Meg’s ankle started aching again, so we knew it must be back. We called her doctor and he wanted her to immediately get in for another MRI. It showed the infection had spread and was making a tunnel through the back of her ankle. Back to surgery we go. This time we need to figure out what this infection is so we can know how to treat it. Obviously what we've been doing isn't working. We decided to have a family fast for Meg and for her doctors to figure out what this is!
Mike and my dad gave Meg a nice blessing before her surgery. Meg knew the drill this time, which was a good thing and a bad thing. She knew what to expect, but also knew how much pain to expect afterwards. She knew she wanted root beer flavored gas again and a root beer slushy when she woke up. They were more than happy to oblige. She also got another doll to color so now she has sister dolls! :). Here she is with her typical rosy Meg-cheeks before surgery.
She wasn't so rosy-cheeked after surgery.
Dr Groundland didn't mess around with this infection. He scooped out everything he could (and probably extra to be safe). Infectious Disease is going to grow the cultures again in the lab to hopefully grow whatever infection this is. Dr Jones is also going to send some of the culture to a University in Washington State to do some DNA testing.
He scooped out so much bone. ðą
After surgery they told us we could go home without staying the night. I was all packed and ready to stay, but we were both so happy to get to go home! Meg wasn't excited about being poked at all night long and was so happy to get to go sleep in mom and dad's bed. (Dad got the boot and slept in Meg's bed.). I set alarms for every few hours to wake up and give her pain medicine and we were good to go!
We left the hospital and came home to this delicious meal from the Redding’s. It was so nice to not even think about dinner.
So many nice friends and neighbors brought Meg get-well gifts and showed her so much love and support. She's going to be in a wheel-chair for 3 weeks (at least) and will have plenty of down time to write all her thank you notes.
This time we knew to get Meg a cozy robe for recovery. It was tricky last time getting pants on and off and also keeping her warm. Meg picked out this robe and it's kept her all snuggly and warm. She likes it almost as much as the Oxycodone. ð
Two days after surgery it was time for me to change the dressing.... That was not a fun experience this time. After her last surgery there wasn't any blood and it came right off... Not this time ðĐ
Good think she had Emma and Ivy right by her side to support her through the whole thing.
I think it looks really good!! It's hard to see in the picture, but her ankle was all squishy and soft because the bone was gone behind it. I wasn't prepared for that when I took off the bandage. I had to take a second (and cry in the other room) before rewrapping it.
Meg's getting around great in her wheelchair! She doesn't want to go out in it, but she does well in the house. She's doing homeschool with mom and loves all the fun crafts people keep dropping off.
After a couple more days, the bruising is starting to show up.
Grandma and Grandpa had their vaccines (and Grandpa is recovering nicely from his heart attack a few weeks ago) so they were good to come over and play games with Meg. Sleeping Queens is our new favorite game, thanks to the Derrick's for the fun gift!
Ivy has been such a great sister to Meg during all of this. She knows Meg's in pain and she wants to help, so she makes her notes all day long. I find them everywhere... it feels like hundreds of them. ð
Meg wanted to keep her incision covered, so we kept changing the wrapping every two days. I'd put Neosporin on the gauze and wrap it up. After about 8 days it started itching a lot. We thought it was from healing since wounds itch as they heal. After 2 more days she was in so much pain and it itched so badly. We took off the wrap it was all red and swollen. After talking to her Dr we learned she was having a reaction to the Neosporin and she said not use it on Meg anymore, even in the future. We've kept her wound uncovered for a few days now and it looks so much better. I probably shouldn't have wrapped it for so long. Argh! I felt terrible!
It's been over a week and we've been dying to hear the results from the labs. Finally we got the call. The lab only grew one thing, something call Propionibacterium Acnes. It's a common bacteria found on the skin. Dr Jones was a little skeptical that it caused her infection because it's so rare that it would cause osteomyelitis. He thought the dish may have been contaminated, so he wants to wait and see what the DNA test shows. After waiting anxiously for a few more days, we got the call about the DNA test. Nothing. Yes, it showed nothing. I think I heard my heart break in half. I wanted to curl up into a ball and cry (who am I kidding - I did exactly that).
But then a couple of days later, we had an appointment with another Dr on the infectious disease team, Dr Sanderson, and she made me feel much better about our situation. She's worked with bone infections for 16 years and has seen a handful of them be caused by the propionibacterium acnes that grew in Meg's petri-dish. She also said it fits Meg's case, slow growing, chronic, and not responding to the antibiotics she's been on. She suggested we treat her for that bacteria and not be discouraged because she really thinks it could be the cause. So now our plan is to put her on Augmentin and Amoxicillin. I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders and I feel so much HOPE!
Meg has been on so many antibiotics at such high dosages for the past 3 months.. and they weren't even treating what she had. I feel terrible about it, but I'm so relieved we think we have it figured out. Her poor body has been put through the ringer, and she's even had a case of C-Diff because of the medication. But now this will be her new antibiotic routine each day.... (it's a lot for a 9 year old!). And we also throw in a probiotic chewable she takes too.
Life is full of surprises! But one thing that never surprises me and that I can always count on, is how wonderful all of our friends have been through this. Meg is so loved!
