Wound clinic week twelve. Last week the  neg pressure machine was stopped to  see how I would do without it.  I did well for the week so the machine  is no longer needed. My wound is roughly seven inches by two inches now. It  still looks like raw meat. It definitely hurts when the old dressing is removed.

It is replaced with slim layers of white substances placed carefully on the wound. Collagen. Blood vessel building.  The first looked like a small sheet of paper that the nurse tore to cover the wound completely. Next a mesh Collagen.  Topped with a Hydro Fera  Classic Blue Antibacterial Foam Dressing. She wrapped the entire leg with three layers.  The first being a soft white felt and the last looking similar to an ace bandage,  Good for another week.  It is a big relief to be done with the machine and all the tubing. I never really got used to it.

I am feeling less dependent on the nurses. My wound is something I could manage myself if needed. Before now it was too complicated a wound. Progress.

It will still be another month or two.  Wounds are tough to manage. My nurses are good at their job.

My shoulder joints are damaged as well as my knuckles and wrists. So it is painful to push the walker (four wheel) through the hospital. I have the new deluxe model with red trim. So, I’m lucky with that. My feet are numb, and my ankle joints are unstable especially the left.  It is still less exhausting than walking with my old cane. Safer, too.

I am beginning to see that this is my lot in life. I have spent all these weeks coping with tubing, cords, a fussy machine and my wound. It has taken my attention away from my failing joints. Maybe that is a good thing.

Over the course of my three cancers, I read Siddhartha Mukherjee’s book,  The Emperor of all Maladies A Biography of Cancer twice. The ending was always the same. Although there have been many strides in cancer care, cancer still kills and always will.

To that I might add the following: Although there have been many strides in the care of rheumatoid arthritis, it still is a painful, disabling disease.