If you have a little cut or scratch it's a good idea to check it out.....OR ELSE ! (updated often* )

[mjp28]

If you have a little cut or scratch it's a good idea to check it out.....OR ELSE !    (see updated pictures down below on 8/19/22)

Sometime in late 2020 I got a tiny knick on the inside of my right knee in of all places a hospital cat scan.  Yes that's right, it was maybe 1/4 " maybe a little more but we easily healed it up.....and it came back.....healed up again.....and it returned again.

We brought this to the attention of my wound care doctor who was tending to my long reoccurring hip wounds.  And in 2017 I got osteomyelitis an infection of my hip, it reocured in 2019 when I had to have a pelvis clean out.  My hip infection had jumped there.  Well I have been battling it since.

Back to the side of my right knee it got worse then a knick on my kneecap......here we go.  At one time both were as big as silver dollars. 

Here are ywo pictures of my knee from about a month ago, one picture of both one of just the kneecap.   Oddly they don't really hurt.

So be careful !

 

[mjp28]

I just noticed how strange my outer knee looks mainly from all the Rx stuff, big dressings and tape around the wound. 

And luckily with hospital trips every other week I have good insurance.......we pay *nothing.  (but the invoices are several thousands of dollars a trip, be careful out there financially it can eat you up)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   💲   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

...... ★ 6/25/22 - edit add, when I said we pay *nothing  that's out of pocket after various deductibles and various premiums like Medicare which is the best cheapest insurance you can get anywhere at only $170.10/mo. or $2,041.20/year in 2022. 

So I pay $450.10/mo. to have Medicare and my medigap policies which is absolutely necessary to have.  I have to figure out my wife's Medicare plus medigap cost to the penny but it's probably similar to mine.   So together we probably spend about $900/mo. for medical insurance.   Wow, now I know.    

And I just paid my July 2022- June 2023 medigap policy for 12 months $3,365/yr it's cheaper than monthly premiums and averages about $280/mo. but I'm pretty well covered especially for hospital visits  of which mine are frequent and can be expensive.  (Oh insurances go up every year.)

It pays to shop around and know what you're getting.  I do pay a good sum in my insurances Medicare and Anthem.

Also why we Social Security people need periodical raises to try to keep even.     Rev. 6/27/22

Edited June 27, 2022 by mjp28

[mjp28]

Any particular questions ?   It's been quite an experience in dealing with infections. 

I have been going back into the hospital about every two weeks for a surgical wound "debridement" of my knee and hip wounds.  Its a slow process.

Debridement is the removal of dead or infected tissue from a wound in order to allow healthy new tissue to form, filling in the wound.

So you may be thinking, 'Seriously, digging at a wound that is trying to heal will actually help?' It may seem counter-intuitive, but YES! Actually the removal of all that waste helps speed the healing process, by enabling the skin's own regenerative powers to focus on quickly laying down a new layer of skin.

Let's think of the formation of a new road. The old one is all beat up: filled with potholes and cracks of varying sizes with chunks of old asphalt littering the road. How would you achieve the smoothest new road most quickly? By actually ripping up the old road, getting down to a fresh dirt foundation, and then pouring asphalt evenly to form the new road. Think of how long it would take to pick up all the little asphalt bits, fill in each separate defect, and then try to make sure the entire thing was even! So it is with our skin. If we remove the entire 'old road' it allows the body to get on better and more quickly with building the new one.

[mjp28]

Wednesday July 6, 2022 -    Here is an updated picture of my right knee from July 2nd.  Despite of what it looks like to us my wound care doctor is quite satisfied with the progress of both sites on my knee.

He has been slow and steady debreeding and has the wound bed looking much better.  It is a slow process see the picture it is smoother and more even.ks.

Once it is filled in he will work on closing it up.  Think months and months not weeks.  mjp.

[TexasAg1969]

I can see it's slowly improving for you. I have been lucky never to have experienced anything like that. Thanks Mom for heavy use of that stinging old red stuff Merthiolate when we we growing up as kids. Many a bicycle scrape had that stuff poured on it right from the start.

[DieHardBrownsFan1]

My mother always had bottles of bactine and other wound cleaners for me and my brothers who lived outside except for sleeping.

[mjp28]

July 7 -  The oddest thing about the knee it almost doesn't hurt me at all, no nerve sensation in my right leg there.

I bet it would hurt like a mf if I had total feeling there....from my C6-7 neck repair in 1987 I imagine.   Now if it were on my left leg different story.  I think the infection is from my osteomyelitis in my hip/pelvis it just jumped here now.  I've been fighting that since 2014 but got bad in 2017 and 2019, landed me in the hospital for months both times.

