9 December 2020
Yesterday Joyce told me that Lady, who is Dr. Tong's nurse (that's her first name), called to tell her that even though Dr. Tong can't make the appointment on Wednesday, she should come in anyway to get the wound irrigated.
We decided to have Salwa the LVN come in the morning to change the dressing anyway, even if that means two dressing changes in one day. Joyce just wanted a more comfortable dressing.
The appointment was for 2 p.m. and it took about half an hour, a few minutes longer than it takes Salwa, presumably because they do a little more. They wash the wound, that is.
I can't tell you because I don't get to go into the room for visits at the clinic. The exam rooms are too small and the coronavirus too rampant. So I sit in the waiting room.
When Joyce came out, I asked Lady which color foam they used.
When Joyce came out, I asked Lady which color foam they used. I had brought both. "Black!" she announced.
So it's the first time the big thick black foam was used instead of the thin little white foam pads. The black foam is big enough to trim one piece to fit the wound. Salwa is looking forward to the challenge.
Then Joyce told me that Dr. Tong had been there, too.
They had an interesting conversation. Dr. Tong said that even though the wound looks good, it isn't going to close up without an intervention. She's going to have to do more surgery to fill the void with tissue harvested from somewhere else on Joyce's body.
Joyce told Dr. Tong that she doesn't want to have surgery before Christmas so they agreed to discuss it later.
Sorry I missed that conversation. It really suggests a lot of questions. But since nothing is immanent, I can mull them over.
Dr. Fang, the surgeon who six years ago who removed the tumor, thought it might require moving tissue into the void when he first put Dr. Tong on the case. And it's apparently her specialty.
Tomorrow we are going to distract ourselves by shopping for a tree. Salwa had asked if we put up a tree because we have what she called a great tree window (she looks for that sort of thing, she said).
"We usually do but this year with the coronavirus no one is coming so we'll probably skip it," we told her.
"But I'm coming!" she cried.
Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, yes. So we'd better get busy.