An Email from Dad's Doctor....

I finally got an email from Dad's doctor this morning...  He told me he had not been informed of the wound care doctor's recommendation for amputation on Dad's left foot.  He said he had been busy and had his Physician's Assistant visiting Dad, and she had not mentioned anything to him.  He will go visit Dad personally, this Friday, and then get back to me.

WARNING: GROSS EXPLANATION:  Dad had a small skin cancer on his left pinky toe.  It was originally a blister before he entered the nursing home.  Somewhere in between his poor circulation and  last year, the wound would not heal and eventually was diagnosed as a basal cell carcinoma.  It turned purple and began turning half his foot purple.  Just below his ankle, he has a plum sized dark purple growth.  That is how it looked last May when I was shocked to see it.

The nursing home just kept telling me the wound was not healing...and it was red and swollen, but no one ever prepared me for what I saw.  They continue to keep in clean, and keep Dad on antibiotics or antibiotic creams.

I told Dad's doctor we need to know the pros and cons on not amputating and the amputation.  So far, the wound on his left foot is not infected.

We all feel the odds are not with Dad to be put to sleep for surgery to remove his foot...and if by some miracle he did survive it, and had any consciousness or awareness at all, he would be totally traumatized realizing he did not have a left foot!  None of us can imagine explaining it to him.  He would FREAK!

So far, he is not in pain, nor does he complain of any.  We anticipate if his foot did get infected, it could turn to gangrene due to his poor circulation in his legs.  The doctor said they can not feel a pulse in his legs.

We just have to put Dad in the hands of the Lord...and see what unfolds.  We need the doctor to give us our options and go from there...