I didn't think my life could get any busier than it was last semester... I was wrong! I missed a lot of important posting days last month so I apologize for that, but I have everything locked down in my head ready to be shared with you. Here we go..
My post op appointment was on December 30th. It went well, except for that fact that I had a little bit of an infection scare. If you don't know much about lymphedema, infection is a big deal. We can contract infections easier than most through open wounds in the affected limb. In simple terms, the lymph system helps clean the body and gets the fluid circulating to prevent infection. Because this process is slowed down for someone with lymphedema, we can't always fight off the infection like others. The skin around some of my incisions were looking red and irritated, and it was also quite itchy. My surgeon decided to put me on some antibiotics just in case, and to be honest, I was surprised that she didn't have me on antibiotics right after surgery anyway. I kept a close eye on my leg, watching for more signs of infection such as red streaks or feverish skin, for the next couple weeks especially because I was already back at school in Idaho. January 3rd, I got an appointment with my old physical therapist. It was a miracle that she had time to see me before I had to leave later that night. My surgeon doesn't know much about the compression garment side of lymphedema so she referred me back over to physical therapy to get that all figured out. At this point I haven't had new compression garments for over a year and a half. I'm supposed to get new one every 6 months so if you can't tell how important it is for me to get new garments at this point (having been through two surgeries as well as my garment just being old) let me just let you know now, IT IS VERY IMPORTANT! I discussed what my options were with my therapist at that appointment, and she had the great idea of trying to get my leg even smaller. I always like to hear that! She suggested the Medi Circ Aid reduction system kit, but she would have to talk to my surgeon and others to see if it was a real possibility for me. That was as far as we got at that appointment, and later that night I was off for Idaho. I left California a week and a half after surgery to start up at my next semester of school and get back to work. We were working under a really short time frame with all of this so it was all a little nerve racking. Luckily the surgery went well and recovery wasn't as bad as I was expecting. As soon as I made my way back up to school I was on the move. I had to go right back to work and school started a few days after I arrived. This probably was not the most ideal situation for me to be in but life goes on. One thing I learned from the start of my journey with lymphedema is that the world doesn't stop for you to figure things out. Life continues and you have to learn how to manage and get things under control as everything is still moving. I finished all my antibiotics and the signs of possible infection disappeared a few days into the semester. That in itself took a huge weight off my shoulders. Since then we have hit the 1 year anniversary of my lymph node transfer. January 12, 2016 I went into a surgery not knowing what the results would be. It was a 12 hour surgery that my surgeon had never performed before. I felt prepared, but looking back on it now I was going into it blind. It is crazy to think that it was only a year ago that I was barely starting to walk and shower on my own after having been on strict bed rest for almost a month. I honestly don't know how I did it, but it has been so worth it. I know not that much has changed and I am still in the fight against lymphedema but I know I could have been so much worse off if I hadn't gone through with it. Today marks 2 months out from my second surgery. This surgery was a breeze in comparison. I had the surgery on the 23rd of December. Right after the surgery and for a few weeks, even a month probably, after surgery my leg was looking really good!! The bruising was there but the size had me in amazement. I felt the most confident I had in a long time, but the swelling did set back in after going back to work and throughout this semester. You can totally still see a big difference, but it hasn't stayed as small as it got and that is probably because I still don't have new compression garments. I finally got the reduction kit about a week ago. The problem is there is no one in southeastern Idaho qualified to fit the reduction pieces to me. I was supposed to be reducing my leg for the past week through March 9th. March 8th I am flying home to be seen by a compression garment specialist, and I was supposed to be measured for new garments, but I don't know if that is going to happen anymore. They thought they could get someone to do the reduction process with me, but that didn't really work out so I don't really know what is next at this point. Life keeps moving on so I'll let you know what happening as soon I know what’s happening! |
AuthorHi, my name is Sydney, and I have Primary Lymphedema. I created this blog to share my journey, and I hope that by sharing my story I can help those who are on a similar path. Archives
April 2017
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