Almost died, not out of the woods (1 Viewer)

DrStrange said:
Time for another up date:

I have competed my three-month run of 5x / week hyperbaric treatment. Now I am down to one wound care doctor visit a week. Huge amounts of progress. At this point I expect a complete recovery.

My eye sight was distorted due to the pressures of hyperbaric treatment. This was anticipated to be transitory, but you never know. Things are almost back to normal - I again need "cheaters" to read fine print and can see at a distance normally. should be fine for driving. Should . . .

Mrs. Strange has her fears about me getting behind the wheels. Not so much rational, but not so easy to negotiate. We lent my car to my learning to drive niece, which she has come to depend upon. < like what 16 year old learning to drive doesn't come to love the independence of having a car? > This could be a complicated issue. We'll see.

My wound care diet is basically way more protean than I normally eat and way fewer carbs. You might think steak / seafood / meat / bacon & eggs every day - more than you want would be easy to do. Not so much. I am down to my lowest weight since my college years. My cloths don't come close to fitting. Oh, and ice cream somehow got left off the list of things I should eat every day. Sad really.

My stamina is almost back. Not quite meat-up levels of 24-hour a day poker but getting close.

Physical therapy has me up and walking. I carry a cane, just in case, but not really needed under flat conditions. Stairs and curbs require more caution. Wound care doesn't want me on my feet so much. The physical therapy team wants me up and active as much as possible. Somewhere we found an almost happy medium.

Basically the out come is as good as my have been hoped for. < knocking on wood, just to be safe > I have a January 2022 meat-up on my schedule. Maybe back to regular cards in a few weeks.

Woo hoo! V I C T O R Y -=- DrStrange
Click to expand...
This is fantastic news Scott. So happy to hear. I’ll save a spot for you in Aspen Park for next Memorial Day…
 
Wait.

Does the green suit still fit?!

That would be a cruel turn of events... Then again, there are always tailors.

Congrats on the improving health, doc.
 
Happy to hear about the potential for a complete recovery! Looking forward to meeting one day soon, Scott. Maybe at the Austin meet up :)
 
One last update, I hope . . . .

I had my last wound care / hyperbaric session today. After 102 visits, I have been released, not quite as good as new but as well as might be hoped. In hindsight I absolutely used up my life time supply of "just one time". The staff noted my wound was one of the worst they had ever treated and really didn't hold out much hope for a good recovery. While I had lots of things going for me, the wound itself was going to be difficult. < not that they told me at the time >

There is an on-going debate over the cause of my medical problems. One group thinks this is a form of long covid, the other do not and do not really care. There is a small population of covid patents that present symptoms like mine - rapid onset of diabetes paired with sepsis in the leg / foot. This is roughly one out of a thousand covid19 patients. Most such individuals lose their leg(s) or perish, much like what might have happened to me if I had waited another day.

I ended up with a vascular problem in the wounded leg that required out patient surgery in December. My GP and heart specialist are concerned. Because if this is a long covid issue it means that I need to pay very close attention to my vascular risks. That being said, both doctors said every test they ran had me in very good condition for my age. Even so, they are advising caution because of the risk of hidden covid19 related vascular damage.

I lost a ton of weight, not intentionally. My low point was under140. Those who have met me at a meet-up saw me at ~180 - 190. This too is a covid19 side effect. Things don't taste right and it is difficult to eat. Worst tasting things to eat - breads and potatoes. It is quite hard to eat a protean rich wound care diet and not eat much carbs and keep your weight. I am on my third set of cloths. The special poker suits likely are a bit too large these days.

Not out of my walker / wheel chair yet. There were nerve problems that developed due to excessive pressure on my good leg. The alignment problems were resolved> have only to regain a full range of motion and rebuild my strength. Maybe a month or two. Let's hope.

Medical billing is truly screwy. I was uninsured by choice, the cost not worth the benefits. Even with my extensive problems I am well over $!00,000 to the good. We negotiate everything possible in advance or at the time of service. The rack rate for my care was something on the order of $750,000. This was negotiated to less than $85,000. Not that I don't get billed for services / goods already paid for but so far a short discussion puts these to rest.

Craziest bill I got? The wound care clinic bills $1,500 a visit for a gynecological surgical suite which translates to the examination table in the office is a twenty year old thing once used in a women's clinic. No one has a good answer why a 64 year old man needed the services of a gynecological suite for a routine doctor's visit. But the total billing for that was ~$100,000. Not for medical care, supplies or doctor's skills, just for sitting on the exam table. So far I have paid zero dollars.

Maybe I will be able to participate in the summer meat-up season. No promises, I have trouble feeling up to hosting my own games. My stamina has suffered. Midnight seems way too late for poker. That isn't good at all. Who wants my easy money laying in a bed asleep at 10 pm?

