29 May 2021
We never did hear directly from her primary care physician but she did release the test results as they became available. For each test Joyce gets an email notification that she has a secure message in the Kaiser system and that message has a link to her test result.
Joyce said her blood test results were all within the normal range. Those would be the ones she does for each annual wellness visit. They cover things like glucose, iron, cholesterol, etc.
But Joyce didn't understand the X-ray results.
When Byram delivered the wrong gauze rolls yesterday, the company said the ones we've always used have to be re-authorized by the physician. For some reason the dinky little ones they sent (and that we have never used) had been re-authorized instead.
I took a look at Joyce's X-ray results.
The Byram customer service person was very nice and even helpful. She said they would send 12 to tide us over until they received authorization. And keep the 60 dinky little rolls of Kerlix because it isn't cost effective to return them.
Bidding starts at $10. Shipping is not free (not cost effective for me either).
Since I had to email Dr. Tong (from Joyce's account) to get authorization, I took a look at Joyce's X-ray results.
In both the knee and the ankle, the technician reported a small spur and mild arthritis but no major issues like deterioration of the meniscus (the cushion between bones in the knee) or bone deformation.
Good news.
And, in fact, she hasn't been experiencing the level of pain she had a week ago when this all started. She even walked to the mailbox yesterday and then wanted to come food shopping with me, walking the aisles in Trader Joe's (not to mention traversing the parking lot).
She hasn't needed to use the topical Aleve cream at all, she said.
We did not end up going to the clinic for a debridement last week after all. They must have been too busy. But she does have an appointment on Thursday next week.
On that front, the wound tissue does seem to be filling in a bit on the sides. It isn't easy to see in a photo but when I change the dressing, it seems like there's just more tissue growing in from the sides. At last.