[hillarymcarter]

We have been battling one hell of a bed sore on my husband's butt for over a year now. We have tried everything...you name it...we've tried it. He even had surgery which resulted in a sponge being left in his butt.
Well, there is hope.....
BRUCE'S WOUND HAS HEALED!!!

[Joed]

I'm celebrating right with you! That has to be a tremendous load off of your mind...and off of Bruce's bum.

I know this complication has set things back so much...now maybe things can start off on a more even keel.

Great News!

[carolline]

Wow finally the wound batlle vs. Bruce's bum is over.
Congratulation!!! That's the good start for this year.
I think the wound that's stayed there for a year got bored that's why it fed up and need to migrate to somewhere else.Not to BRUCE again huh!

[keps]

Congratulations!
I'm so pleased to hear the fight is now over.

[Upstate]

Hillary,
What great news! Great for you and inspiration for the rest of us.

[wheelie182]

Quote

BRUCE'S WOUND HAS HEALED!!!

yeh, great news !!!

but just remember that that place will be prone to pressure now, depending on how far the skin has healed........ one awkward transfer, or knock, and you'll tear it again !!!

just remember to tell him to make his transfers really soft and really slow,

and also no

[hillarymcarter]

and also no.....what?

I told him that if it opens back up, I would kill him in his sleep! He has already called to let his nurse know that if he dies they need to investigate me first!!!
One new year's resolution down!!!!!!!!!

We still have the venous ulcer on his leg to contend with...but, at least now he doesn't have to be stuck in bed all the time.

[DrewsLou]

I'm so happy for you guys!! I can't wait to say the same about Andy.

[bluebutterflyrn]

Congratulations Hillary and Bruce! But be careful as Wheelie as advised, the skin that forms over a pressure sore is not as strong as normal skin, and can break down easily. Make sure he shifts his weight frequently and avoids prolonged periods in the same position. Best Wishes!

[hillarymcarter]

Thanks for the advice.
Bruce has had other sores where the skin grew back very thin and fragile. Luckily, the one on his butt has grown back super, super thick. It kind of formed back in a keloid type scar over the old one. His nurse can't believe how thick his new skin is.

[wheelie182]

i have a few sores and they all leave a pink scar which looks nasty

[rollingpix]

I'm very happy that his sore healed.

[rooster1005]

Hillary,
I am glad to hear how great Bruce healed. Robert, my hubby, had to have a flap done on one bum cheek and on one hip so we know all about the pressure wound thing. I would not even wish that on my worst enemy. Wonderful to hear that he is better and able to be up more. Robert had almost one full year of bed rest to heal his so he could relate. We wish you both the best of luck.

[marypure]

yeah for the healing!

[Chilepepper]

Congratulations Hillary and Bruce! I'm sure he already has a good cushion. But if you does not, then Bruce should buy one pronto. Get in a habit of lifting yourself off that cushion as offten as possible. On my truck seat I use a 2 inch think JAY cushion, this help me out a gread deal for I'm always driving out of town for work.

[hillarymcarter]

He's got a Jay cushion on his chair and a Roho on his truck seat. He is constantly doing pressue releases. He got these sores from being in ICU.

[Chilepepper]

From ICU, man Bruce that really sucks.

[hillarymcarter]

Well, he was in SICU for 55 days and then he was in an LTAC unit for 3 weeks and then he was in another hospital for 3 weeks...all this was before he got to rehab....so he was vitually in bed for like 3 months without getting up. He had so many internal things wrong that he just couldn't get up. The hospital aides would come in and turn him every now and then, but we just didn't realize how important it was to turn every 2 hours. I wish they would hammer the turning thing into you when you have someone who is in the hospital for that long. If I had know he would have these sores, I would have turned him every 5 minutes!!!
Anyway, we only have one more left to go.....one on the back of his left calf....we have no idea how he got that one!

[hillarymcarter]

Ho, they thought he did several times. He had two bone scans and everything is fine. He does have MRSA though. The sore on his leg wouldn't heal because it was a venous ulcer and we weren't treating it with the profore system to keep the swelling down.

[Joed]

hillarymcarter, on Jan 11 2006, 11:03 PM, said:

I wish they would hammer the turning thing into you when you have someone who is in the hospital for that long. If I had know he would have these sores, I would have turned him every 5 minutes!!!

Not only that, but some hospitals/rehabs are more disciplined about turning on the 2 than others.

I ended up turning my roommate myself, after I saw that the nurses were not turning her often enough. Many times, through the night, I would remind the nurses to at least keep my roommate off of the affected side, as she was developing an ulcer on her favorite position side.

But yes, the two hour schedule isn't just a suggestion...it's imperitive. And it should be stressed again and again to new patients and their families.

[hillarymcarter]

When Bruce would refuse to turn, I would just say 'you are going to get a sore' and that was that. I had no idea what a little sore could turn into. They should show you the pics of stage 4 sores when you get there. Someone who doesn't know anything about bed sores doesn't realize how bad they get.

[wheelie182]

hillary did you take an pictures? i only had a mild one, only a few mm deep, but about 2cm2, anyway my nurse took pictures every so often, so that i can keep a record, but also its nice to see the changes,

did you take any pictures? if you did post them up, it would be great for those people trying to diet

[Chilepepper]

The worst part of a presure sore is that you feel heathly but because of the sore on your butt you have to stay in bed 24/7, and that is the part that is really really hard to deal with. I've seen guys that were sent bach to the rehab and had to get around in a bananna bed or was back in bed until their stage 4 sores were healed And this would take months to heal.

[hillarymcarter]

We have tons of pictures! We are trying to make a scrapbook!! Bruce always refused to look at the pics, so he never saw how bad it was. I could fit both of my fists in it and the bone was sticking out. We went to the Dr. today and he said that I don't need to put a padded dressing on it anymore..I am so excited!! The one on his leg is also doing excellent. Last time we went (January 3), his wound was 5.5cm x 3.5cm....now it is 3.2cm x 2cm! Plus, I don't have to do the profore wraps anymore. The Dr. did mention that he thought that Bruce needed to stay on blood thinners for the rest of his life. Does anyone know why? He has a green fill filter put in, so he can't get an embolism or anything.

[bluebutterflyrn]

The worst pressure sore I've ever seen had to be the mother of all sores. This guy's left hip was completely hanging out. I mean you could literally move his leg and watch his joint move. I couldn't even measure it. And that wasn't the only one, he had a total of 14 decubs, all of them either stage 3 or 4. The problem was he was a serious meth addict and his skin was rotting from the inside out. I don't know how he was still alive. I haven't seen many things in this profession that I couldn't handle, but this really freaked me out.

[wheelie182]

well then post em, id like to actually see how bad it was,.......you say you could fit both fists !!!!!!!

[wriggley]

hi Hilliary

the reason the doc wants tokeep him on blood thinners probably has more to do with DVT's than it does PE's. I keep getting clots forming in my calfs we only seem to notice they are there by the time the hitmy mid thigh yuck! Even small DVTs can SERIOUSLY increase his likelyhood of yet another sore. So as long as the Doc doesnt go mad with the dosage don't worry too much

Wriggley

[hillarymcarter]

I don't have the fist pics...those would be at the hospital. We will probably be getting them soon though because we have a malpractice suit going with the hospital for leaving a surgical sponge in his flap surgery. If I get them, I will post them (If Simon says OK). Hell, if it keeps someone off their butt then it will be worth it! I do have the pics from when we found the sponge in his bottom, but I won't post any of those until the suit is over.