Monday, June 1, 2009

Monday June 1, 09
Val was discharged from the hospital today and got home around 2:30. She rested all day downstairs and then went two steps at a time up to her bed and, she remains on 1.5-2 % oxygen. She will take an oral antibiotic pill beginning tomorrow. The chest wound hole looks bigger and deeper to Dad tonight. It is healing from the inside out. We are treating it with normal saline rinse and triple antibiotic cream. We will cover it with tegaderm during her shower. If any nurses or anyone has any ideas on how best to promote this healing please comment to us thanks. Her sources of infection we feel were coming from 4 areas: the open sores on her tongue, her sore throat she had, the chest tube hole/wound and the UTI.

Val's red blood cell count remains low at 8.2 normal low range is 10. Val's white blood cell count is up to 13 (13,000) with normal range 4000-10,000. As much as we are glad she is home, we pray she gains strength daily through rest and eating.
Love and prqyers to Val always ......Salynn

1 comment:

Alecia Miller said...

Hi - I asked my sister (she's an RN) about your concerns, and this was her response:

"I do not like the wet saline approach to wound healing, as a wet or dampened dressing may lead to harboring more bacteria. Questions in my mind are; 1) is this a wound from a discontinued chest tube? 2) is a visiting nurse with wound care background involved in her case? 3) is the doctor aware of its slow healing? and 4) is it draining... any color or odor?? (if yes to #4... go to the ED!)

I am not thrilled to hear that this is open and has not yet closed, if this is from a chest tube. Usually chest tube sites are pretty much closed quickly, often times before discharge from the hospital. I would recommend that the wound NOT be kept moist with saline and an antibiotic ointment and then covered with an occlusive dressing, such as a tegaderm. A dry sterile gauze pad is a better dressing, since it is porous and allows air to filter through, which may help the healing process. Please ask the MD for his opinion or better yet, inquire about a "wound care specialist" through a VNA service, as they seem to have more up to date remedies for these things. Doctors tend to use "old medicine", which isn't always the best medicine.

My best wishes and prayers to Valerie and her family!!
Jodi"

I hope this helps you with her wound healing. Please pass along our well wishes to Val and Jay too- we think about them often.
Alecia Miller