Prayer warriors, please keep my son in your prayers!! [Update in #122]

06/30/14

[trussell]

More prayer needed for my family. My son was having troubles with the side of his big toe, at the edge of the toenail...I took him to urgent care/walk-in clinic and they said he had an infection and we should soak it in epsom salts, keep it clean and keep the toenails cut even. They gave him some antibiotics.

He went to camp the first week of June and when he came home, the other foot had sores on both sides of the big toe! ...and the first toe was worse. We cleaned them the same as the other foot, tried to keep them cleaned up and soaked them and then wrapped them before he went to camp for the second week. He got back Saturday and the toes were oozing puss and crusty and bloody. They were so bad I called everyone in my phone book to beg for a ride to the urgent care.

Finally found a ride and when they saw his toes, they said "this is bad". They searched for signs of an ingrown toenail in both toes and said that was not the issue. They said it was important to get him in to see a podiatrist, immediately. They prescribed a cream for the toes (the cream was denied by our insurance), told us to clean both toes with peroxide, put the cream on the sides of the nails where the nail meets the skin, cover with a 2x2 piece of gauze then wrap with gauze wrap (the disposable kind). They gave us a few pieces of gauze and a small amount of the wrap, but no tape. I got a few latex gloves to keep from passing anything to his toes and taking a chance of making the infection worse. At this point, it looks like he will lose his toenail at minimum...and if things dont get done quickly, he could lose both big toes. I am using neosporin ointment in place of the prescription cream they wanted used.

Cody needs prayers, really bad! Please...pray for Cody's medical needs. Also, does anyone have any medical supplies they don't need anymore? We need 2x2 gauze, 4x4 gauze (for cleaning), gauze wrap (2"wide roll)...bigger would probably be ok...peroxide, medical tape...the nylon style would be easier but any available would help!! Neosporin cream, cotton swabs to apply the ointment. Please, if you have any of these, contact me and I will give you an address. I am praying several people will have bits and pieces they are willing to send so I get a little bit of everything needed. God bless you all for the prayers and any help provided for the supplies.

Another issue, does anyone know how to treat poison ivy? He either has a rash that is from poison ivy or from a reaction to something he is allergic to.

[trussell]

No problems...I’m not terribly anxiety ridden over a mistake in the spelling of his name, just thought I would set the record straight. :)

[newberger]

Did the appointment happen yesterday? How is Cody?

[trussell]

Did the appointment happen yesterday? How is Cody?

Yes, thank you for posting!

The infection is much, much better. He still has to keep it wrapped up until after the procedure to remove the toenails, and then wrapped until that is healed...but he is cleared to have the procedure as soon as the foot doc is comfortable doing it...considering he still has blood and puss oozing from the toes. It appears, he may be on the road to being fixed! Thank you for the continued prayers.

[Heart of Georgia]

Good to hear he’s doing better.

So no MRSA? Did they say what’s causing it to stay so infected with pus still oozing out?

[luvie]

Thanks for letting us know how he is! What a relief that he is on the mend and he has a doc who cares!

[trussell]

The doctor didn’t culture it so I don’t know if there is MRSA or not. He didn’t check it out very thoroughly and would interrupt me when I tried to explain that it was still oozing quite a bit. He released Cody to have the nails removed...I’m praying the foot doctor knows what to do under the circumstances...he seemed to be the most caring doctor in the bunch. I pray he does right by Cody.

[trussell]

What a miracle...the prayers are so wonderful and so much appreciated! Cody goes in on Monday to have the nails removed 1/8 an inch on each infected toe and the surrounding toes if they look like they will be a problem in the near future. It is likely going to be a little problem for school...open house is on Tuesday the 5th and the first day of school is Wednesday the 6th. He’s going to have to have his toes bandaged for school to keep them from causing worse sores while he walks the halls to his classes. I’m going to have to teach him how to replace the bandages in case they go bad during the day.

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

Can’t he go to the school nurse to have the bandages changed during the day?

[trussell]

That’s a good thought, and something I hadn’t considered...I guess that’s because last year, she wasn’t there all the time and if you needed help when she wasn’t there you had to wait for them to call her in. Thank you for pointing that out...it slipped my mind :)

[Kathy in Alaska]

Update for trussell’s son, Cody....good news!

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3174226/posts?page=147#147

[thesearethetimes...]

Excellent! So glad to hear the positive report on Cody and his toes. For such little things, so far from our heads and hearts, they certainly carry a lot of weight, literally and figuratively ;)

Grateful prayers continuing for you, and yours ma’am.

