NeuroTalk Support Groups - Alan was operated on today!!!

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- - Alan was operated on today!!! (https://www.neurotalk.org/peripheral-neuropathy/39621-alan-operated.html)

Quote:

Originally Posted by shelley (Post 220942)

I too hope he has a speedy recovery! You had me laughin on the floor when I read about his pants falling off. :hug:

(((((((((Melody and Alan)))))))))

Lifting patients

Hi Melody:

In hospitals and nursing homes, lifts of various kinds are used to lift patients from wheelchair to bed, bed to wheelchair, etc. Nurses and aides do not lift patients without a machine. We used a Hoyer lift at home ourselves, and it made things very easy. There must be two people using the lift in hospitals and nursing homes, for safety (and insurance) reasons, but it can easily used by just one person, because I did it with ease and no problems. Loved that Hoyer lift! A "sling" is placed around the person, and then the sling fastened to the lift.

I do hope that Alan can have that muscle operation to solve his perpetual problem with that foot ulcer. That has gone on much too long!

Shirley H.

Shirley:

Alan DID have the muscle operation. That's exactly what Dr. Hubbard thought might help. He made a decision not to shave down the bone. He must know what he's doing. He's a good orthpedic surgeon who works at Beth Israel Medical Center in NYC.

So Alan is doing okay. BELIEVE ME ALAN IS DOING OKAY.

He got all frisky on me at 5:30 a.m. (with a cast on no less). I bopped him on his head and we got hysterical laughing. I hope the 82 year olds who live downstairs didn't hear us. I told him "listen, I'm 60 years old, and I need my sleep, and so do you".

thank goodness we get along, OTHERWISE WE'D PROBABLY KILL EACH OTHER.

But honestly, he's trying to maneuver around on the crutches. Very hard for him. But MIRACLE OF MIRACLES, he maneurvered himself out of the wheelchair and onto the couch. I just looked at him. For him, this was SOMETHING, believe me.

So,and I have no idea how we find out if this muscle calf thing is going to work out... I mean, what are we supposed to look for? How he walks, (I mean when he gets back to walking).

This is a wait and see thing.

And don't worry about HIM, Worry about ME!!!! I'm the one taking care of HIM!!! lol

Melody

P.S. I have seen those Hoyer Lift things. A godsend.
I'm the only Hoyer thing in this house.....lol

Sending many get well wishes to your husband and good luck to you. You guys sem like a wonderful couple. Laughter is the best medicine and love too. The brownies don't hurt either.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MelodyL (Post 220850)

Well, what a surprise. Here I thought the guy was going to shave down the bone, and that's not exactly what happened.

We get there, Alan goes in, I wait in the waiting place (making friends with everyone else waiting there also).

After a few hours, the doctor calls me over and I immediately say "Oh you shaved down his bone, right?" and he goes 'No I didnt'" I said 'what do you mean, Alan told me that's what you were going to do and also take something out of his calf".

The doctor said "No, that's not what I told Alan, I said I would look at his ulcer and ultimately determine if I would or wouldn't shave down the bone. Did you know that he had a hole that went straight through to his seismoid??"

I said 'well, I saw the little hole, but I didn't know about the seisemoid".

He then asked me if there had been any redness, swelling, pus, ANYTHING??? and I said "absolutely not". Alan has been complaining that it's been hurting him lately.

He said "well, I debrided it and took care of it, it has to heal, he has to be off his foot for one week, then bring him in and bring his cam walker too"

Then he told me what he did with the calf muscle thing.

He said (can't remember all of it), but he extended something, and he said and I got this part right.

He said: 'I've discovered in many cases like your husband that if I extend (whatever thing he extended), that Alan's pressure would be oft loaded (or something to that effect), the short version is he did something to Alan's muscle in the calf and he feels that when Alan's ulcer heals, that when Alan starts to walk again, he will walk completely differently and it won't cause the ulcer to re-ocurr. I got that part right because that's what I said back to him and he said "correct".

He said 'we'll see later on if something has to be done with this bone, but honestly, I don't think it will, because I've seen a great many people have no more problems once I lengthened (whatever thing he lengthened).

He also mentioned wound care. I said 'you know he's not a diabetic, and I do take care of him". He said "yeah, I know, very good". He said "bring him in next week and we'll decide from there. Bring in the boot".

So I said "So if you don't like the cam walker, you'll give him a different one?" and he said 'correct".

So the operation went off without a hitch. I found him in recovery eating chocolate cookies, and croissants.

Everything is run like clockwork at Beth Israel. Very good teamwork.

Alan is in a foot cast almost up to his knee. Just his toes peek out.

Now getting this man on crutches and onto the access-a-ride is a completely different. matter. His balance (when he walks he's fine), but put him on crutches and forget about it.

And getting him up the porch to our apartment, well I thought he would fall on me. Then his pants started to fall down and he's screaming "My pants are falling down", and I started laughing my head off. He started laughing too. Thank god we can still laugh at stuff.

