A Fistula? Huh?

To get this out of the way:

A fistula is an abnormal connection between an organ, vessel, or intestine and another structure. Fistulas are usually the result of injury or surgery. It can also result from infection or inflammation. (as defined by the NIH)

Now, getting back to the topic at hand.  I did a test this morning which would rule out a fistula.  I got the results (something required to be done on my end) and called the doctor.  She said "hmmmm.... let me talk with <another doctor in the practice> and I'll call you back."  Ok?  She called back and said it would be rare for me to have a fistula so far out from my hysterectomy (years!) and that she would like me to re-do the test (which is no fun, by the way) and go to the office on Tuesday for her to do the final part of the test so she can see the results for herself.  Gee, this isn't nerve-wracking at all!

It's important to understand that "rare" is the kiss of death for me.  With one injury alone:

1. most people don't need surgery for this injury
2. it's strange that PT didn't work
3. surgery: finds 5 torn ligaments in my ankle when only one showed up on the MRI
4. post-op I thought I popped a stitch, so call the doc.  I get his associate who says to go in.  It turns out I had a large burst hematoma (a pocked of blood beneath the skin)  It's uncommon in your situation and to be directly under the incision, says the doctor
5. I go and see my doctor a bit later (I can't remember if it was no more than 2 weeks later, but I'd imagine it was the sooner part of that) who says that in all his years of practice he's never seen such a this happen (it was ugly, people, super nasty - I won't disgust you by posting a picture)
6. There's nothing else I can do (says the surgeon) but it's odd for it not to heal by now so you'll have to go to the wound care clinic.

This was all in December 2013 when I had my ankle surgery and had the rollator, so that's why I'm saying it was within a shorter period of time.

You get the idea?  Rare = my world

So, I did some research.  I know, I know, the internet is a dangerous place for research, but I try to stick to the NIH, Hopkins, Mayo - reputable sites.  They all basically agreed with my doctor, although she is amazing and I'd expect no less.  There are some pretty uncomfortable tests which could be done after I see my doc on Tuesday.  Surgery is a possible cure.  Yep, rare.  Sigh....

When Life Enters the Picture

There is no excuse.  None. At all.

However I'm going to offer one up anyway.

Life.

Life is crazy busy.  You know it.  It's true for you, too.  It seems to be true for everyone these days, doesn't it?  Work.  Cooking.  Shopping.  Movies.  Dinner out.  Family visits.  Friend visits.  Cooking for said visits.  Phone calls.  Life.

Personally, my life has taken a turn further into crazy with appointments and testing out the wazoo (I can't believe wazoo is a real word!).  I won't go into all the craziness of it all, but it's there.

My last post (embarrassingly nearly a year ago) was about a month after I fell.  I had had my MRI and was doing PT.  Ahhhh, such innocent days.  After PT was unsuccessful, the doctor and I decided it was best to schedule surgery.  Eeep, surgery!

Ok, I'll back up.  I go to the surgeon for the first time and he tells me that the type(s) of injuries I sustained rarely needs surgery.  I laugh at him because I had the same injury on my other ankle years ago and wound up having surgery.  I have the surgery in early December and was told that I needed to be non-weight-bearing for 3 weeks.  For someone the size of a hippopotamus that essentially means that I have to live upstairs for those 3 weeks.  To be clear, 3 weeks/21 days after surgery is Christmas Day.  Brilliant.  Someone morbidly obese... ok, I cannot use my weak upper arms to hold up my big-fat body with crutches.  I borrowed a Knee Scooter from a friend and that was a life-saver.  It took a bit to get used to, but crutches were absolutely NOT an option, I was thankful for this.  I had a really hard time going up and down the individual steps in front of the house and wound up crawling on my knees.  It wasn't pretty.

Moving on...  ok, so, I had the surgery on a Wednesday and had a quick check-up on Monday.  All looked good.  Monday night the pain was unbearable.  The doctor had already given me Percocet and Vicodin, but when I called him at the end of the day, he prescribed Dilaudid.  Ok, taken.  But OUCH!  I was still hurting in agonizing pain.  I called him after-hours and he said there was nothing else to do; I should go to the ER.  He also mentioned that he's never had anyone go to the ER for post-op pain.  Hours later, after a lot of groaning, MrB came up and said that I really should head to the emergency room.  Off I went.  They gave me IV Dilaudid and I remember nothing after that.

Changing the bandages was a multi-step process on the outside of my ankle.  Given my size it was a difficult spot to make sure the dressings were secure, so MrB helped me - a lot!  One morning it looked as if I had popped a stitch and called the office to see if they would fix it in the office or if I needed to head to the ER (again).  They said to come, so MrB drove me over to see the partner in the practice.  The bottom line of that adventure was that I had a hematoma which burst at the incision site.  A couple of weeks later I had another follow-up with my doctor.  By that point, the area was ugly absolutely disgusting!  After removing the bandages my surgeon said that he had never seen this happen.

Have you lost count?  That's 1) injury doesn't usually require surgery, 2) never had anyone go to the ER for IV pain meds; 3) hasn't ever seen this problem.

Moving on to #4.  The wound was infected and I wound up going through four rounds of antibiotics.  The surgeon has never seen this (I've come to expect hearing those words by this point), but the wound wasn't healing after some time and he had to refer me to a wound clinic.  Yup.  Is anything ever easy?  So, off to the wound clinic I go.  The clinic treated me with some medical honey and it cleared up after 6-ish weeks.

That's enough life for this post.  But yeah, life has kept me busy since I'd last written.