Surgeries, Leeches, and Politicians

We are back at BAMC after 30 days of leave. We had so much fun traveling around visiting family and friends in Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Oklahoma. It was so good to see everyone and thank them personally for all they have done for us in the last six months. We still recieve cards often and LOVE reading them and writing back.

While it was good to be home and we can't wait to do it again, it was busy and we are glad to be back to a routine here in San Antonio. Last week was pretty laid back with only a few "check up" type apointments in preparation for surgery.

Ronnie was admitted into the hospital on Monday morning. He had discontinued the use of Coumadin blood thinner on Saturday and we eagerly awaited INR results to see if they were low enough for surgery on Tuesday. We were excited when results came back good and he was approved for surgery.

Pre-Op

Tuesday was a waiting game as Ronnie's surgery was later in the day. He did manage to enjoy himself a little by writing "Dr. L Rocks!" on his stomach for his surgeon to see. haha. He was taken back around 1pm and the surgery lasted about 2 and a half hours. The doctor was very happy with the results. The surgeon team released a large scar band on Ronnie's right shoulder. Before he could not lift his arm to 90 degrees and now he has full range of motion! They also amputated his right pinky down to the third joint. Dr. L thinks he will be really happy with the results. The last thing the doctors did in the surgery was take a skin graft from his right hip and place it on a chronic open wound on the back of his right knee and on a couple other open spots on his thigh. While the graft stings quite a bit, it will help SO much with these stubborn wounds.

before

After

Today Ronnie has been undergoing "Leech Therapy." Yes, it is what you think. They have been using leeches on the flaps of skin on Ronnie's shoulder. As the wound heals and revasculates, arteries grow back faster than veins meaning that more blood is brought to the area than is taken. This makes the blood start to pool under the skin. Leeches help take that extra blood away. Ronnie didn't seem to mind his new little "attachments" and even likened it to breast feeding. hahah.

Leech Therapy

On another note, we were able to meet First Lady, Michelle Obama today! She was very sweet and quite stylish. We were impressed at how kind and personable she was too. She gave Ronnie presidential and first lady coins for his collection and a box of presidential M&M's. What a treat!

Meeting the First Lady