Three Weeks and Counting ....

Happy Friday! I returned to the surgeon this afternoon for a quick appointment to have the cast checked inside. I have had significant leg pain over the past week and the incision on the left of the foot has not felt right. Sure enough, the leg had swollen so much inside the cast that some of the casting material became compressed and started to cut off circulation. A large area had become bruised and didn't look good. Needless to say, the cast needed to be loosened significantly. I now have a pink cast and with the pressure relieved, it already feels somewhat better.

March 5 - Incision Check & Cast Change
March 12 - Final Cast Off (hopefully!)

The incision on the left of the foot is about 7-8 inches long and part of it is from the original incision. This area has now been opened and closed nine times and the skin is no longer healing like it should. The surgeon doesn't think an infection has started, but it should look much better than it does. Part of the skin is still open and it has not closed (like it should) as of yet. I've had this problem in the past and we never did get it to close, so I am not sure what we will do if it continues the way it is now.

Since the incision appears to be an "issue," I am going back to the surgeon on Monday, March 5th to see if anything has improved. My insurance company is not cooperating with the approval of the "bone stimulator," so I am not sure if this will happen. My Chicago doctor spoke with the insurance company yesterday and now we are beginning an appeal process, which will likely take another 2-3 weeks. The insurance company wants to wait 90 days and if the bones don't heal (called nonunion), then they will pay for the device. Crazy thinking .... they are not into being proactive.

Keep praying for no infection to begin and that the incision will heal itself ... the open incision has been a major struggle in the past and it looks like we are beginning to go down the same path. The foot still looks straight on appearance, but no weight on it yet still.

Thinking a pedicure is somewhere in the future ..... Have a great weekend!