Bruce’s Story

Site created on March 21, 2021

Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting.


Bruce had a left total knee replacement performed on March 3, 2021.  He was brought home the next day and started having pain in his calf that evening.  We went back to Ortho that Friday and an ultrasound was performed.  They found a hematoma behind his left knee and we were told this would eventually go away.  Bruce had extreme pain in his calf for the next two weeks and after a few Ortho and ER visits an MRI was performed on Tuesday, March 16 where a pocket of fluid was noted in his upper calf.  Surgery for incision and drainage was scheduled for Friday, March 19.  This surgery did not go as planned.  Once he was opened up there was a large amount of blood that could not be controlled and he was transferred by ambulance to Fairview Southdale Hospital where he underwent a 5-hour surgery.  They found an artery behind his knee that was causing the bleeding and performed a bypass to control it.  After surgery, he had good flow down to his ankle and eventually into the foot as well.  The doctor is very pleased with the outcome so far.  Bruce is currently in ICU and will undergo another surgery tomorrow (Monday, March 22) to remove damaged muscle in the calf and a wound vac will be placed.  The length of stay at Fairview Southdale Hospital will be determined after this surgery.  When he is recovered enough to be moved he will go to an inpatient rehab facility for an extended amount of time as his family will not be able to care for him at home.  


Thank you all for your texts, calls, Facebook messages, and definitely your prayers.  I know Bruce will enjoy reading all of the comments once he is able to.  Please keep the prayers coming as he has a very long journey ahead of him.  

Newest Update

Journal entry by Bruce Bartyzal

I did see my Surgeon this week. I am still having pain in my foot and ankle although it looks like the surgery went exactly as expected. They are not sure why I am having the pain. They do not think it is plantar fasciitis. My surgeon believes it may be extreme muscle and tendon tightness because it’s been about 4-5 months since I’ve been able to use my left foot and ankle. I am starting with a new PT group this week. We are going to work on stretching the muscles and tendons with the hope that it will increase my flexibility and reduce the pain to allow my foot and ankle to work the way it is supposed to so I can push the fluid out of my foot naturally. If it’s not better in 2-3 weeks they will look at doing a MRI to see if they can find out what’s going on. My surgeon also set me up with a new Orthopedic Pain Specialist that helps people that have been through unique medical issues get back to as close to normal as possible. He specializes in Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome which is what I’ve been diagnosed with. He also works with people that have had complications from compartment syndrome. I am very excited to finally work with someone that has worked with these rare issues. I’ve been in and out of my surgery boot depending on how much pain I’m in when walking around. I’m also back to seeing my Therapist on a regular basis to help with the frustration and anger that has come with this setback. I will keep pushing forward until we find answers. The goal is still to be on the golf course by June 1st or sooner with no restrictions. I want to thank everyone again for the cards, calls, texts and kind words. I’ve been working with someone else lately that’s been having a truly tough time and that helped me keep my mind off my struggles and help them to try and get back to normal health. I’ve ran into more people the last couple weeks that are dealing with their own issues and I pray that they get relief soon as well. If your life is going pretty well right now, embrace it and soak it in so that when things get tough you have the energy and strength to handle whatever is thrown at you. I would give anything to have a boring normal life right now. Thank you! Have a great weekend!
Bruce
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