Iincomplete nerve injuries are just like that, very strange.

Oh for reference I joined here in 2016 a relatively nice year only in the hospital/rehab for 6 weeks. In 2018 in the hospital for 2½ days  I've been in the hospital every year since 2015 pneumonia later a bad kidney infection almost killed me. I lost 63 pounds,  222 to 159 I was a big lifter back then.  My weight today about 170.  I was 178 when I graduated high school.   183 in college.  192 my best weight working down the mill year 2, tough guy !  LOL.  So there you have it.

***Oh when/why did I go from 200 to 223+/- ? I worked down the mill with the millwrights, motor inspectors, bull gang and was in fabulous shape.  For 13 years even as a foreman I worked and ran my butt off in maintenance then i got a real dream job steady days in Plant Engineering.   They had donuts in the AM, out for lunch at noon every day !  I was NOT used to that, I was still lifting   -but-  I was slowly turning into a donut.   20+ extra pounds I didn't need well solved that they shut the place down.   Next job still a dream job, had my own office in Boardman.  EOM there.   In 2015 I got the kidney infection.  The mjp fast diet !  Lose 63# or else, lol. EOM there. ***

Oh no explanation for the kidney infection except it was a real mf if I wasn't in such good shape the kidney doctors told me to my face I probably would not have made it.  Go figure. 

That's a big chunk of my health history.   Oh doctors said if I stayed 165-170 for about a *year it could be my new weight.   I did it.  I'm now in great shape and eating right, and delicious  a big thanks to my great cook nurse wife.  I started my ★ GAMEDAY meals about 2000 +/- and have done it since,  Bon Appétit  everyone  !  

SO now you know.  Oh I'm still a tough guy but without the big, big guns, lol.    

Edited July 7, 2022 by mjp28

[TexasAg1969]

I have a nephew 6'4"  300+ lbs who started a year ago with pancreas infection and needed multiple hospitalizations/surgeries to remove necrotic tissue. It has since gotten into liver to some degree as well. Long story short he is now down to feeding tubes which have clogged several times and has lost down to around 160 Lbs. Somehow he just keeps hanging in there. Tough bird just like you. He used to be a bond collector and sometimes moonlighted as a bouncer. Now he lives on the floor level of his home because getting up the stairs to bedrooms is just too taxing.

[mjp28]

2 hours ago, TexasAg1969 said:

I have a nephew 6'4"  300+ lbs who started a year ago with pancreas infection and needed multiple hospitalizations/surgeries to remove necrotic tissue. It has since gotten into liver to some degree as well. Long story short he is now down to feeding tubes which have clogged several times and has lost down to around 160 Lbs. Somehow he just keeps hanging in there. Tough bird just like you. He used to be a bond collector and sometimes moonlighted as a bouncer. Now he lives on the floor level of his home because getting up the stairs to bedrooms is just too taxing.

Wow, pancreas like a few other places can be tough to deal with.   Give him our thoughts and prayers and best wishes to carry on.  🙏   

Tell him that I understand his situation and I know first hand what a bitch infections can be to get a grip on and fight.   This also can be hard on the adjacent family despite my wife being a recently retired in 2018 (thank goodness)  nurse she did have 42 years with the same hospital system 16 years at Southside Hospital  (now closed)  then 26 years at Northside Hospital in Youngstown.   She retired June 1, 2018 they closed it in October 2018.  A lot of good people lost their jobs and more.

She was a tough 5' 0" nurse but it was wearing her down at 62 we said enough.   Best thing we *did*.  And that was before  COVID-19  struck in late 2019.  In 2020 it was insane there all beds taken. -and-   i was in the hospital 4 times that year and never got covid, whew !  I was in 25 weeks in 2019, two unrelated surgeries April (10 weeks) and September - osteomyelitis of the left pelvis, WHEW, in for 14+ weeks.  

So give your nephew my best, maybe we could swap war stories,  lol.      

Edited July 7, 2022 by mjp28

[mjp28]

August  19, 2022 - Updated pictures of my two knee wounds and some good news, those wounds were actually upgraded  from Stage  4 to stage 2 wounds.  They are not as deep and my very good surgeon/ wound doctor is pleased with the progress.   They are not as deep and filling in nicely.  Still big and ugly to me but he's the surgeon.     (compared to the first pictures I put up on June 24) 

All of these wounds have to be cleaned, medicated and dressed once daily.

The not so good news the two wounds on my hip very much smaller than the knee  -but-  still deeper.   He just put me back on the wound vac again....a real pain in the @$$  but they do work.  Stage 4 and NO PICTURES,  nothing to look at.

