So 12 years ago my mother fell and broke her arm. The brake never fully healed and no doctor at HCMC was willing to work on her because of her soft bones.
In October my mom was introduced to a Orthopedic physician at Regions Hospital in St Paul. This doctors name is Peter Cole (
https://www.healthpartners.com/public/find-care/practitioner-detail.html?networkId=hp&locationId=130... (
https://www.healthpartners.com/public/find-care/practitioner-detail.html?networkId=hp&locationId=13059&practitionerId=32994)). He believed that he could restore most of the function to my mothers right arm. On January 7th we started the process.
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The procedure involved the removal of the metal plate and screws in her right arm and the removal of scar tissue. That surgery went wonderful. She came thru feeling great.
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The second step in the process happened on January 14th, and was another surgery in which the put in new stabilizing plates and a bone graph (from her hip). During the surgery there were some complications. The lower half of her humerus fractured as the second set of screws were put in. This caused the surgeon to replace the screws in a different location and they decided to put in a 3rd plate that would further stabilize her arm while holding it at a 90 degree angle. After the surgery she was once again doing great and was discharged 3 days later. Everything was going great at home. She was active and alert. Beyond being in some pain she was feeling great!
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On the 27th moms incision began to drain at an alarming rate. The decision was made to bring her in to the hospital so the doctor could open her up and see what is going on. The next morning(28th) they opened her up and discovered that her arm was badly infected. They took almost 3 hours and cleaned out infected and dead tissue from her arm. They also had to remove the bone graph (which was a bit of a set back but necessary). They took several samples of the infection for testing.
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The next day (29th) she was doing good. She was in a lot of pain but was staying positive. The doctors had her prepared for another surgery to clean her out again. She was still draining from the wound.
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Today things became more serious. For starters Her hemoglobin was very low. At a 6. Normally it ranges from 12-16 depending on age. Because of this she received a transfusion both before and during the surgery..The infection is still in her arm. The doctors removed more dead/infected tissue. We still do not know what the infection is so the antibiotics are not working as effectively as we need it to. The doctors expect to have the test results by Monday
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Mom is up to having (healthy!!) visitors and would greatly appreciate the company. She is at Regions Hospital 640 Jackson St, St Paul, MN 55101
Her room is S9405
Her phone number is (651)254-8745
~Sarah