Medical Update

May 19, 2024, at home

My back from two spine surgeries in 2023 is still a bit sore, but the 14-inch-long incision is healed. Several weeks ago, I had surgery on my right ankle for a bone infection. I had a bone biopsy, a deburring, and a draining. I entered the hospital on April 17, 2024, with breathing difficulty and a sore, swollen right ankle and foot. After many failed lines and failed, painful attempts to replace them, I had a PICC line installed in the left side of my neck with the ports emerging from my left chest, similar to when I had six weeks of dialysis for four hours every day several years ago. I spent a week in the hospital receiving intravenous antibiotics for my bone infection and intravenous steroids and nebulizer treatments for my lungs. I returned home to receive three bags of intravenous antibiotics every day. I stopped about two weeks ago because it made my breathing worse. My podiatrist told me that I need to return to the antibiotics even though I stopped them three days early. I left messages with my infectious-disease doctor, but I haven't received a response. I assume that I will restart the intravenous antibiotics even though that wasn't the plan. I also have anemia, plus severe edema in both of my legs. Here's a recent photo of my right foot and ankle right after my wife removed the bandage, as per my podiatrist. It looks better now. My right foot and ankle still hurt and are still swollen.