Healing at Home - August 7th

I flew back to Pittsburgh for the weekend of August 6th - it had been 11 days since I had seen Kyle and I was looking forward to seeing all of his improvements in person.  He had established some good routines for maneuvering around the house, getting in and out of the car and general medical care for himself.  He had also been eating and sleeping more.  He looked more rested and looked like he had gained several pounds as well. 

Unfortunately, the Deems encountered some problems with managing Kyle's professional health care upon his discharge from NNMC.  There are so many people involved and so many procedures to follow, it can get extremely complicated and things can fall through the cracks.  Kyle and Elsie worked hard to get the appropriate health care provided for themselves during his first few weeks at home. 

While the Deems worked hard to establish strong relationships with local medical providers, their neighbors and fellow Church members helped out as best they could.  They brought over meals for them during the week, helped install handicap ramps and handles throughout the house and dropped by the house periodically just to visit with the family and Kyle.

Patty, a visiting nurse, stops by the house to check on Kyle on Saturday around noon, but he gets a quick phone call before they begin the check-up.

Elsie reviews the medication schedule and discharge papers with Patty that she was given for Kyle when leaving NNMC nearly two weeks ago. 

Kyle catches Patty up to speed on any current problems or concerns with his right leg before she begins examining him and cleaning his leg. 

Patty uses a wet-dry treatment to help clean up the wound on the inside of Kyle's right leg where some dead tissue is rising to the surface. 

Patty listens to Kyle's upper body with her stethoscope while he lays still in bed. 

Bill and Elsie stand outside of Kyle's room, peeking in at times, walking in and out of the room whenever needed, and listening to the observations made by Patty. 

The inside of Kyle's right leg, which is showing great signs of improvement but still representing one of the largest parts of his battle with that leg. 

Kyle looks at his leg and cleans around the metal of the spacial frame for a few seconds. 

The lower part of the wound on the inside of Kyle's leg is having the most difficulty healing, however, it isn't showing any signs of infection and he is scheduled for a follow-up appointment with the plastic surgeons in Bethesda August 17/18.