Mom and I joke that her warranty ran out when she turned 80. Up until then she walked miles a day, rode a bike, bowled in two leagues, and taught line dancing. All while legally blind.
But after a series of illnesses and injuries to her legs, she has spent far too much of the last seven years with a cane, a walker, and her most despised wheelchair. For the last week, she's been back in the wheelchair.
After getting both knees replaced at 86 (see other posts here), she was improving until a supposedly minor scratch on her leg turned into cellulitis and MRSA. Another week long visit to the hospital, most of it in the ICU. A scratch ignored by the nurses on that stay turned into an infected blister and another 4 months of weekly visits to the Wound Care clinic, including 2 skin graphs.
She was finally getting past all that when the heel spurs kicked in and, while her "new" knees are working well, she can't take a step without pain. That made three weekly visits to the foot and ankle doctor for shots, but she was still struggling along, trying to use her walker to get around, despite the pain.
All that changed, again, about 10 days ago.
My dog reached up with his paw to beg attention just as she moved. It was a slight tear in her fragile skin, not more than a half inch, but it broke the integrity of her skin and triggered a reaction in her immune system. The next morning she woke with severe pain in both forearms. Of course, this was a Friday and by the time I needed to call someone, all the doctors' offices were closed at noon for the weekend.
Since she has so much trouble with infections, we had an antibiotic on hand and I started her on them over the weekend. Monday morning, I called her doctor. She was in too much pain to try and leave the house for an appointment, so I asked for a home health nurse to come and evaluate her. We have an agency we've used several times and they were happy to send out a nurse that knew her well. They are reporting to the doctor and monitoring her condition in case she gets worse or needs to go to the hospital. It's cellulitis and MRSA, the same combination she had back in April that put her in the ICU for 4 days so we're fortunate that the doctor has let her stay home this long.
She can't crochet because her hands are so swollen. And she can't work on the christening blanket for her soon-to-be great-grandson (due Valentine's Day), but I'm trying to keep her spirits up and get her through this crisis. Another day, another problem, but we'll succeed this time too.
Kathy
Posted by: |