Good Thoughts & Prayers for Mom
Okay Ladies, I'm coming to you for some good thoughts, prayers & mojo for my Mom. I've asked for help before with Mom, but that was a few years ago. A little back story might help. Mom has been in a walking boot/cast on her right foot due to achellies tendonitis. She has been in this thing for almost 6years, at one opint her Dr. decided to put a walking cash on both of her legs to help out with the tendonistis. During this casting, Mom ended up with a chigger bite on her left leg that developed into an ulcer that was untreated for 4 years. The ulcer would heal over & then break open & repeat. It got so bad that she was sent to the Hospital due to a severe Staph infection that crossed over to both legs, her left one so swollen that anything touching it would cause severe pain and skin rupture. This was about 3 years ago. She was put on antibiotics via a Pic Line. The Staph infection cleared, however the ulcer still was there & still unhealed.
Now Mom is diabetic & is somewhat controlled through medication and not insulin.
I have NEVER been a fan of her PCP and after having her put into the Hospital for 4 days, I was beyond LIVID!!! When I went with her back to her Dr. after the Hospital stay, I had a few words with her Dr.
His response was that the "sore" was fine & that it was healing, just at a slower pace that normal 'cause of her last infection.
If any of you have ever had a chigger bite, they are small little bites that are raised similar to that of flea bites. They just itch like crazy. Now this sore at the time of the Dr. visit was about the size of a nickle, open and weeping. She still had an infection in her leg as you could still see the reddness & feel the heat on her leg.
I'm going to jump ahead to this year, 'cause going through all of this just pisses me off and I'm torn between wanting to beat the shit out her Dr. and cry for my Mom. At this point crying wins.
After going back to her PCP, she complains (after MUCH pestering from Me) to the Dr. that her Ulcer is not healing up & she still has a lot of pain & infection. He finally sends her to a Diabetic Wound Care Center here in San Antonio. May the GODS bless the Dr. that is treating her at that hospital. He actually takes time to work with my Mom, takes measurements and makes a plan for treatment. The ulcer at this point is about the size of a Susan B. Anthony Dollar & about deep enough to insert your pinkie up to the first joint. After about 2 months of skin grafts, antibiotic treatments, compression casts and compression stockings the ulcer has healed with new skin and the infection was beaten. That was until this past Thursday. Mom was home all day on Thursday and stayed home & cleaned the house. She swept, washed dishes and clothes, spread ant killer in the yard and sprayed bug killer in the house. I came home late Thursday morning (really Friday morning about 2:30a) and Mom was still up. I asked her what was wrong & she said that her foot was hurting her & was cramping & she couldn't get to sleep. I thought that she had sprained her ankle and had her elevate it & I put some cold packs on it. She went to work on Friday afternoon and went straight to bed after getting home. On Saturday she could barely walk and she spent about 10 minutes crying due to the pain. Dad asked if we needed to take her to the Hospital & she said NO. I made the decision to take her into the Dr. I made her get dressed & I got dressed as well & I drove up to the Dr. office that I go to. She was seen immediatly and was informed that she had a another Staph infection centered around her ankle on her left foot. The Dr. stated that as long as the infection was within the skin (cellulitis) she was okay. If the infection spread to the joint or the bone, then surgery was the only option & she would have to be sent to the Hospital. He prescribed her more antibiotics and Tylenol 3 w/Vicodin for the pain. He wanted her to come back in today to make sure that the infection was receding and was not entering into the joint/bones. Mom has been feeling a bit better today, however her foot still hurts, it's painful and difficult to walk. She has no appetite and has to force down food. When the nurse tested her blood sugar at the office it was 410.
Now, this number SCARED the SHIT out of me!!! My Mom has NEVER had that high of blood sugar!! She keeps saying that the foot feels better & she thinks that the infection is going down, however with her blood sugar being so high I really don't know. I do know that any infection/illness you get will cause your blood sugar to increase. Add to that certain medications will also do the same. The PA was concerned enough that her gave her an insulin shot and had us wait for about 10 minutes before sending her home.
I decided to buy dinner for everyone and Mom had to hold the food. Insert nausea!!! The insulin afected Mom a bit later (I really wish they had retested, shoud have insisted!!!). We tested her when we got home & her sugar level was around 270ish. Still high, but better than what it was at the Dr. office. She nibbled a bit and slept on the sofa after dinner. She then got up and got ready for bed and slept even more. We tested her sugar one more time and it was around 230ish and had her take her evening meds. She's in bed now and I hope that she gets some sleep.
She doesn't have to go to work tomorrow & she is going to have a 17 year old helper all day. I'm going to make arrangements to get me additional FLMA for Mom so I can help her out. If I don't get approved, I'll use my own FLMA for my asthma to help her out. Hopefully she will be able to make an appointment for Tuesday with the Dr. at the Wound Care Center & we will see what will happen next. I'm going to make plans to get Tuesday off to be with my Mom when she goes in for her Dr. visit.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I do apologize for extra long post. I am just hoping that some of you could just put my Mom in their prayers for the next few days I would really appreciate it. If the infection does travel into her joint/bones, surgery is the next option. If surgery is done to clean out the infection, there is a strong possibility that she will end up losing her leg.
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Re: Good Thoughts & Prayers for Mom
hugs 
prayers 
and 
blessings for your Mom to heal and for you as well, in this stressful time.
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