30 July 2020
Joyce had her in-person visit with Dr. Tong just a day after the video call.
Tong asked Joyce a few questions before examining the wound. She was concerned by the extent of the damage. It won't be just funneling down into the triangular abscess and cleaning it. Instead it will involve opening the wound and removing a lot of radiated tissue. How much, she isn't sure. And the more she takes, the more pain Joyce will suffer because it will expose more nerves.
She tells Joyce she'll be in the hospital for pain management for some time. Months, possibly.
The program she had mentioned on the video call at St. Francis involves an oxygen environment to promote healing. But she isn't sure Joyce would qualify or if they are even doing it during the pandemic.
She packed the wound, then got her phone to take a photo of the injury. She asked Joyce to sit on the bed to watch how much the damage bothers Joyce.
She looked up Joyce's lab tests. She was happy there are "a ton of them." Then she told Joyce to force herself to eat more. Her nutrition is borderline.
"See you Wednesday," she said.