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I forgot to mention yesterday that Mom went to Dr. Pham to get her stitches out. Although it looked a little rough the stitches had to come out now so they wouldn't become too difficult to remove and tear her tissues when they were removed. They did not like that she is continuing to use her hand in spite of the bandage; the dementia makes it hard to get her to understand why she can't be trying to do everything she normally does. They are concerned that she will open it up again now that the stitches are out. Leo, Dr. Pham's nurse, gave us a sling to help immobilize Mom's arm; he said it would make it harder for her to use her hand. And it did! They also suggested splinting it to help immobilize it.

Dr. Pham sent Mom down to the Primary Care clinic to get her thumb bandaged. Elaine and Adele were great! They rebandaged Mom's thumb using Mepilex Ag, an antibacterial pad that helps with the healing of large wounds like Mom's. They gave me some small pieces so that I can continue to use it until her thumb is healed up. I also discovered I can get more at Longs Drugs.


The sling definitely helped to keep her from using her thumb, but it also made her a little more unstable when she walked since it is her right hand that usually holds the cane. With the sling she had to switch to using her left hand. I tried to use a flat wooden ice cream spoon as a splint to keep her from bending her thumb so that we could take the sling off. It kind of worked; but she kept trying to use it so it came off. Today I got a real finger splint, a metal one that goes around both sides of the digit and has a velcro band to secure it in place. It also had a foam lining to cushion the injured digit; I ripped that off and covered the sticky stuff with tape, then put it on Mom's thumb. As I write this it is still in place and keeping her thumb from bending. Winner! (With it on, she can use her cane with her right hand.)

Mom is having a big problem with itching; it is a side effect of the transfusion. At least that is what we were told. Tonight, however, she developed a rash of sorts. It might be a reaction to the benadryl ointment we are using on her, since she won't stop scratching the ointment getting in to the broken skin may be causing the rash; she says it stings when she puts it on. I will be starting a login for her in the Kaiser patient website so that I can send the photo below to her doctor; it will also allow me to look at her records.


I've helped Mom pack for our trip to Las Vegas, twice. For whatever reason she decided she needed to unpack the suitcase in order to know whether she had packed everything. Not sure how many more times we will do this tonight. Its probably a good thing that we are leaving the house about 8 am tomorrow morning.

Happy Birthday to Malaea!