I went and visited Aunt Pat yesterday. I didn't plan on going but my mom needed a driver so I went intending not to go in to see her as they had labeled me as "infectuous" many moons ago and I didn't want to get her an infection from me.
We needed to get up there with the bandages, gauze, painkillers, and solutions so she could get the wound cleaned and the bandages changed. The wound was supposed to be changed at 8 that morning but because my Aunt Lydia had problems getting the bandages from that stupid hospital, she was late.
As it happened, a deputy almost got run over and because he shot at the suspect they closed the section of road that my cousin lives on. After 30 minutes of explaining the situation to the police officers, me threatening to call the emergency services to the house, (pointing out that this was medical situation they were holding up) and my mom in a panic, They agreed to let us in with the supplies for changing her dressings, with the caveat that we couldn't LEAVE until they reopened the road.
We got in there and found out that they wouldn't let my Aunt Lydia in at all and it takes three people to change the bandages. I was the only one who wasn't going to puke, so I went in. I didn't want to ask questions in front of Aunt Pat so after, I went to the kitchen to ask Aunt Ruth, and Lisa, a cousin, threw up when I asked what the black and green spots were.
The wound itself is about 16 inches long, 5 inches wide, and deep enough that Aunt Ruth's hand almost went completely in when she was changing the dressing. It's got some blcack and green spots that are dead flesh and infection, they might remove them at the check up. Otherwise it looks pretty pink and not really that gross. They pack it with two rolls of gauze soaked in a solution that smells like clorine, then they cover it with a gauze-like blanket and cover it again with two pieces of plastic that stick to her skin and tie together like a corset.
I didn't touch the wound, my job was to hold her hands and keep her from smacking Mom and Aunt Ruth, and to wipe the tears from her face.
The drug cocktail that she sounds like it should knock anybody out, but it doesn't help much with the pain.
All but one of her kids made it to see her for her birthday, my mom fixed lasagna caseroles, I made cornbread and cake, and we took frozen pizza's and soups. Enough food for a couple days.
I took her some cards for her birthday and st. patrick's day to cheer her up.
