My elbow laceration is healing well - no infection - and it is almost completely closed in, but not 100%. And there is the rub. There is still a small hole in the wound that is oozing a slight amount of fluid. That means, e.g., I can't use the pool, because going into water runs the risk of allowing bacteria in through that little hole. So I'm missing out on one of my usual forms of exercise, and have been now for over a month.
I saw Dr. Bassett, an orthopedist, today, and he said to give it another week. If it is healed over by next Wednesday, I can go about my business, which would likely mean we would resume our trip plans. If it is not healed over, he would probably "excise" the wound - i.e., open it up, cut out the stuff that isn't healing, and stitch it up. That would entail at least another week of healing, probably, and would probably cancel the trip, because we wouldn't have time to fit it in and still be in our choral groups, etc. They are all starting up in February. I guess we would have to make the decision for sure after next Wednesday's appointment. But it looks that way now. So I'm hoping it will heal naturally. He said fluid from the bursa would then just get absorbed by my body. I'm not thrilled by the idea of having the wound opened up again. So let's hope.
Meanwhile, concerning the larger picture of my overall health, I met my new primary care physician last Monday, Jeremy Morrison, D.O., (i have now had three primary care physicians retire on me!), and he spent almost an hour and a half with me! Plus he gave me not only his personal email address, but his home phone, and said I could call him at night in an emergency - after 10pm! Amazing. I heard he also makes house calls. He is very personable and easy to talk with. He is referring me for a sleep study program, pending review by my insurance, to tackle my sleep problems. He also made some common sense suggestions that would help - things we already knew from reading, mostly. And he referred me for PT to do exercises that will increase my strength on my feet, and general steadiness and stability. If I could get back into a daily exercise routine, that would help a lot.
So, we'll hope for the best!
Meanwhile, here are some photos from past events that were stuck on my iPod:
This was the scene of my fall on Jan. 15. The frame of the backdrop looks like
gibbets, doesn't it? It wasn't that bad. But I fell off the riser in the far left corner
when I sat on a chair that had one leg off the platform (unbeknownst to me!).
Deborah Lee Luskin showing a slide of Virginia Woolf and her family, part of a
three-lecture series on Virginia Woolf, about whom I knew very little. Ellen and
I read To the Lighthouse aloud to each other for several evenings in a row.
An amazing book!
The Gawler Family at the Northern Roots Festival last Saturday.
This has been a good time in the sense that we have stayed close to home, led a fairly quiet life, reading, enjoying the woodstov, etc. I've been working again on the Guilford Church history that I was working on before Christmas -some deadlines coming up there.. And other interesting projects that I'll report on when I get a chance.
Stayed tuned, and I'll try to be more frequent in my posts!
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