Then there was a bit of a disaster. The technician who makes the casts did his thing and made a new splint from the plaster materials. Then he wrapped it all up with ace bandages like the previous one son #2 had for the first week. Son bore that process well and we headed home. By the time we got home, son was in so much pain it had spiked up to a 7 on the 1-10 scale. I administered a dose of the strong stuff (Oxycodone-Acetaminophen) and called the podiatrist. Son was struggling with the pain and nearly hyper-ventilated while we waited to talk to the doctor. He said bring him right back, so I did.
Over the lunch hour, the podiatrist unwrapped it all and checked son's leg again. Everything looked fine. So there was another re-casting session. One of the byproducts of this process is heat; generated as the plaster sets and starts to dry. Son did not like that sensation, but was not in much pain because he had the medicine in his system. So we went home and kept it elevated and iced for the rest of the day.
Day 9, Saturday, was ... in a word ... difficult. Son needed pain meds round the clock to remain comfortable and he kept complaining that his big toe felt hot. Only a cool, wet wash cloth seemed to offer any relief. He was up in the night several times, which meant I was up in the night several times, both Friday and Saturday nights. Also, Saturday morning a rash appeared near son's knee. Something akin to contact dermatitis. So not only did he have pain in the leg & heat in the big toe, but he was itchy.
After the second rough night and continued symptoms on Sunday, we were getting a little worried about running out of pain medication, as there were only a few doses left in the bottle. We tried a dose of regular children's Tylenol, which did nothing. So we called the Urgent Care and made the trek back over there to see the doctor on call. They removed his splint and dressings and checked out his foot. Low and behold, there was a large abrasion (looks like a huge blister) on the top of son's foot, which was covered by ace bandages so was not visible. He nearly went through the roof as they tried to use scissors to cut the dressings away, going across the top of the foot, right where the problem was.
The Urgent Care folks were concerned about infection, so started him on a 7-day oral antibiotic. The also recommended 1% hydrocortisone for the itchy rash. The incision was looking fine, but the abrasion was very sensitive. After 2.5 hours in the Urgent Care, son's leg was re-dressed and fitted in a cam boot walker like this
Son was much more comfortable in the cam boot and since the pressure was released off the abrasion he did not need any additional doses of pain medicine. The rest of the evening went ok and he slept well through the night.
Monday, Day 11, was great, except for having to be diligent in remembering the antibiotic three times and monitor the itchy rash situation. Did you know that taking shorts and underpants on/off over a cam boot is pretty difficult? That thing is big. Not too much fits over it! But we muddled through and got son into some clean undies and pajamas.
Tuesday, Day 12, son saw the podiatrist in the morning. The dressings were removed again and his leg thoroughly examined. The rash looked better, but the doctor recommended continual doses of Benadryl until it clears up completely. Son has not needed any pain meds at all today, but has been re-dressed and splinted with gauze and ace bandages. We saved the splint that was removed on Sunday so it was able to be reused and son did not have to suffer through the heat sensations produced by wet plaster to form a new one.
And so, here we are. Nearly the end of Day 12. Things are seeming better today. Friends down the street who have a daughter son's age (they were in the same Kindergarten class) brought a plate of cookies by for son. He shared with me and they were very, very good. Chocolate chip, my favorite. Son's appetite has come back and is nearly up to the level it used to be before the surgery. I have discovered that son really likes to choose things from vending machines, even if he's not even hungry and suffering from pain. No matter what, he likes to stop and get something from the machine. It's the little things, right?
We are bracing for the next post-op appointment which is this Friday (Day 15). It's the day the stitches will be removed. All SEVENTEEN of them. Maybe I'll post a pic ... on second thought, maybe not. Son will have a gnarly long scar on the back of his leg. One to rival his Harry Potter scar on his forehead. That one was only 7 or 8 stitches. I can't remember.
If you are still reading to this point, you must be a grandparent! Or just super curious or a medical professional or ... well, me. I want to remember all these details when we get some distance from this process. Writing it all down is the only way. Thanks for 'listening.'
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