He just sat down on the porch (after pulling up his pants), and he shimmied up the front steps, then hopped up and I got the wheelchair. Where he is right now.

I do not look forward to bed time. This shall be very interesting.

So just wanted to update.

MelodyL:
I'm new to this board so bear with me....
What type of foot problems has your husband had?

His sounds similar to my husband's--ulcers, bone infection, toe amputation, shoe boots. I'm curious about whatever the doc did to his calf muscle. My husband has high arches & his doc talked about doing something to his tendons but don't know much about this & how this would help. It's good you can still laugh! Some days that's not so easy! Rozzie M

Hi Rozzie:

My husband was diagnosed for years with Idiopathic Peripheral Neuropathy. He is not now, nor has he ever been diabetic. His sugar reading is usually 84. Thats his number. Always has, probably has been. They ruled out anthing to do with Diabetes long long time ago and he had another test last year and again it was ruled out.

They did however order a spinal tap, discovered protein in his spinal fluid, and prescribed IVIG infusions once a month. Helps with his balance but does nothing for the pain between the toes. That's where his neuropathy is.

Two or so years ago he had a carotid blockage, did the stent thing, went into cardio rehab, joined a gym, went on a treadmill, AND BECAUSE HIS FEET ARE COMPLETELY NUMB, well he did not know he was developing a sore. He came home, all his socks were bloodied, I immediately took him to his podiatrist who diagnosed him with a foot ulcer.

He has had the same recurring foot ulcer for a good two years. He has been debrided more times than a fish has been gutted.

He has been prescribed orthotics, oft-loading shoes, shoe boot cam walker thingees, his ulcer would heal, then it would return.

His podiatrist would not shave down the bone. I found an orthopedic surgeon. Alan went to him (I could not go that day AND I CAN BOP MYSELF BECAUSE I WOULD HAVE LISTENED TO WHAT THE GUY SAID).

Alan came home and said "Oh, he's going to shave down the bone and take out something out of my calf". I said 'really??" and he said "Yeah, he says that if he does this calf thing, then when I walk, I won't put any pressure on the ulcer.

Well, yesterday, he has the operation, (and now you an re-read what I said about the doctor not shaving down the bone).

So next week, WHEN I WILL GO WITH HIM , I shall take notes, and you can read it right here on this thread.

That way you can compare your husband's feet with my husband's feet.
What's your husband's diagnosis by the way? My husband has never had a bone infection, never had an amputation, (thank god).
Is your hubby diabetic?

Good luck Melody and I hope Alan's foot heals fast! Tell him I'm off my crutches now And just be very very careful and don't get too confidant. Take it slow. Hope all goes well.

Billye

Hi Billye:

I know exactly what you mean by not getting too confident. I'm afraid he'll fall if he tries to do anything on the crutches without me next to him. He doesn't do this. This is how we communicate. I have a very long apartment. My living room dining room alone is 30 feet. So if I'm in the back of my apartment doing something on the computer or just cleaning up in the bathroom, how can he call me??

I gave him my cell phone. He calls the landline phone, I see it's him, I say "what's up tootsie" and he goes, "can you come and put in this cassette tape for me". I go inside and bop him on the head. We laugh.

I really don't mind because as soon as he's well, he's taking me around the corner for a nice Japanese dinner.

Next week I'm taking down the wheelchair and putting it down the stairs. Then he'll shimmy down and get into it. Then we'll access-a-ride down to the Doc's office. Don't know if they will take the cast off. Anybody have a clue??

Also, it's a hard cast. So here's my question. And underneath by the heel area, it's hard there too. So the cast is a hard cast everywhere (and the toes peek out). So what would be the bad thing if, let's say Alan wants to wheel himself ove to the bathroom, and then take one crutch, and put down his right foot (the one with the cast), and just gingerly puts the heel on the floor.??? Isn't that what a hard cast is for. To allow you to step on it for a moment so you can transfer from one object to another??

Like getting out of bed and just taking two steps to the wheelchair, or getting out of the wheelchair and taking two steps to the bathroom.

He really isn't supposed to put his cast on the floor at all??

Believe me, all the instructions say is to elevate the right foot at heart level.

They tried to show him how to walk with the crutches, but when I saw the hard cast was under the heel, the first thing I thought of was "can't he just put his heel down for a moment???"

I'm thinking, "maybe it has something to do with the muscle calf thingee??" I mean, maybe he is not supposed to do any walking on this hard cast because of the calf part of the operation?? I didn't know that it was a hard cast by the heel or I would have asked the doctor, and now it's too late to call anybody.

If he puts any weight on the heel, it's not going to disturb the ulcer because the heel is in the hard cast.

anyone know???

mel

How is the pain?

Does he have pain?

Sounds like there isn't much because you don't mention it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MelodyL (Post 220850)

Melody, just to let you know, you and your husband will be in my thoughts and prayers.

Michele:hug: