Feb 16, 2007
I don’t think I mentioned that Gary has two different kinds of booty rashes. The one developed in the triangle of his flap surgery scar during Day Program, and we thought it might be latex allergy. The other one developed a few weeks after that. I don’t know by how long we missed the beginning of it, because Gary had taken over “greasing his butt” and doing the skin checks, and the new rash was in the hard-to-see area of his crack. But when we went back to me doing the greasing to make sure the stuff he was putting on wasn’t aggravating the old rash, I became aware of the new rash. He called the bridge nurse about it, and she told us to put antifungal cream on it. It didn’t seem to help, so after a few weeks she recommended an antifungal in a moisture barrier cream. After a few weeks of this, I still hadn’t noticed any improvement, so that is why we went up to Shepherd on Friday the 16th. When the doctor saw it, he commented, “This is not good.” It is definitely a fungal infection and the area affected is too near the ischial (“sitting”) bones to be sanguine about it. He gave Gary a prescription for a stronger cream (one with steroids in it) that I will put on him twice a day (like I’ve been doing with the other creams). Gary hates the fact that the doctor also told him he has to go back to doing weight shifts every twenty minutes instead of every thirty. I told him it could be worse – the doctor could have told him he needs to stay in a prone position until the area is healed.
The doctor asked Gary how his “peeing and pooping” were going. Don’t you love doctor talk? It certainly wouldn’t have occurred to me before Gary’s accident that this is of primary concern with those with SCIs. Anyway, Gary told him about his visits to the urologist. The doctor didn’t seem all that impressed that they had done the IVP on him without having him empty his colon by taking those preparations – in fact, he said it was useless without that. Oh, well, the urologist hadn’t seemed to think so – and I think we would have had to hire someone else besides me to deal with the aftereffects of the preparations all through that night!
The doctor also said that for the urodynamics to make sure they are doing it with video, again saying it was worthless if they didn’t. He said Gary should have that done every 3-5 years. He also said that Gary should have a kidney ultrasound done and “KUB” pictures taken – kidney, ureter, bladder – both of those things done once a year.
I was exhausted by the time I got us home about five p.m. and felt terrible, counting the minutes until bedtime. Gary suggested I go to bed after dinner, but I reminded him that that would mean he’d have to go to bed then, too. He might have been willing to skip the bed bath – at least the parts I help him with – and I suppose he could have organized things to he’d have his pillows where he could get at them and so forth, but he couldn’t be sure he was putting the cream where it needed to go. Fortunately I revived a bit later in the evening, but I was ever so glad to hit the pillow that night.
The next day, the 17th, Gary wanted to go to Montgomery to buy the van. As we were leaving, Gary tried to call the guy who was to sell us the van. Gary couldn’t get hold of him, either at the work phone or his cell phone. I didn’t want to go because I didn’t want to make a two-hour trip there and back for nothing. Not to mention that I was still tired from yesterday and didn’t want to subject my back problems to more driving, especially if it was unnecessary. Gary was confident the guy would be there because we’d just told him on Wednesday that we’d be there on Saturday (the dealership isn’t usually open on Saturday, but the guy said he’d come in special), and Gary had called the dealership yesterday to say we were coming. I was pessimistic and warned Gary I was going to be mad if we made the trip for nothing.
Well, we made the trip for nothing. Gary tried to call the guy several times during the trip, and he never answered. No one was at the dealership. We hung out there a few minutes and then headed home. I told Gary that for future reference I was never going to do anything like that again. Grrr.
I definitely needed a nap when I got home!
Feb 18, 2007
I think I’m still a bit tired from all that driving the past two days. When we got home from Kroger, I went to get Gary’s wheelchair from out of the back of the Ford Escort. “Oh, my God,” I said. No wheelchair. I had left it in the parking lot at Kroger.
In my defense, Gary had transferred himself into the car while I had loaded the groceries in the back. I’m used to helping him transfer and then immediately breaking down the chair and loading it into the car. This time, he got in and closed the door because it was so cold out. Not having my usual cues, I simply got in the driver seat and drove away. Obviously Gary also didn’t take note that I had forgotten to load the chair.
I was very anxious driving back to Kroger, fearing that someone had taken the chair, but fortunately it was still there.
We have finished Star Wars 3 and are on to March of the Penguins.
