::Griffblog::

Only recently I was thinking how lucky I had been to only suffer one pin infection very early on in the process.

Then last Saturday one of my pin wires sprung an infection which got worse very quickly. By Sunday I had another pin wire and one of the thicker pins also infected.

My earlier infection I now know was but a teaser and the discomfort I had back then was nothing compared with the agonising and completely debilitating pain that this one has demonstrated.

So Monday morning I saw my GP who quickly prescribed Phenoxymethylpenicillin and Flucloaxacillin, two types of high dose antibiotic and as my normal pain killer supply wasn’t touching this new source of pain, Co-Codamol in the high strength 30mg dose.

The main infection is in the pin closest to the top of my thigh.  It is in the worst possible place because the skin and flesh moves a lot in this area.  And movement = lots of pain.

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Well yesterday went quite differently to the way I had feared on Sunday! As many of you had predicted my fears were unfounded. The infection continues to improve and it’s so much better that we have now succeeded in applying a dressing to it, something that has not been possible at all since I had the op both because the frame is so tight against the skin and because it was so sore.

The Physio visit (which I had been dreading) went very well. I managed to walk quite some distance from the car park to the Physio Department at Frimley and instead of being chastised, as I had feared, for lack of progress, I was complimented on how much mobility I had given the frame and my being only 3wks post Op.

All the exercises they would normally offer, to mobilise my ankle and build up strength for walking and stairs etc they decided were superfluous as I have full mobility in my ankle and am already walking and managing the stairs. So I was left with some advice on increasing the mobility in my knee a little and have a return appointment in 3 wks to monitor progress!

I’ve also submitted a repeat prescription so that is the meds taken care of, the only thing outstanding now is the result of the swab taken of the infected pin Thursday. the GP told me we’d only here if it was bad news but you never quite know how long you should wait before assuming all is well! My course of antibiotics finishes Thursday so I’ll call her then to discuss the situation and ask if I need to continue with a further course.

The good news is lengthening has continued and so I’m very nearly half way through this phase with 12mm so far. Although we don’t yet know if the bone has grown at the same pace yet!

For the last few days I’ve been feeling very positive and happy so the contrast with my glum disposition today is all the more obvious.

The infection appears to be improving at least. During the daily pin cleansing and dressing this morning it certainly looks like the infection around the pin is receding which if true is great news but despite this I can’t shake the mildly depressed feeling I have woke with. I’ve been snapping at my wife and daughter. Given all they have done and are doing for me these are the last people I should be arguing with!

Part of it is possibly my first appointment with the Physio tomorrow. Although it is just an assessment I’m worried that they will mark my inability to raise my ‘bad’ leg onto a stool or into bed as poor progress. It’s difficult to know what I ought to be able to achieve by now but this is the one thing that means I am still heavily reliant on others for. If I want to get off the settee I need help to move my leg as I do when I sit down and the same applies for getting into/out of bed.

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Medical professionals will tell you that infections are not ‘if’ but when with ilizarov and TSF frames. The bone/skin interface of the protruding pins is a haven for bugs and they can take hold very quickly as a result.

So with little pomp I presented myself at my GP’s Surgery last week. A pin site had become increasingly sore and inflamed over a few days and the skin surrounding it had begin to break down.

Sure enough my GP agreed that it is almost certainly infected. A swab was taken for testing but hard lumps under the skin are an indication that a possible abscess had already formed. The pin wire goes right through my leg from front to back and both ends are infected, one minor, one bad. And so I am now on a course of very strong antibiotics.

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