The Surgery was a bust. With an open
wound (a Tulsa bed sore with a Denver skin graft) on the right heel, Dr Morgan
saw no need to run the risk of a bone graft on the right tibia.
The right leg was cut,
mid-shin, in the accident (where all this damage is). There was not
enough skin to close the cut, resulting in the free-flap in early
February.
There is a rod in the
right tibia, from knee to ankle. The right fibula had an inch-long chunk
break out of place, and it now rests at an angle within the frame of the
bone. A section about 3-4 inches long is completely missing from the
tibia, in the same area where the fibula is broken.
Now that the free-flap
has healed so well, Dr Morgan plans to do a bone graft, in which he will try to
cause the fibula to fuse to the tibia. The fibula is a non-weight bearing
bone, and is often left to it's own devices. But if the tibia bone does
not grow back around the rod, the rod will eventually break under the stress of
use, much like a paperclip that is bent too many times.
The heel wound is
expected to heal in a month or so, and once that happens, we can reschedule
surgery.
The trip was not
wasted. Over a dozen x-rays were taken. Both femurs are
healing well. We got to see the x-rays, and understand the injuries with
more insight. We saw exactly where each foot is broken. There will
probably still be some fine tuning work to both feet, in the
future.
With swelling of the
feet over the last week and a half being such an issue, an ultrasound was
scheduled to check for blood clots. Two days ago, Dr Cottum canceled the
daily belly injections of blood thinners. Hooray for the bruised
belly! The ultrasound came back negative -- no blood clots. The
swelling is expected to reduce with increased use of the feet & legs, which
will increase circulation.
The next step will be a
literal one, as Dr Morgan has approved walking on the left foot, with partial
weight-bearing on the right foot! For now, we are headed north towards
Wyoming & home. ~ Theresa, Tom &
Val