Next week is a big step. At this point we're concerned because the redness has returned to the right side. Our inclination is that regardless of the seriousness of the infection (which we think is minimal), the implants will need to be removed entirely as they provide a safe haven for it. Keep in mind that this is all occurring while Lynn is on the strongest (and fairly expensive---$2500 for a bottle of 30 without insurance) antibiotic.
The last leg of this journey (or first part at least as we will be on constant watch the rest of our lives together--see the post on normalcy for more depth on this) is staring us in the face because next week we meet with the Drs S, B and Se. Dr S will be doing a final appraisal of the surgery (Dr H will do another one the following week) and removal of last stitches. This will combine with Dr Se's opinion and determine whether the implants stay or go (after a conversation with Dr L of course). One way or another there is one more surgery in the future (new implants or implant removal) and this week will tell us which and how soon.
Dr B is going to do a final review and gets to blow the all clear whistle. Lynn will be put on her last set of meds for this journey which, all going well, will take us ten years into the future. There is a lot of observation and caution over those ten years (the majority being in the first few) which will basically focus on any signs of recurrence and drug side effects. The hope is that every three months there is nothing to report and we just have a pleasant chat with Dr B.
I am hoping really hard for that.
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3 comments:
My fingers are crossed, my toes are crossed, and for reasons unrelated, my eyes may be crossed!
Just curious, Zack -- do you meet with all these docs at once? I am curious about how holistic the approach is - one at a time or everyone in the same room? It might be overwhelming for everyone to be in the same room.
Thinking of you both and hope that this will be a good week for you.
Big hug,
Berit
LB--It depends on the circumstance, but usually the only time multiple docs see either of us at once is either in the surgery (Lynn) or at the post-op meeting (me). Otherwise (doc visits, recovery in hospital), it's one at a time. Sometimes they are so frequent that it is a lot to take in, but in that case, they mostly say the same thing.
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