I don’t think I mentioned that Gary has two different kinds of booty rashes. The one developed in the triangle of his flap surgery scar during Day Program, and we thought it might be latex allergy. The other one developed a few weeks after that. I don’t know by how long we missed the beginning of it, because Gary had taken over “greasing his butt” and doing the skin checks, and the new rash was in the hard-to-see area of his crack. But when we went back to me doing the greasing to make sure the stuff he was putting on wasn’t aggravating the old rash, I became aware of the new rash. He called the bridge nurse about it, and she told us to put antifungal cream on it. It didn’t seem to help, so after a few weeks she recommended an antifungal in a moisture barrier cream. After a few weeks of this, I still hadn’t noticed any improvement, so that is why we went up to Shepherd on Friday the 16th. When the doctor saw it, he commented, “This is not good.” It is definitely a fungal infection and the area affected is too near the ischial (“sitting”) bones to be sanguine about it. He gave Gary a prescription for a stronger cream (one with steroids in it) that I will put on him twice a day (like I’ve been doing with the other creams). Gary hates the fact that the doctor also told him he has to go back to doing weight shifts every twenty minutes instead of every thirty. I told him it could be worse – the doctor could have told him he needs to stay in a prone position until the area is healed.
The doctor asked Gary how his “peeing and pooping” were going. Don’t you love doctor talk? It certainly wouldn’t have occurred to me before Gary’s accident that this is of primary concern with those with SCIs. Anyway, Gary told him about his visits to the urologist. The doctor didn’t seem all that impressed that they had done the IVP on him without having him empty his colon by taking those preparations – in fact, he said it was useless without that. Oh, well, the urologist hadn’t seemed to think so – and I think we would have had to hire someone else besides me to deal with the aftereffects of the preparations all through that night!
The doctor also said that for the urodynamics to make sure they are doing it with video, again saying it was worthless if they didn’t. He said Gary should have that done every 3-5 years. He also said that Gary should have a kidney ultrasound done and “KUB” pictures taken – kidney, ureter, bladder – both of those things done once a year.
I was exhausted by the time I got us home about five p.m. and felt terrible, counting the minutes until bedtime. Gary suggested I go to bed after dinner, but I reminded him that that would mean he’d have to go to bed then, too. He might have been willing to skip the bed bath – at least the parts I help him with – and I suppose he could have organized things to he’d have his pillows where he could get at them and so forth, but he couldn’t be sure he was putting the cream where it needed to go. Fortunately I revived a bit later in the evening, but I was ever so glad to hit the pillow that night.
The next day, the 17th, Gary wanted to go to Montgomery to buy the van. As we were leaving, Gary tried to call the guy who was to sell us the van. Gary couldn’t get hold of him, either at the work phone or his cell phone. I didn’t want to go because I didn’t want to make a two-hour trip there and back for nothing. Not to mention that I was still tired from yesterday and didn’t want to subject my back problems to more driving, especially if it was unnecessary. Gary was confident the guy would be there because we’d just told him on Wednesday that we’d be there on Saturday (the dealership isn’t usually open on Saturday, but the guy said he’d come in special), and Gary had called the dealership yesterday to say we were coming. I was pessimistic and warned Gary I was going to be mad if we made the trip for nothing.
Well, we made the trip for nothing. Gary tried to call the guy several times during the trip, and he never answered. No one was at the dealership. We hung out there a few minutes and then headed home. I told Gary that for future reference I was never going to do anything like that again. Grrr.
I definitely needed a nap when I got home!
Feb 18, 2007
I think I’m still a bit tired from all that driving the past two days. When we got home from Kroger, I went to get Gary’s wheelchair from out of the back of the Ford Escort. “Oh, my God,” I said. No wheelchair. I had left it in the parking lot at Kroger.
In my defense, Gary had transferred himself into the car while I had loaded the groceries in the back. I’m used to helping him transfer and then immediately breaking down the chair and loading it into the car. This time, he got in and closed the door because it was so cold out. Not having my usual cues, I simply got in the driver seat and drove away. Obviously Gary also didn’t take note that I had forgotten to load the chair.
I was very anxious driving back to Kroger, fearing that someone had taken the chair, but fortunately it was still there.
We have finished Star Wars 3 and are on to March of the Penguins.
posted by Peg Daniels at 7:41 PM
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