THANK GOD THEY SAVED HER ARM!

My Mom, Debbie Joye went into the hospital on September 26th for her 2nd hiatal hernia repair. As she was being discharged from the hospital the morning of the 27th, she made it known to the nurse that her hand was very uncomfortable from swelling where her IV had been . At home, she was in increasing pain throughout the night and on the morning of the 28th, my Mom knew something was very wrong. She went straight to the ER. The doctor looked at her and said she was in trouble and sent her by ambulance to a larger hospital where she was immediately taken in for surgery to save her hand and arm.

They performed an emergency fasciotomy on her hand and arm. The vein that the IV was placed in was thrombsed and had to be removed. She was placed on round the clock regime of heavy duty antibiotics and pain medications.

The doctor left her wounds open to facilitate the removal of fluids that had built up in her tissue.
There was a silent fear amongst us all including the Doctor that she could still lose her hand or the use of it.

The hand and arm were saved, the surgery went as the doctor had hoped. The wounds are still open and are just now begining the healing process .

Now, it's her recovery time that has us all concerned. The surgical sites will not be closed until Monday or Tuesday. She will have a "minimum" of one month recovery from the procedure. It is unknown when she will actually be able to return to work. She will need home health assistance to help her with wound care. She will also need assistance with every aspect of her home life.

As you all know, my mother is self employed. She relies solely on the use of her hands to perform her job. She is now dealing with an unknown recovery time from two major surgeries and the fear of falling too far behind to truly recover both emotionally and financially.

Our family as well as my beautiful mother thank you for helping her through this difficult time.