Chicago Report & Skin issues continue .....

Our Chicago weekend was fun, had great weather and we got to go places that we’d never been before because I could walk. I was thrilled to NOT be parking in handicapped parking. My appt. w/Dr. P on Monday was probably one of the best ever! She has two young boys and they love the Cardinals and Mr. Pujols, so we chatted about that. She spent a lot of time with us …. went to her next patient (quick one) & then came back to our room to finish with us. We had not seen her since February, so there was a lot to cover. She was very impressed w/the improvement, watched me walk, and the overall opinion was what I have now is about as “good as it will get” for movement and functionality.

She encouraged me to try to wear a heel shoe more because in my case that position forces my toes downward, which is the position we want to encourage/keep. She understood that it may not “feel” great at the beginning, but slowly keep trying them & try more on weekends for several hours at a time. She saw my STL & Dallas doctors at a big foot conference (in Canada) in July …. they all discussed the “Eickhorst case.”
There should be “medical royalty money” there somewhere …..

Actually, she has another patient that had to have major foot reconstruction similar to my situation, but because of my success w/the tendon lengthening in Dallas she is going to do it on this other patient. She asked a lot of questions about what we did differently in March & post-op procedures.

My open incision was horrible on Monday and she got to see it on one of the worst days! (I was somewhat glad, because it is very deceiving at times). The 3” area was all open, bleeding, draining, etc. … it was a mess to say the least. She was shocked that it was “her incision” & it was 2+ years old! She wanted me to go see the plastic surgeon in Chicago that I’d seen in the past, so she called his office & arranged for me to go there after I left her office.

On our way out of town we went to Evanston to see Dr. H …. I had really mixed feelings because it had been over a year since I had seen him & my last appt. w/him did not go well ….. this is why I ended up going to San Antonio for the flap/artery transfer, as he wouldn’t do it! Thankfully, he didn’t ask who did the flap surgery, but I bet he wondered.

Dr. H thought that it was an internal suture allergic reaction causing the skin breakdown & said to follow up w/a dermatologist in STL. Great …….. I’ve heard that diagnosis before.

This afternoon I went to the dermatologist in STL & she agreed w/Dr. H. Supposedly even though the incision that is the worst is from 2+ yrs. ago, the body still produces symptoms of an allergic reaction …. & the skin on the top of the foot is so thin that if I itch it, if it rubs on a shoe or anything the area repeatedly comes open and it is a continual cycle.

The dermo. dr. said that it is really tough to clear up (possibly 6-12 months) & sometimes you ultimately have to do a skin graft over the area that won’t close. She wrote a script for a topical steroid (Ultravate) & oral steroid to see if it helps any … if it doesn’t start to work in a week, she said that the next step is some nerve injections to try & get the nerves to stop producing the reaction symptoms. I have to wrap the foot in Saran wrap and wear it that way all each night for the next week – wish me luck on sleeping. Supposedly this skin scenario happens w/multiple surgeries & thin skin – I qualify with flying colors for both.

Typically the skin breakdown area starts small and gets bigger with time & what doesn’t start out as a “wound issue” can end up looking like one ….. we’re done with wound care & surgery, so hopefully the medication will help – no open skin is all I’m going for. This is my year for dating & fun shoes!

BIG PRAYER REQUEST: Pray that the oral steroid medication and cream works, because I don’t want this to linger on or have to get involved with returning to San Antonio. (I’ve been using the cream & have not had success.)

In my case this is somewhat serious because the bigger the open area gets, the harder it will be to get it to permanently close. I don’t know if I have enough skin there or not, as it is now – HOPEFULLY I DO!

Better get to bed ….. sorry for the long post, but I would greatly appreciate stepping up the prayers for the week ahead. I am shocked at how the picture below looked last week, as now the top of my foot is so irritated, raw & open now you wouldn't know that it is the same foot - stuff changes quicker than I'd like at times. I have to return to the dermo dr. next Tuesday for a follow-up appt. & to see if we are on the right track w/treatment or if we need to go to the next plan .... if the Rx is going to work, she said I should see big improvement within a week.

Keep the faith!
je