Hi everyone. Hopefully this will be an easier way to keep everyone informed with updates on dad's condition. Here's a brief overview and what's going on today:
There's an infection (MRSA) that has affected his prosthetic knee. The human body is very good at taking care of itself but not very good at taking care of metal and plastic. The prosthetic can't be completely cleaned of the bacteria causing the infection, so it needs to be removed. He needs to have 2 procedures, one to remove the prosthetic and install a 'spacer,' that's packed with antibiotic cement and will remain in place until they're confident the infection is gone. Then he'll have an additional surgery to replace the knee with a new prosthetic.
He was discharged from the hospital a week-ish ago to a rehab facility, and the first surgery is scheduled for tomorrow. He's been retaining fluid since going to rehab, and it's been a struggle to get his diuretics to a level where they're helping. He also has a PICC line installed and has been receiving antibiotics intravenously through the PICC line. One of the ports got blocked, but they were still able to use the other port, but when they tried to use it this morning, the second port was blocked too.
The rehab facility transported him back to UMass, and he's being admitted. He has a bedsore that's causing him discomfort, but otherwise, he's not in a lot of pain. He's frustrated and unhappy how things are going, but otherwise doing as well as can be expected.
Surgery tomorrow (10/16) is uncertain right now. Hoping to learn more when he gets moved to a real room, and will update as we learn more. Thanks for the kind wishes.
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