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Thread: My Recent Absence

  1. #1
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    My Recent Absence

    I just wanted to give an update.

    A few days before Christmas, my left shoulder began swelling and I was in horrible pain. My doctor put an urgent consult in to see my orthopedic surgeon. He ordered an MRI and on Friday, the 12th, we saw him for the results. He said, "I need you in my operating room on Tuesday" Your shoulder is seriously infected and I need to get in there and clean it out. He said I would be admitted for a few days to ensure that my blood wasn't infected so that they could pit a PICC line in so that they could attack the infection with antibiotics. I was released on Thursday night and the first antibiotic IV's were delivered that night.

    I have to have two IV's per day. Each one takes two hours to infuse. A home nurse came to show my wife how to infuse the IV's into the PICC line. Since we still work, I have to get up at 4 am, get showered and dressed, then she gets up before five to get it started by five just to hopefully, leave the house by seven.

    It can take three weeks to get the results of the biopsy in order to determine what type of infection it is. So we don't know how long we have to do this or what the ultimate plan will be on how to fight this. But it could take months.

    The surgeon said he has never seen anything like this. In 2016, I was treated for an infection in this shoulder and a biopsy showed that it was gone. So where this came from is a mystery.

    The PICC line is crazy and I was scared when the nurse told me what she had to do to put it in. Some of you have probably had a similar procedure, so you know what it's like. It goes in my arm, through a vein and just about into the heart. And ya, I was awake when they did it. Other than the numbing needle, it didn't hurt at all. Those two nurses were awesome. The nurses working the second floor...not so much.

    Thanks Grammar Rules for looking in on the forum while I was out.

  2. #2
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    Wow, hope you get better. Getting old is scary. At least you have a good competent wife, can work, and are not going crazy at home. Take care and watch plenty of CNN to keep that blood pressure up.
    "The difference between golf and government is that in golf you cant improve your lie"
    John Daly

  3. #3
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    Rick, take care hope your back to normal as soon as possible.
    The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.

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  5. #4
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    O Lord, look upon Rick with eyes of mercy,
    may your healing hand rest upon him,
    may your life-giving powers flow
    into every cell of his body
    and into the depths of his soul,
    cleansing, purifying, restoring Rick
    to wholeness and strength
    for service in Your Kingdom.
    Amen.
    "A boy cannot become a girl and a man cannot become a woman, not even if he shuts his eyes and wishes really hard."



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  7. #5
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    Best of luck, Rick.
    I can tell you from experience, my friend, that getting old is vastly overrated.
    Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

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  9. #6
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    My wife and I have come to the point that when we get up, and are in pain somewhere, we know we are still alive. Then we read the obits, and if our names are not in there, we have breakfast.

    Having had this shoulder surgery myself, I can assure you that recover is long, and the pain is great.

    I will put Rick on my list for our church prayer warriors.
    If you do not read the news you are uninformed. If you do you are misinformed. Mark Twain


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  11. #7
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    Rick, I do hope you start feeling better soon, and do hope the infection is cleared up.
    As Sean Connery said, "sometimes our golden years aren't so damned golden".
    But...you are tough...just think how good you will feel when you get through this and get back to "normal". Hope you heal in a hurry, Rick.

  12. #8
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    Thanks all.

    This was actually my 14th shoulder surgery. Six on the right before they finally got it.

    The left has been another saga ever since I twisted it out of socket in 2000. Three of the eight surgeries have been biopsies to test for infection. There was no reconstruction needed and recovery was quick. In March of 2017, he did a biopsy that showed that the infection was gone, but in December, the swelling and pain started.

    The antibiotic sucks. I often get nauseous and food doesn't taste good. This could last for months. I also have to find a way to get the PICC line dressing changed. The home nurse says that Tricare will only pay for home care if I am actually homebound. It makes no sense to be on short term disability for a once a week procedure. Hopefully, someone at Darnall can do it.

    In the meantime, I am told that I have a hernia that may need surgery. I guess the good thing is that with this fancy picc line, I shouldn't need a new IV...lol

    Oh and Tricare co-pays went up. For outpatient, it went from $25 - $60 and for inpatient services, it went from $25 - $150. I say for $150, the food should be edible. Not the garbage that Seton was shoveling.

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  14. #9
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    Prayers for a full and speedy recovery

  15. #10
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    Rick; Your 'team' has prob'ly already considered this but you may have developed some sort of antibiotic resistance. it happens a lot to those of us who have at one time or another had to take antibiotics......mac

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