A Day for Doctors

There was good news and not-so-good news from our multiple doctor visits.

The good news was that I saw my radiation oncologist today for what turned out to be my last appointment with him. I'm 4 1/2 years out from my breast cancer treatment, so he's no longer a factor in my followup. I will continue seeing the surgeon following my annual mammogram.

The not-so-good-news is about John's hand. The nurse took the cast off. The pin had gotten embedded in the cast, and came out of the fracture. It was over 3" long, and had been placed from the knuckle length-wise through the center of the bone. The fracture is still displaced and has not healed very well. The doctor says that, after 4 weeks, there should be some healing there, and there is no movement there. But, on x-ray, to us, the fracture looks pretty much the way it did before the surgery. Dr. L said that if he had seen it earlier and that there had been no healing, he would have recommended additional surgery. He is not recommending that now - at least as long as healing eventually does take place. Even though it will not be an optimal result, assuming the fracture does heal, John will be able to use his hand almost normally. I specifically asked if he would be able to grip the handle of his oar. The answer to that was yes.

In any case, he was sent directly to a hand physical therapist where a fitted splint was made, and he was started on an exercise regimen. He is to go to PT twice a week for four weeks, with the first return on Thursday morning. Dr. L wants to see him again next Tuesday, when he'll also probably have his third PT session.

We're disappointed, of course, but we'll have to see what happens from here. John's glad to be out of the cast, and says it's not hurting.