So Far So Good, or: Rinse and Repeat

So that last post was last Wednesday, when I was doing great. The following day (Thursday) I saw the general surgeon for a check up, who also said I was doing great.

Apparently not. That night was not a good night. It was the first bad night I had. I wasn't much better in the morning, plus red on one side. Back to the plastic surgeon.

The doctor put me on two antibiotics to fight infection. Because I'd had an allergic reaction, they had taken me off antibiotics just a few days after surgery. In hindsight that probably could have been done differently. 

The weekend was up and down. Our good friends from LA came to visit and took very good care of me! I felt a bit better on Saturday night and looked a little better on Sunday morning, but by Sunday night not so good again. On Monday I was back at the doctor, who said the up-and-down cycle meant there was bacteria on the drain and the expander - which would not resolve without surgery. Plastic doesn't respond to antibiotics.

On the other hand - literally - the left side is fine, the drain is out, and it looks good! The side that got infected had been doing well, until it wasn't.

I had only a few hours between the doctor's office and heading back to the hospital Monday night for outpatient surgery. He cleaned things out and replaced the expander and drain on the right side only. I felt better after the surgery than before. For those keeping score, the new expander has 200cc. So that will need more, but not for a while.

I had a checkup this morning and it looks healthy. This is one-day-at-a-time. We won't really know if it's all clear for about a week, assuming nothing else happens and I finish the antibiotics and that drain comes out.

I'm once again recovering from surgery, taking it slow, lots of sleeping, more ice packs, a little knitting. I'm taking lots of probiotics to balance the antibiotics. Since it's only 1 side, it's a little easier than the first time. The expander is less full than it was over the weekend, so that's not as challenging or uncomfortable as the first time either. Next check-in is Friday, to get the staples out, again.

So far so good - keep your fingers crossed!