I've never been one to write out a standard Christmas letter that gets sent to everyone in my address book, and I admit this feels a bit like doing that. (Minus the festive occasion, unfortunately.) However...I trust you'll all understand my time restraints and forgive me if you don't receive a personalized note...until later. The most recent news is this: After doing a bone biopsy (which obviously should have been done MUCH sooner
my doctors have told me I do have infected bone in my left foot. The bone is already deteriorating so there's no way it can be fought with antibiotics alone. Monday I'm going into the hospital for surgery...they will remove the entire 5th metatarsal and little toe. The surgery is done in 2 stages, first they remove the bone and pack it open, 2 days later they sort of "car wash" it out and stitch things closed. I expect to be back home Thurs. or Friday. A quick summary of events in the past year, for those of you who might be a little behind:
A little over a year ago I developed an infection in a small cut on the bottom of my foot. I was given crutches to use in an attempt to offload all weight. However...as a result of putting so much pressure on the "good" foot, I developed a blister on it...thus giving me two wounds that refused to heal. From there I ended up on a carrousel of weekly wound care appointments, and a series of podiatry, orthopedic, and cardiovascular doctor appointments coupled with MRI's (3 to date) MRA's and other tests to determine if my circulation was bad. (They say it isn't.) Eventually it became a question of whether or not I had osteomyelitis, or an infection in the bone, of my left foot.
It seemed for every time a doctor told me there WAS infection, another was telling me there was NOT. My local, family doctor was concerned with the wishy-washy answers I was getting, so in August he set me up to see an infectious disease doctor in a different hospital/health care system to get another opinion. Again, the news seemed good...the infectious disease Dr. said he didn't believe the bone to be infected, but wanted another MRI done because the previous one had been "cloudy". He ordered one for the right foot as well, which up to this point no one else had done. He said the only way to positively diagnose infection was by doing a bone biopsy, but this would only be set up if infection was suspected from the MRI results. Infections were usually fought first with heavy-duty antibiotics, but if that didn't work, surgery to remove the infected bone would be necessary. Basically, a lot of information he didn't think I'd even need to know.
2 days after the test I received a phone call saying the MRI was negative for infection. 2 days after that...I got a phone call to schedule an appointment with the orthopedic surgeon for a bone biopsy.
As it turned out, the first call was only to report findings on my right leg. 
In Sept. I also began lymphedema therapy to try and deal with the severe swelling in my legs and feet. So as to not overload my kidneys, only one leg was treated to begin with...and to date, they've calculated aprox. 5 liters of fluid has been taken off just my right leg. The left is just as bad, if not worse, but I can't begin treatment on it until the infection has been dealt with, for fear of spreading it further.
Last Thursday, the 16th of October, I had 4 samples of bone removed from my left foot. It was supposed to be a quick procedure under local anesthesia. However...due to the massive swelling, they didn't think they could get numbing medicine deep enough into the foot. Plus...there was a possibility the numbing medication could further spread the infection. So...they put me to sleep...which wasn't a huge deal, just that it made me useless for about 3 days, and falling asleep in front of the computer was standard.
That pretty much brings things up to date.
I've been a member of AP for 2 1/2 years now, and in that time I've met a wealth of amazing people I am honored to consider friends and family. Some of you I message often, some only occasionally; some of you are close friends who know most of my life's history, while others know just a few basic facts; some of you have been friends from practically the moment I first entered the site, others I've gotten to know more recently; for the people I don't know, I hope to cross your path at least once, and in a positive way... But no matter where you fit into my AP "landscape", one thing remains true for each of you I've been blessed to meet: you are all sources of strength and inspiration to me...and that is what brings me through the multitude of challenges life has tossed at me.
I hope each of you know how much your friendship has been appreciated during my time on AP. To quote those really annoying messages when you've been put on hold..."Your message is important to me and will be answered in the order received."
I'll be on again Sunday for a brief time...so I will try to get back to a few of you then.
Love and
s to all,~Julie
Adding your comment:
