22 August 2021
My email to Dr. Tong on Thursday evening was answered by Jennifer the Other Physician's Assistant, who told us on Friday morning that she had called Kaiser DME to authorize the Mediplex shipment to us again.
She said, however, that a supervisor was out and they could only send 12 of them to us by Monday or Tuesday. But late Saturday afternoon the graffiti-covered delivery truck arrived with the 12 bandages.
So we now have 16 or four days worth in stock.
I replied to Jennifer's email this morning to let her know the situation. Which is that we need 52 more Mediplex bandages to get to Joyce's Sept. 10 surgery date.
We need 52 more Mediplex bandages to get to Joyce's Sept. 10 surgery date.
On Friday afternoon, Joyce did meet briefly with Dr. Tong but Covid restrictions prevented me from being in the room. At the same time Jennifer did a debridement, which was a surprise to us. We thought this was a pre-surgery consultation at which Dr. Tong would get her first look at the wound in a while.
So, naturally, I didn't numb the wound for a debridement with Lidocaine an hour before the appointment. And the procedure was, consequently, painful.
Dr. Tong confirmed the necessity of the surgery and apparently told Joyce they'd return to the Wound VAC therapy in the hospital. Dr. Tong said she should expect to be there "for a while." And, she confirmed, Joyce should return Monday for another debridement.
Jennifer didn't use the Mediplex pads we brought. She simply taped a porous abdominal pad over the wound. And as soon as we got home, the tape had detached up top and fluid was leaking from the wound.
So, you know, I recovered the wound with the Mediplex.
When I changed the dressing Friday night (after Joyce thoroughly enjoyed watching My Cousin Vinny), I noticed the wound was still covered in yellow slough. The debridement removes the yellow slough, exposing pink tissue. Not this time.
But we'll be back there tomorrow anyway. And on Sept. 10, we'll be opening a new chapter in this adventure when Joyce goes in for her third surgery.