On Tuesday or Wednesday of last week, I started to notice that the cast on Jaidin's left arm was smelling funky. I had just changed the dressing on it, so I assumed some boob-juice must have dripped on it and went sour. So, I changed it again. But, the smell returned. More sour milk I thought. So I changed it again. The smell instantly returned. Hmmmmm..... Then Jason came home from work and told me I needed to change Jaidin's outer cast because it stunk! What?! I'd changed it 3 times that week already! So then I start thinking that maybe it's not sour boob juice. Maybe the smell is coming from underneath the cast. So I begin my google search into smelly casts. Results = infection! I get nervous....
First thing the next morning I call Jaidin's hand surgeon to inform him of the smell. He's not in the office, but his nurse tells me that casts often get smelly and that I shouldn't worry. She said that infections come within days of surgery, not 5 weeks after. I didn't feel good about it. Her right arm wasn't smelly and she had been fussier than usual. So I politely tell the nurse that if we wait to take Jaidin's cast off and her fingers are so infected that she has to get them amputated, that I am holding her responsible. Then I ask for her name. She pauses, then puts me on hold to run our situation by another surgeon. They decide that it's better to be safe than sorry and they want us to come in to have Jaidin's casts removed. (I have to admit, although I was nervous about the possibility of infection, I was soooooooo excited for my baby to finally get her fingers back AND to see how her fingers looked! I had been counting down the days for this moment for awhile!!)
After soaking her casts in the tub to loosen them up, we were off to Primarys. NOTHING could have prepared me for what I was about to see. When they took the cast off of Jaidin's left arm (the smelly one) I about had a heart attack! It WAS infected! Puss, black, red, waxy.... I cannot even put into words how gruesome the sight was. Luckily, stuff like that does not gross me out at all. Jason said he literally almost passed out. It was bad. Jaidin's other hand looked pretty bad too. It wasn't infected, but it definitely was not healed. I had no idea how scary her fingers would look. I just thought they would be healed and as good as new! NOT SO. We did some tests & blood work to make sure the infection had not spread into Jaidin's bones. Hearing that infections in bones lead to amputations was very unsettling. Luckily, we caught hers soon enough. Had we waited until her scheduled appointment, who knows how bad the infection could have gotten. All that bacteria just festering & multiplying....it could have been much worse (hard to imagine it much worse than what we saw). Well, we were able to clean up the infection and they made a temporary splint for Jaidin's hands. She was not a happy camper! Poor thing was screaming and crying the whole time. We got x-rays and then little Jaiders finally got a brake. She usually SCREAMS and cries the WHOLE way to Primarys, and the WHOLE way home. Not after this experience! I wasn't even out of the hospital's parking lot before she was out cold! And, to my sadness, my baby still does not have her fingers back!!!!! That stupid (but necessary for healing and protection) splint!!
Jaidin enjoying her first bath in almost 5 weeks! We had to soak the casts for a good 30 minutes to make taking them off easier.
Jaidin's temporary splint. They're not very efficient. They frequently pop off and they are NOT easy to put back on!