[E.G.C.]

BTTT

[GailA]

Had that done, it was not comfortable at all. And the nails they said had a 5% chance of regrowth nearly cracked the right big toe nail in half, and has come back as it grew out over the last year. So it is not a permanent fix like I was told. Ruined my other wise perfect toe nails on both feet for a year. Can I suggest you get some of those foam tubes to put over the bandages, it makes the bandaging easier to keep clean and keep on as well as cushioning the toes. The less bandaging the better it is to walk.

[trussell]

Can you send me a link to the product you are talking about? I’ve never heard of this before. If it would make it easier to do the bandaging, it’s definitely worth looking into!

[trussell]

Just realized I had not said anything about your troubles. I’m sorry you went through that with your own nails and I appreciate you sharing your troubles with us so we know to watch out for that with Cody. Was there anything that could have been done to protect you from the further damage? Is there something I should ask for (or about) before they do the removal?

Also, still very much interested in seeing what the “tubes” are all about...if it will help him while he is at school, I definitely want to check into it!!!!!

[GailA]

they come in a differing styles you just have to chose the one best suited. Hope pic helps you know what to look for. You can hand wash them to keep them clean. 1 pkg should do the whole treatment, I hope Cody has better luck than I had.

The less bandaging the better. Makes it easier to walk. And If they put a strip Up and Down after they wrap it around, and use the ointment first it does work better. Found that out when they did the left big toe. Nothing would have made a difference on the right, as both sides were done at the same time, it just weakened the nail bed making it want to crack across the center. Which is about gone now the nail has had a year to grow.

So I am getting Pedicures now to take care of the issue every 6 weeks. As I don't want a repeat of a futile process. It Works, out and no more strain on my back to do the chore.

We go to pick up our 3 month supply of meds from Base Dispensary today, lets see if they get my Synthroid right. Cause if it is not the Name brand, I'll chew butt. My script is DAW name brand. Synthroid is a 'small window' drug, which means that crappy generic with 20-30% less of the Thyroid hormone is a critical issue, besides the allergy to the fillers. I know the difference by sight, name brand are lt grey at the .120 I take, brown if generic. If they can fill them at the local base why can't they REFILL them same place, why am I having to call Pensacola to get refills? All automated.

[trussell]

Prayers that they get your meds right and you don’t have to fight today.

Thank you for the picture...I’ll check online and see if I can find something, and then try to find a way to get them. It does look convenient, and comfortable!

Also, they are doing ALL of Cody’s removals on one day. Only one thing might cause a problem, he was stung by hornets 8 times in 2 days...his left foot is severely swollen as well as his left hand. I hope the swelling goes down before his appointment...will they cancel doing it if the swelling hasn’t gone down?

[GailA]

Depends on how much the swelling has gone down. He should be on a round of predisone or Benydrl to lower the swelling.

If they are doing all of them on both feet, he may not be able to walk much at all for a week.

Well they got them right, doctor got 2 scripts wrong though. They were for 2 pills a day, and he wrote for only 1 pill a day. I can’t get that fixed until I see him in early Sept.

Hubby has a trip to see his older bro in Niagara Falls, NY area planned for this month, we are going to be driving it. I understand his need to see his bro and sis, but I don’t look forward to the trip, I know how much pain and and Meniere’s attack I am going to have to go through to accomplish it. All for 3 days of visiting them will take 7-8 days. You barely get there and have to make the return trip. This is one of those ones I’d wish he’d leave me home and fly out to see them himself. I am getting to the point I can’t do this stuff any more. A trip to the grocery store wipes me out for the day.

[Smokin' Joe]

Prayers up for you and your kids.

[trussell]

Had the appointment to do the toenail...they didn’t say it was going to be done in pieces, but that is what they did. They did one big toe today, both sides. This is the one that had infection on both sides. It bled pretty good, but (according to the instructions...) we removed the gauze, soaked it in epsom salts and warm water for 15 minutes, dried it and re-wrapped it with gauze and tape after applying antibiotic ointment and iodine.

Cody starts school Wednesday and he has another appointment for the 19th to have the other big toe done (both sides). We are hoping this is the only removals that are necessary...we will find out for sure after these heal and we see if there is any other infection in other nails following that. He is doing amazingly well...though he is staying off it for the most part.

They actually consider this to be a surgery, though it is done at the doctor’s office. So I guess, when asked about surgeries, we will have one more to list. :/

All the prayers are so much appreciated...as well as the help with supplies. God Bless all of you!