@classwife - any chance of checking on that aniters
through the florida group that met on occasion?
Tibs... Anita mentioned in a post a while back some of the stuff she's been busy with, if you are interested in looking back
through this thread. I went a couple of pages back looking for it but was busy at the time and didn't find it quickly.
I've personally ( beyond the pandemic issues ) have been really busy helping my exGF with some serious health issues, sometimes taking her to doctor appointments, hospital appointments and helping take care of her pets when she's been in the hospital and recently a skilled nursing/therapy center that is addressing her health problems.
Over a year ago she'd gotten a minor burn on her knee that wouldn't heal. She was recommended to a wound care physician that simply didn't do anything but keep it clean ( which she was already doing on her own ) and measure it. My opinion was that once seen that it wasn't responding to that method alone, it should have simply been surgically closed as you would any other wound. Once it was almost too late, about a month ago, that physician finally suggested going to a surgeon. It really was too late by that point. The surgeon tried closing the wound but had very little extra skin to perform the procedure and wasn't too optimistic. When that wouldn't stay closed, he attempted a 2nd method also without any success.
The original wound care physician had waited way too long, the surgeon was unable to help ( through no fault of his own ) and the knee was finally determined to be a loss because of infection that complicated things even more. They ended up having to amputate from just above the knee down. She was then sent to the first skilled nursing/therapy centers to heal and help with rehabilitation. A couple days later, they found there was still some infection in her remaining bone and another surgery was done to take a little more off and help address that infection. Again, she was released back to the first skilled nursing/rehab center to heal being told it would need at least 2 weeks so they could continue administering an antibiotic or antibacterial ( I'm not sure which, they had said both ) while the center kept things clean and did what therapy they could.
By the end of those 2 weeks, she was deteriorating quickly because the center wasn't doing their job at keeping things sanitary and clean. What was once minor bed sores ended up opening up into major wounds. She more or less forced them to go ahead and keep their word and release her after the 2 weeks were up on a Friday. She wasn't really ready to be home alone, but I agree she needed out of that center. The following Monday, we took her back to the hospital. The hospital quickly put her back on the antibiotics and scheduled a surgery to debread the now infected wounds that were bed sores. The doctors also recommended that at that time, they put in a temporary colostomy bag as well as a catheter to help keep things as sanitary as possible. After a couple of days in the hospital, they released her to a second skilled nursing/therapy centers. I think the second center has been staying on top of things and really wished it had been the first she'd been sent to.
So over the last couple of months, she's had to endure not just the one surgery she needed for her knee to heal... but 5 which has also resulted in the loss of a limb, not to mention the additional complications from the wounds that now need to heal before they can release her to her home. Obviously, once released she will continue to receive therapy to help her adjust to the changes. While I'll certainly continue to help where I can, she will need someone to stay with her 24/7 until she can finally care for herself and get around. Until that time, I'll at least take care of her pets and see to her place being maintained.
I do swing through here on the thread to see what may have been posted with others... But I don't have a lot of extra time to post. At least the pandemic restrictions here are starting to lift. Yesterday, because the restrictions have been relaxed and even masks aren't required most places, I was able to take the parents out to the 4 cemeteries and place flowers on 32 of our relatives and ancestors that have passed. My parents will likely have to stop doing that soon, but for now, we can remanence of our memories of our loved ones that have passed together. Next week, weather permitting I will likely go out by myself to pick up the flowers we set out, normally they come with me but it's getting a bit too hard on them.