SO remember be careful about little cuts and scratches......    [here are the side (L or top) and knee cap (R or bottom) of the pictures] 

 

[mjp28]

8/20/22 -  Remember too I've been fighting the original hip wound now since 2014   -plus-  since  2017 the osteomyelitis/ hip  -and-  in 2019 osteomyelitis/ pelvis with occasional  big time vancomyacin dispenced through  PICC lines in the hospital with rehab following.   It's not just an infection from a scratch. 

Still especially as you age you should be more observant of things.....but not crazy neurotic about it.     

★ 8/23/22 - edit add,  i have a WC appointment Wednesday 8/24, I think the WC Doctor will think the one plus week on the wound vac will show some results.   I think the pictures in September will be better.

Carry on !

[mjp28]

Appointment Wednesday 8/24 3 pm -  I'm hoping for some positive news since the last visit two weeks ago.   Well see......

● Later that night, appointment went well,  all wounds are healing.  We go again next Wednesday 8/31.   

[mjp28]

September 16,  my knee wounds have even improved in the last month since the last post.

Next appointment this Wednesday 9/18,  may have new better pictures then.  

[mjp28]

Later pictures....September 28 (1) August 15 (2) and ah, last week lunch ?  .   You've got to find some humor in this month-to-month slow process.   Even years sometimes. 

Hey the wound care MD is also a good surgeon thinks it's coming along well.

[mjp28]

Well some very  - slow but steady -   healing  news to March 14, 2023.    <--- ( KEEP ON CLICKING  DOWN  )

It's healing around the edges !    And oh such beautiful knees.       

  <---  **** JUST  CLICK DOWN ABOUT FOUR  MORE POSTS  !

[ballpeen]

Staph...not all that common, but as we see it can be a bear.  Hospitals are a good place to catch that aswell.

 

I always try to clean and at least rub with some hand sanitizer if not able to do anything at the house.  Joints can be tough as you tend to re-open the wound as you flex the joint.

[mjp28]

3 hours ago, ballpeen said:

Staph...not all that common, but as we see it can be a bear.  Hospitals are a good place to catch that aswell.

 

I always try to clean and at least rub with some hand sanitizer if not able to do anything at the house.  Joints can be tough as you tend to re-open the wound as you flex the joint.

Also MRSA is a nasty but unfortunately too common infection that can be spread in hospital and other nursing facilities.   You can't be too careful now.

[ballpeen]

As one who has a wife in a hospital setting...or was, you can have the best central sterile unit in the world and you are not going to be able to get everything.

 

We like to think so, but it just isn't possible.  At least as it stands now.  I guess you could bleach and fumigate every room and never let anybody in, but that isn't how hospitals operate.  They have to treat people who sometimes have a nasty shit.

[mjp28]

On 4/11/2023 at 3:56 PM, ballpeen said:

As one who has a wife in a hospital setting...or was, you can have the best central sterile unit in the world and you are not going to be able to get everything.

 

We like to think so, but it just isn't possible.  At least as it stands now.  I guess you could bleach and fumigate every room and never let anybody in, but that isn't how hospitals operate.  They have to treat people who sometimes have a nasty shit.

( KEEP ON CLICKING  *DOWN  *)

In our case I have the hospital-like requirements for treating and maintaining wound care settings  fortunately my wife is excellent in wound care and meds, etc.  

In a hospital you  "might" have sterile or near sterile requirements  ..... at home you might get by with "clean techniques " to get by.

Plus I like the air mattresses and the nice extra cushion mattress tops.  Plus before April 2018 we were just getting by without a whole house generator until we  "did it right "  and got a 10 KW whole house generator  (but no AC but plenty good enough)  for about  $6,320.  It comes with some other nice benefits like good insurance savings.   Having always on sump pumps and other benefits is N-I-C-E.   😁  

If you want more information just ask me about them.   Big storm, NO PROBLEM the power,  computers,  cable etc  keep rolling on.

 

[mjp28]

On 3/19/2023 at 8:17 PM, mjp28 said:

Well some very  - slow but steady -   healing  news to March 14, 2023.    ( ALMOST THERE )

It's healing around the edges !    And oh such beautiful knees.       

★ ★   Well my two wounds on my right knee have really progressed since my last  - March 14, 2023 -  pictures.   Slow and steady with my St. E. hospital  MD and nurses there  -and-  my home care nurses 3 visits per week  -and-  of course my excellent  at home  nurse wife's excellent  7 days a week care ..... see for yourself.   As of this  - Monday June 19, 2023  pictures-.   ABOUT  THREE MONTHS  PROGRESS .     NICE.     💕  Great work everyone.   💕