Don’t click to enlarge if you can’t handle gore.
This is for tough DIY care. I called several different times and spoke to different offices in the VA system before I finally got a straight answer. I told them I was alarmed by the smell of my bandages and if they didn’t want to clean it, I would myself. At first they had me with an afternoon appointment, but then called back and said go with DIY.
Sitting on the toilet, I rested my heel on the side of the tub. We took off all those cheap elastic wrappings. Then I used Apple Cider Vinegar in an atomizer spray bottle to dissolve the blood caked on the cheap bandages. Give it a little time and those things will pull free from sutures. Then I washed the whole thing with warm soapy water, put on a single stick-free pad and wrapped it with just one elastic holder. Then I covered my leg with a soft, thinning leg from an ancient pair of sweat pants. I’ll change it when it stinks again, which is often enough since I sweat a lot right now. No other anti-biotic was use this time around.
What you see is a horizontal suture which was the original laceration from the impact. The vertical cut was to access stuff they had to stitch back together. I’m already walking with a walker and that’s only for stability across large spaces, but I don’t get up that often yet.
I am used to this stuff with all that poor hubby has been through but I am aghast at your injury, my dear sweet Brother! A picture surely does tell a thousand words. I must say that I am a little disappointed that no one from VA responded in a more proactive way.
Do keep that wound clean. New bandage every day. Use salt water if you can get it to soak in some. I have swabbed many a wound and have seen some nasty infections heal well if cared for properly.
Don’t make me come to Oklahoma! Ha ha
Wow. I second what Linda says, all of it. I’m astonished about their lack of follow up too, but common sense will get you through this part.
Thank you both, Ladies. There was a time I was infuriated by such bureaucratic bungling. I think my expectations are more realistic these days. I don’t mind recounting their bungles, but it’s aimed more at helping folks get used to what is normal in bureaucratic institutions like that. It makes me better able to understand when people feel heartbroken about what feels like abuse. Whatever falls within the medical routine really is fine medical care, the best you could expect from allopathic medicine. I broke the routine by taking the risk to notify them I was very much a DIY kind of guy. My VA medical record includes numerous references to being anything but passive about my case. That often translates to DIY aftercare, because the orthopedics branch of the medical system is truly overburdened.
I know how overburdened the VA hospital system is, as I was once married to a vet. But, when it comes to YOUR care, my hen feathers are gonna fluff if your not getting what you should. Just the way it is with me and, I am pretty sure your wife and Christine will agree on that as well.