Just got back from the wound care doc. Received news that surprised absolutely nobody.
I’m wearing this wound vac for another month. Which means I don’t go back to work until late September instead of two weeks from tomorrow.
On the upside, the doctor said it looks good, definitely shrinking, it’s healthy, all that good stuff. Which is what the nurses have been saying all along too. So no surprises there either.
There was some amusingness involved too. For those of you who haven’t had the delightful experience of having a wound-vac strapped to you for well over a month, there is a funk that moves in once you’re off the antibiotics. As soon as he peeled the old dressing off, he looked at his resident and made a joke about “the wound-vac smell.” We all laughed and I mentioned that was the one thing that’s really starting to bug me. I’m getting really sick of apologizing to the nurses whenever they do the dressing change.
Because madre de Elvis, the stank.
I asked the doctor what caused that stank, and he said it’s bacterial colonization. He also specified it isn’t an infection. Then he and the resident made a joke about the fine line between colonization and infection, which basically comes down to “there’s always going to be bacteria in there, but it doesn’t become a problem until a certain amount. So don’t worry about it.”
While you’re on the hardcore antibiotics (as I understand it, they’re pretty much mandatory if a wound-vac is on the table; both are treatments for serious wounds), they kill everything that isn’t supposed to be there. In my case, they were even eyeballing some things that are supposed to be there; the reason you can only be on the one they gave me for three weeks is it starts killing your blood. I think it’s the white cells specifically, but I’m no expert.
So you go off the antibiotics, you have an open wound, and it’s covered in vacuum-sealed plastic. We don’t live in a sterile world. There are bacteria everywhere. That’s why stuff rots. That’s where infections come from. That’s how sourdough bread is made. You think some bacteria are going to see that sealed pocket of moisture as a really spiffy condo?
Which is what I get to deal with until this thing comes off and the wound heals enough that I can wash it properly again. As soon as the doctors clear me for such behavior, I am breaking out the foot tub, filling it with my special eucalemon blend of Buddy Ebsen salts, and soaking the stank out of it. Repeatedly.
Also on the upside, work is continuing to be really civilized. Talked to my immediate supervisor and the foreman, and they’re both taking a “well, we’ll pencil you in for the revised date and hope it pans out. Get well and hopefully we’ll see you soon.” Which is nice. It takes a lot off knowing they aren’t just itching for an excuse to get rid of me as soon as I get back.
Short version: I’m sitting out most of September, but everything’s getting better just like we want it to, and I get to live with that horrific gorram stank for a while.