Two weeks back, Lekha was admitted into the hospital to tackle an unhealing ulcer on her left foot. The doctor had suggested a combination of Hyper Baric Oxygen Therapy and a skin graft of the wound, the source being her own self.
Just going back in time regarding the ulcer that refused to heal. It's as old as late Aug '93! When she was seriously ill with SLE - she'd suffered a series of epileptic episodes that had occurred at a frequency of 11/2 to 2 hrs and consequently, had slipped into a coma - while trying to get an intravenous infusion, some junior doctor or the nursing staff must have made the puncture which turned out to be unsuccessful because finally, they'd to resort to cutting open the jugular risking infection. Luck was on Lekha's side - she's a fighter - and everything turned out well in the end.
It's been nine days after the graft and today, the doctor had cut open the dressing and the cast that were put in place to ensure complete immobility of the leg. The wound is healing satisfactorily thanks to the antibiotic support and the Oxygen therapy. He'd then put a fresh dressing along with the cast for another four days and announced that she could go home by Thursday next.
And then came the sucker punch. I was quite happy that one of the long standing problems of Lekha had been licked and was gonna be history. Just then, the doctor had called me aside and said that we should pray that her SLE never perked up again because if such a thing happened, there was a chance that her body would reject the newly grafted skin despite the fact that it was her own. What struck me immediately and which I'd communicated to the doctor was that she'd end up with nursing a larger ulcer!
In response, he'd held my shoulder and said that he was sure that such a situation will never happen but sounded unconvincing. For me, it's gonna be a new worry that I can't share with many.
Tailpiece.
Well, my life has never had a dull moment. I'm sure that everything's gonna be fine if I didn't look too much into the future! And that's what I'm gonna do.
Just going back in time regarding the ulcer that refused to heal. It's as old as late Aug '93! When she was seriously ill with SLE - she'd suffered a series of epileptic episodes that had occurred at a frequency of 11/2 to 2 hrs and consequently, had slipped into a coma - while trying to get an intravenous infusion, some junior doctor or the nursing staff must have made the puncture which turned out to be unsuccessful because finally, they'd to resort to cutting open the jugular risking infection. Luck was on Lekha's side - she's a fighter - and everything turned out well in the end.
It's been nine days after the graft and today, the doctor had cut open the dressing and the cast that were put in place to ensure complete immobility of the leg. The wound is healing satisfactorily thanks to the antibiotic support and the Oxygen therapy. He'd then put a fresh dressing along with the cast for another four days and announced that she could go home by Thursday next.
And then came the sucker punch. I was quite happy that one of the long standing problems of Lekha had been licked and was gonna be history. Just then, the doctor had called me aside and said that we should pray that her SLE never perked up again because if such a thing happened, there was a chance that her body would reject the newly grafted skin despite the fact that it was her own. What struck me immediately and which I'd communicated to the doctor was that she'd end up with nursing a larger ulcer!
In response, he'd held my shoulder and said that he was sure that such a situation will never happen but sounded unconvincing. For me, it's gonna be a new worry that I can't share with many.
Tailpiece.
Well, my life has never had a dull moment. I'm sure that everything's gonna be fine if I didn't look too much into the future! And that's what I'm gonna do.
No comments:
Post a Comment