timeline

This was me on 9/30 after the second AT surgery. No idea that in two weeks we would find out it was infected. That is the parking spot stopper where I tripped and re-injured the leg, right in front of the Dunkin Donuts at Tano Mall.

Me the day I got the second surgery. I look deranged.

Do not know why I took this picture... Bad things man, bad things...

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OCTOBER

INFECTION!

Second surgery found to be infected on 10/17. Above is the result of emergency debridement surgery on 10/18. Gaping wound in back of leg and wound vac with a black sponge keeping things together.

I tried to keep a decent atitude and the idiot brigade helped.

The Big Hole...

The back of my leg on 10/23/2016. That night I was home w a prtable wound vac.

Repair the Hole in the Leg!!

Thank God it only took a week. Walking around with a shop vac in your leg is tres creepy. I went for reconstructive surgery on 10/26/2016, only a week after I had my debridement and only two days after I got home from my first stint at JFK.

First two are 10/26 after reconstructive surgery. No more wound vac. Last pic is 11/2 as I unwrap the leg for the first time....

November

Stage 1 : FRANKENFOOT!!

Gruesome!! This is what leg looks like on 11/2 when I unwrapped and dressed it in my home myself (because JFK at home service is bullshit...). Double the stitiches, blue and black, stressed skin in between closure and skin graft (It was where skin was stretched. It would later die where the bruising was worst). Looks awful but did not hurt that much and was better than having a hole in your leg ;-)

This is xeroform (I didn't know it at the time) and it was in the skin graft.

What a mess!

Leg actually looks good this way...

Stage II : Zombie Flesh

I love these pictures. Just disgusting. The date is 11/5 and we get our first look at the skin graft area. The stretched skin is bright red right now.

These are from 11/9 and you can see some healing. The red is pink where the skin will heal and the scabby brown spot is going to be an area of dead skin that we will have to remove with silvadene down the road.

We quickly move from Zombie flesh and in just three days get to...

Stage III : Roast Beef

The first is 11/11 and the second two are 11/13. Some healing (pink), some dying (yellow and brown) but the doc was happy...

Blood Clot Blues

On November 14th, 2016 I was sent to get an ultrasound by my at home nurse because my arm was puffed up. It turns out I had a blood clot in my arm and I had to sit in JFK for three days while they pumped me full of blood thinner and watched me.

Still pretty much roast beef stage, but you can see the dead skin scabbing and taking form, Still had the stitiches in at this stage too...

Stage IV : Some Progress

Soon after I am released from the hospital I am approved for weight bearing on the leg if I wear my boot. Thank God. This means walking and driving. I cheat in the house and use my sneaker sometimes, but when I go out or go to work I boot up.

Things starting to dry out a bit. Still have the stitiches here on 11/20, but they are coming out the next day.

Stage V : Look Ma, No Stitches!!

11/21/2016 - Stitches out. Dead patch getting smaller and settling in middle of stretched skin. Doctor removes stitiches and give me silvadene to debride the dead brown spot away. Slowly but surely, everyday it gets smaller til you're good...

Getting Around Again

December

Stage VI : Some Clean Up

Still looks nuts, but compare it to Zombie Flesh stage....

Looks a lot better, yes... ZF above was 11/5, the new pic above was 12/8, only 4 weeks difference...

Couple of clean ones after I cleaned it up and put on my silvadene. This is 12/9. Compare it to Frankenfoot just five weeks ago. I was concerned that it was not healing fast enough but from FF (11/2) to this in 5 weeks is pretty good. Imagine where I'll be in January. Finally some good news....

These are from December 15th. Progress is slow, but present. Dead skin spot getting smaller, granulated healthy skin underneath...

These are New Year's day 2017. The one on the right is easily the best the leg has looked. The dead skin section has almost been completely debrided away so the wound can heal. I already feel like if I let the air hit it things would probably work out at this point. Still, I do the dressing twice a day and will follow the same protocol until I see Tushar again on January 9th.

Not much progress, but a shot I took on January 7th.

Took this on January 21st. Real progress. Not easy to see here, but the dead skin is completely gone and the wound is closing quickly. I do not even bandage the back any longer, it's completely healed up. Just the skin graft section at the base where the skin was stretched.

Ok, grabbed this on Saturday, January 28th. The Santyl works well. I think if I left this open it would just scab up and be gone in a few weeks...

Still a little kooky looking but come spring I'll get some sun on it and see where it goes. Feels OK.. Just an annoyance..
Almost there...
Super Bowl Sunday

Almost there indeed. The sore is smaller than the top of my finger. Week or two away I'm guessing. Go back to the top and see where it was on Nov 5th, just three months ago. It's the Zombie flesh picture. Been slow, but I'm getting there.
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This is Feb 12, 2017. Only using a band-aid now. Getting there...

This is 2/25/2017. Few days after I found out that the tendon is growing back naturally and I won't need a new surgery.
Not wearing any bandages today. Wound dry and I'm letting air hit it. Will go with this as long as Tushar is OK w it, I see him Monday morning.
Getting there...

Thursday, March 2nd, 2017
No more Santyl. No more bandaging. Just air... Moving forward....

Saturday, March 25, 2017
No bandage, No ACE wrap, no nonsense, just the heel lift in the sneaker.
Will return to rehab in a few weeks. Crazy, but almost there...

Last entry 3/25/2017