Even so, I still say this was a victory considering the poor hand I had to play -=- DrStrange

PS I would be remiss not noting the beneficial habits I had that helped save the day. No tobacco, very limited booze, no narcotics, regular exercise, almost reasonable weight. Believe me when I say, I saw lots of other people in wound care who had bad habits and who were paying a really high price. If not dead, then with wounds that do not heal or limbs that ended up chopped off. Smoking is the worst. It devastates your body in all sorts of ways. Maybe you can get by with it while you are young. But the price paid as you age is terrible. Please consider stopping.
 
Glad to read an overall positive post Scott!
Hope all the minor setbacks moving forward are easily resolved. Would really love an opportunity to meet you!
I also hope you don't need any further assistance in the gynecological department.... seems a bit pricey even for a woman!
 
DrStrange said:
One last update, I hope . . . .

I had my last wound care / hyperbaric session today. After 102 visits, I have been released, not quite as good as new but as well as might be hoped. In hindsight I absolutely used up my life time supply of "just one time". The staff noted my wound was one of the worst they had ever treated and really didn't hold out much hope for a good recovery. While I had lots of things going for me, the wound itself was going to be difficult. < not that they told me at the time >

There is an on-going debate over the cause of my medical problems. One group thinks this is a form of long covid, the other do not and do not really care. There is a small population of covid patents that present symptoms like mine - rapid onset of diabetes paired with sepsis in the leg / foot. This is roughly one out of a thousand covid19 patients. Most such individuals lose their leg(s) or perish, much like what might have happened to me if I had waited another day.

I ended up with a vascular problem in the wounded leg that required out patient surgery in December. My GP and heart specialist are concerned. Because if this is a long covid issue it means that I need to pay very close attention to my vascular risks. That being said, both doctors said every test they ran had me in very good condition for my age. Even so, they are advising caution because of the risk of hidden covid19 related vascular damage.

I lost a ton of weight, not intentionally. My low point was under140. Those who have met me at a meet-up saw me at ~180 - 190. This too is a covid19 side effect. Things don't taste right and it is difficult to eat. Worst tasting things to eat - breads and potatoes. It is quite hard to eat a protean rich wound care diet and not eat much carbs and keep your weight. I am on my third set of cloths. The special poker suits likely are a bit too large these days.

Not out of my walker / wheel chair yet. There were nerve problems that developed due to excessive pressure on my good leg. The alignment problems were resolved> have only to regain a full range of motion and rebuild my strength. Maybe a month or two. Let's hope.

Medical billing is truly screwy. I was uninsured by choice, the cost not worth the benefits. Even with my extensive problems I am well over $!00,000 to the good. We negotiate everything possible in advance or at the time of service. The rack rate for my care was something on the order of $750,000. This was negotiated to less than $85,000. Not that I don't get billed for services / goods already paid for but so far a short discussion puts these to rest.

Craziest bill I got? The wound care clinic bills $1,500 a visit for a gynecological surgical suite which translates to the examination table in the office is a twenty year old thing once used in a women's clinic. No one has a good answer why a 64 year old man needed the services of a gynecological suite for a routine doctor's visit. But the total billing for that was ~$100,000. Not for medical care, supplies or doctor's skills, just for sitting on the exam table. So far I have paid zero dollars.

Maybe I will be able to participate in the summer meat-up season. No promises, I have trouble feeling up to hosting my own games. My stamina has suffered. Midnight seems way too late for poker. That isn't good at all. Who wants my easy money laying in a bed asleep at 10 pm?

Even so, I still say this was a victory considering the poor hand I had to play -=- DrStrange

PS I would be remiss not noting the beneficial habits I had that helped save the day. No tobacco, very limited booze, no narcotics, regular exercise, almost reasonable weight. Believe me when I say, I saw lots of other people in wound care who had bad habits and who were paying a really high price. If not dead, then with wounds that do not heal or limbs that ended up chopped off. Smoking is the worst. It devastates your body in all sorts of ways. Maybe you can get by with it while you are young. But the price paid as you age is terrible. Please consider stopping.
Click to expand...
Pic's, let's show off that success!

Hyperbaric therapy is amazing for wound healing
 
Such good news is always welcome, Doc! Keep up the progress, and we'll hope to see you at a meetup in the infamous "Money Suit" later in 2022!
 
You've turned the corner... beat the invisible foe. Nothing you can't do from here. Get your rest, and get your strength back. I'll see you at the poker tables.

...and once we meet on the felt, you'll be able to pay off a couple buy-ins worth of those medial bills! :bigbucks:
 
Great to hear you're beating the odds Doc! Looking forward to a better year in 2022.
 
Sounds like you’ve had a horrible time of it Scott. Glad to hear that you’re almost out of the woods.

This gynaecological tables sound just like poker tables. You lose a ton of money and you dread hearing the words “all in” :ROFL: :ROFLMAO:

Take care and hope you’re back to your old self soon.
 
Wow what an ordeal. And I thought my two leg infections were bad...not.
Glad things are looking better.
 

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