Day 88 - Visit to the Wound Care Lady

I slept good, which is not always the blessing you might think. If I sleep lightly, then any pain makes me move, where if I sleep deeply, I can hurt the stump and not wake up. The stump this morning is quite sore, like it was slept on funny.

I keep forgetting to mention that the day I went into surgery, I weighed myself on my good home scales, and was 84.3 kg (185.5pds). The first morning at home after the surgery, I weighted 78.7 kg (173.14pds). That is 5.6 kg (12.32pds) I lost in 4 days.  I do not recommend this weight loss program to the average person. It is a bit drastic.
It seems as if 5.6 kg (12.3pds) is little for the big piece of leg they took, but remember that the leg was in a tight compression stocking and a wrap, so there was very little excess fluid in the leg, at the time of surgery.
This morning I weigh 77.8 kg (171.1pds). Both Maddie and I are losing weight with all the healthy eating.
I am anxious to read the autopsy of the leg, to see exactly how high up the cancer had spread.

Today is the visit to the Wound Care Lady. She will open the bandages, and check the stump for any infection, swelling, and any abnormalities. Then she will re-wrap it.
I am treating Maddie to a breakfast at the one hospital restaurant. We also need to get some more prescription pills, and more pee bottles.

We also hope to hear from the one car guy today. Maybe we will go look at that Mercedes.
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 We are back from driving all over.
First we went to the Wound Care Lady. (She is cute. Don't tell Maddie I said that) :-)
She said that the wound looks very good. She is extremely happy. She said she seldom sees such a good healing from a chemo patient. Chemo makes things heal slow. She decided to not put any covering on the leg, just band aids on the wound. Maddie was picture snappy happy.

 After the WCL visit we went to the oncologist to confirm the 18 November start of chemo.

Then Maddie drove us to a hospital equipment store. We bought 2 more pee bottles. New bottles were R60, and used ones were R20. So we bought 2 used ones.
They also had a big foam wedge for sitting in bed more comfortably.
Thay also had the long type of crutch. I played with them, and they are more user friendly. They were cheap at R400, but looked very much Chinese plastic quality.
Then my chauffeur  :-) drove us to the big pharmacy to get more pills.
Then on the way home with a very tired me, Maddie reminded me, that we should visit the prosthesis guy. His factory was very close.

The prosthesis guy showed us all about how, and why they make prosthesis. He had a top of the range mechanical knee. I really liked the feel and motion of that knee. Very precise and smooth. 
This knee is so cool. It reminds me of a mechanical watch, or an aircraft engine.

As the leg swings forward, it shortens by almost an inch. (2.5cm) to help prevent tripping. As the heel hits the ground, the knee locks up solid, so there is no chance of it collapsing with weight on it. Then when the force leaves the heel and moves to the foot, the lock releases, and the knee swings forward till the heel hits again. The electronic bionic knees are more geeky, but a super smooth mechanical motion is a thing of beauty.
Both the Prosthesis guy and the Wound Care Lady stressed that the wound MUST be 100% healed before any attempt to begin building a prosthetic socket. I want one now. :-(
He also sells American style crutches. He cautioned that they should only be used in bathroom functions, and any walking should be with the short crutches.
He also recommended a wheel chair for the days of chemo, and maybe the day after. As much as I hate the idea of a wheelchair, I do know that walking steady with both legs was a challenge after chemo. There would be a crutch crash after chemo if I had to use only crutches.

I have not had chemo for almost 2 weeks, and my hair is growing back and I need to shave daily. My hair is growing back white. Not blond, not gray, but white.
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