Team Cary!!

As many of you know, our dear friend Cary Warren has just gotten home from quite some time in the hospital. Cary is happily at home with his wife Laura, and their two beautiful children Evelyn 5, and Raymond (19mos). They're now into recovery mode, which is going to be quite a process, but they're so grateful for the in-home nurses, family and their wonderful friend Ashley who has moved in to help with Cary, the kids, and around the house.

Cary Goes to the Hospital:

January 4, 2023 Cary was experiencing significant pain in his right knee ( redness and swelling). We took him to a local Ortho-on-call and he was diagnosed with prepatellar bursitis. The next few days the pain got worse and so did the swelling. Saturday, January 7th, 2023 Cary went to sleep, woke up at 3:30 am (Sunday) Cary woke up with shortness of breath; we called an ambulance and requested he go to MCV.

Later into Sunday evening, after thorough histories, circling the redness with a marker and watching it spread, and blood and cultures taken, he was diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis (never had prepatellar bursitis). Very soon after the diagnosis, Cary was taken into surgery (around 10:00 pm) to try to see how advanced it may be ( lil difficult to tell outside the body).

Simultaneously, I was informed that he was septic; he had gone into septic shock and had the following infections in his blood: Strep A , Strep B, and a staph infection ( a type that is usually outside the body).

There are a lot of details that are a bit too much to summarize here. What I will say, is that for the first 6 days, we were in Critical Care surgical trauma and the doctors wouldn't allow me to use the word "optimistic". He was in and out of A-fib, and it was a constant race to stay ahead of the infections that were basically trying to kill him. Once we got through lots of tests, blood draws, and about 5 surgeries, I was told that they were comfortable saying Cary would live, and that we could now focus on saving his leg.

From there we went to Ortho Surgery trauma where there were several more I & D (irrigation and debridement) surgeries. After surgery number 7 we were told all clear from the necrotizing fasciitis (yay!). Cary had a vacuum seal on his leg and was now set to move to the plastics department to discuss how to reconstruct the leg. The 8th surgery involved shifting Cary's calf muscle to try to get the ligaments/tendons to promote trying to regrow blood vessels / restore movement capabilities. They also were able to place a synthetic skin overtop the wound to help promote tissue and skin growth.

On January 29th Cary was able to come home. Vacuum seal and drainage tube in place; we have been doing wound vac changes 2x a week and are now awaiting a surgery date for his skin grafts.

Suburban Home:

Cary came home with a wound vac and a drainage tube attached. His incision went from his hip down to his ankle. He currently has to use a walker we have a raised toilet, and a bench for the bathroom (can't get his leg wet). We are doing our best to keep the house clean so he can move about, but let's face it, two kids and two dogs? It's tough. Laundry and dishes are a constant struggle while I try to navigate going back to work, and parenting while he can't stand/walk.

Getting in and out of the house is tricky. We are having a construction company come to help replace our current railings that are completely rusted through. Cary will need to lean on these for at least a year, and currently, you could sneeze and knock them over.

Everything Sux and Good Good Things:

But we've got that PMA! While Cary and Laura are lucky enough to still have some income coming in, the reality is this is going to be a long process with long-term care. They're so thankful for all the meals, groceries, and visits they're received over the past few months, but now is when the bills are starting to roll in, and renovation of their entryway is needed for Cary's safety.

Hope:

Let me start with how happy we are to have Cary alive and at home. We still have another surgery to go (the skin grafting). He will remain in the hospital for another 5-7 days while in recovery. How long before Cary can walk on his own? Months, maybe a year. He will always be prone to blood infections. Aside from these medical bills, the needed construction and durable medical equipment; we struggle with things that everyone does: daycare, car payments, insurance, and an ambulance ride.