in November (post can be found here) and that certainly didn't change this time around. In fact, I can say with confidence that every time I see that student I like her less. It is clear that she does not read up on my file or have any knowledge about bone infections and external fixators and that she lacks the compassion and empathy necessary that a doctor, especially one working at a children's hospital, should have. I do not say this lightly but as someone who has been dealing with doctors and other medical professionals for the last decade. I generally prefer to see the good in people and as a nursing student myself recognize how nervousness and inexperience can influence a student in any medical profession. As a result of my personal experiences, however, I can generally tell when a doctor doesn't actually care or puts on a the fake "I do care about you" act. The whole appointment with her went horribly and certainly did not improve when my actual doctor appeared. Apparently I have now become a teaching opportunity thanks to the relapsed bone infection last year and the spiffy little fixator I have been sporting these last three months rather than an actual patient. Gone are the days that I admired my doctor and thought she was the greatest, most compassionate, smartest and best suited to treat me doctor that I have ever had. I am not saying that she is not a good doctor, because she is, but the wonderful doctor-patient relationship that we had is gone (this changed when she gained an important promotion in the hospital) and, quite frankly, despite how brilliant she may be, looking back there are several things I think she should have done quite differently, things that could have saved me months of being ill - I am pretty angry about this. If the infection ever does come back I will definitely, without a doubt be asking for a referral to a new infectious disease specialist. Even talking about it, as I am now, still upsets me... While the student bothers me, it is what I feel my doctor failed to do and what my doctor admitted that she didn't do that gets me the most upset. And then for my appointment to be used as a teaching tool rather than an opportunity to see how I am doing just adds insult to injury.  I am a person, not just an interesting case! Anyways, the whole appointment was a giant waste of time. Given the care I received in the past, the whole thing was disappointing. We, mum and I, were basically told that I should stay on my antibiotics while the external fixator is on and come back, something we already knew prior to surgery in November, and come back in four months. The only beneficial part of the appointment was getting blood work done (although thinking about it, that could have been done where I live - saving mum and I the hour drive up). The only pleasant things were the chat I had with the phlebotomist (person who takes blood) and the trip to IKEA that followed. And no more shall be said about it other than I really don't want to go back in April because the whole thing just makes me incredibly sad, disappointed and upset.

The following Friday, January eighth, I had an appointment at the fracture clinic with my orthopedic surgeon. The appointment, a follow up to the one on December eighteenth, went well. I really like my orthopedic surgeon. Off all of the ones I have seen in the past decade, which has been quite a few, he is the best I ever had. He is professional and a truly skilled orthopedic surgeon, but he also has a great bedside manner and knows how to be positive and encouraging even in a difficult situation. IF my infection ever comes back, I will definitely go back to him. My surgeon was happy with how my x-rays looked and said there is nothing more to do at the moment than to continue doing "the turns" and letting my bone regrow. I did ask him when I would be able to start putting some weight on my leg. I asked this more out of curiosity than anything else (I have no intention of putting weight on my leg at the moment.. at least not while it has giant pins sticking out of it!). He said given the IM nail holding everything together and how sturdy the fixator is on top of that, I could probably put weight on my leg but he doesn't want me to risk it. The last thing we want is for something to go wrong because I stood on my leg a bit too soon, thus messing the whole four plus month external fixation bone growing process up. So he said to put any thoughts of walking completely out of my head XD No worries - that is easily done!

Here are the x-rays I had taken before I saw my surgeon.

Side view

Front view

Several close ups of the previous two x-rays. If you look closely, you can see the new cartilage, which will slowly turn into bone over the next six to nine months, in these images. Grow bone, grow!

In case you can't see it (kind of tricky on a  picture of an x-ray), I circled the visible area of cartilage growth from the previous image. That tiny white cloud is going to be bone, my new tibia!

This was a great way to end the week (and definitely a much better use of my time than the appointment with infectious disease three days earlier). Before I got my external fixator my surgeon said he gets patients into the fracture clinic quite a bit at first because it is important for them to actually see what is going on within their bodies. In this instance, seeing actually is believing; reassuring for sure! Since surgery in November, my appointments had never been more than three weeks apart, but my surgeon said he would spare me the extra driving and the radiation from all these x-rays by bumping the time between appointments to four weeks. Now the process was going, it was a matter of wait and see over the long term rather than a "we need to constantly monitor this" kind of thing.

And the cherry on top - the bed sheets I wanted at IKEA that were not in stock three days earlier when I saw infectious disease specialist where available on the Friday when I say my surgeon, so mum and I stopped to buy them XD But I already posted about those... apparently I can post in a timely manner when i really really want to! Ha!