10 March 2021
Today Joyce had her second appointment at the Plastic Surgery Clinic with Dr. Tong since the surgery. Like last week, she scraped away more of the yellow tissue so the pink tissue can grow unabated.
I sat in the waiting room alone during the much briefer procedure. Last time we were there an hour. This time just half that if.
So I was surprised when Dr. Tong poked her head through the door and said hello.
She confirmed that things look good, that we're doing a good job and we should keep doing what we're doing. She'll know more in a week or two, she said, still hoping to avoid another hospital stay (which I consider a Caregiver's Holiday).
I didn't mention that the Dakin's Solution had arrived or that we'd gotten more Adaptic either. We aren't using them. We're just soaking some Kerlix gauze in Vashe and packing that directly into the wound (gently) before putting a thick abdominal pad on top to absorb leakage and two Mepilex sacrum pads on top like a big, two-piece bandage (which resembles a bikini, come to think of it).
Then Joyce said her bikini had fallen off and would I take a look at it.
I did do inventory before we left and we have plenty of everything except Vashe. But I can make it to next week's visit with what we have.
Dr. Tong wondered if I would be able to bring Joyce to the clinic more than once a week. Sure, I said. Particularly since Salwa the LVN has been cut back to two times a week (Monday and Friday) since I'm "trained" to do the job now.
I drove Joyce home and went on to my mother's to take out the garbage, wind the clock, pay the bills, reset the printer queue, clean the kitchen and a few other things before returning home.
Joyce told me she had a great chat with Aunt Betty who had called to see how she was. Aunt Betty is a peach.
Then Joyce said her bikini had fallen off and would I take a look at it. Of course I would.
Sure enough, the Mepilex didn't adhere to her skin and the wound was exposed. So she laid down on the bed and I took it off only to find a tiny ball of Kerlix covering only part of the wound.
What the hell, I changed the dressing early.
Being in uncharted territory (off-schedule dressing changes), I texted Salwa (right at dinner time) to asks if there was any danger in skipping the nightly change until the morning.
I figured she would reply when convenient and that would be a week before I would hear from Dr. Tong. And sure enough, five minutes later she told me it should be fine but what to look for.
She's the best, I told her.
She'd been worried about the weather all last week because she was having her engagement photos taken. And she had something to worry about with storms coming in.
But she got her session in Friday evening at sunset on a glorious day and showed us a few of the images on her phone when she came Monday. She was thrilled the photographer had 'shopped out the other people on the beach.
He did do a great job. But then, he had great material to work with.