Medical Update

Monday, February 12, 2024, Delray Medical Center

I had an MRI done this morning of my infected right ankle and foot, as per my podiatrist. I already had X-rays done. I may require a bone biopsy of my right ankle.

My podiatrist told me that I have a fracture in my right ankle. Last year, I had two fractures in my right ankle (tibia and fibula) due to two falls and engaged in a precautionary six-week-long regimen of daily intravenous antibiotic infusions for a possible bone infection. In September 2023, I had spinal surgery to remove an infection in one of my spinal disks. In October 2023, I had a six-hour-long surgery to install a titanium rod to hold my "collapsing" spine together due to a bone infection. With the overlap, I had eleven weeks of daily intravenous antibiotic infusions, plus an extra two weeks for a total of thirteen weeks.

My current situation is separate, but possibly related. I have restarted intravenous antibiotics here at the hospital.

Resolved:

I arrived at Delray Medical Center on February 6, 2024, with shortness of breath and a swollen, painful right ankle and foot. A chest X-ray and two CT scans of my chest determined that I do NOT have pneumonia, so I have been taking nebulizer (breathing) treatments which have been helping to loosen my lungs. I also take nebulizer treatments at home.

However, it was determined to the surprise of many doctors that I have a six-inch-long "wire" the width of a hair stuck in a blood vessel between my heart and my lung. It is most likely a broken part of one of the many PICC lines that I have used for many previous infections or part of a guide wire for a PICC line.

On February 9, 2024, a camera was thrust through my right groin area to my heart area to view the wire. It is embedded, so my cardiac radiologist recommended leaving it there. If it were free-floating, he would have plucked it out. He told me that it is not worth cutting me open to retrieve it. My body has covered over it, so it is not likely the cause of my recurring infections.

In March 2022, I had quadruple coronary artery bypass surgery. In May 2022, I had two chest surgeries due to complications. I really don't want my chest to be recut to remove a wire.

More Information:

This afternoon, my infectious-disease doctor told me here in my hospital room that my current regimen of intravenous antibiotics at the hospital has cleared the bacteria in my blood which is good news. I am still dealing with a painful infection in my right ankle and foot. I am expected to be discharged this week after my mid-line is replaced with a full PICC line. That means that I will receive yet another six-week-long regimen of daily intravenous antibiotic infusions continuing at home. He also recommended taking antibiotic pills every day forever to prevent recurring infections.