Infectious Laughter

One more health update (do they NEVER END?????)...

My new hip joint has improved in some ways...gotten stronger, more mobile, less deep down joint pain.... However there is a problem with the incision. It looks like it may be infected. But the docs can't tell for sure. I do not have many of the symptoms of infection (fever, high White blood cell count) But I do have others (redness , swelling, drainage from the wound..pain) so they are going to discharge me from Rehab tomorrow and then most likely will admit me to the O.R. (Operating Room dept.) of the medical hospital again.

The surgeon is leaning toward doing a procedure called an Irrigation and Drainage (I&D) to clean out the wound and then they can do cultures from inside the area to see if there is a local infection and how far down into the joint it has gotten, if there is one. Most likely I will only be in the hospital for one or two more days after that (sorry, no computer this time :( ) and then will go home...Although, with all of my allergies to antibiotics and the fact that I can only take some intravenous ones, I may have to stay for a while in order to get a satsifactory amount of those.

I will let you know when I get home...So behave yourselves while I'm gone :)