As at the 8th August 2005. Next update as at 17th November 2006.
Jax is much better. All the stitches were finally removed some weeks
ago, many of the internal ones that had come to the surface were also removed.
The hole in her left cheek has healed over and although the scar is quite
noticeable, we are quite pleased with it. The hole over her left eye eventually
closed up on it's own and didn't need re-suturing as we had thought for a while
that it might. One of the incisions along the hair line on the right side of her
forehead burst its stitches showing more bone and took a long time to heal, but
it's okay now.
She was given the all clear on the 4th Aug for her neck and was overjoyed to
take off the neck brace which she has worn since the accident, after those 10
weeks, it had left a legacy of spots and blocked pores. Not ideal, but far
better than the collar!
The necrotic skin did a good job of providing a sterile environment for the
healing process underneath it and it was slowly removed over the course of
several visits by the consultants at the hospital as it became clear that it was
ready to come off. It's all gone now and the new flesh growing there looks
healthy with a thin layer of skin gradually forming over it. She has the
dressing changed every other day and we look for signs that more skin is growing
every time.
The requirement for more surgery has been obviated by the wound healing naturally. Jacqui is delighted that the progress is so positive, she didn't want a second skin graft, there is no guarantee that it will take, but the process is guaranteed to leave a sore patch wherever the graft comes from.
She still feels giddy when she looks up, but on a positive note, sensation is
returning to parts of her head which had lost it completely. The downside is
that she can now feel pain and her forehead and left cheek are hurting. She can
feel a little over the right side of her forehead and the feeling is returning
to her scalp.
The physiotherapist has given her some exercises to help improve her neck and
she is practicing them regularly, she can now turn her head about 25 or 30
degrees to the left and about 15 or 20 to the right.
In the long term, she will need a larger plate over the depleted bone of her forehead and some scar revision will be required to remove the worst affects of the damage, but that is all for the future, next year, when the healing process is complete.
She is feeling stronger all the time and has been cheered by the many flowers that people have sent.
She does not need to see the maxillofacial consultant until November and he has given her some silicon gel that should help to improve the scars so they are less noticeable. She has been referred to a plastic surgeon now and is waiting for an appointment with him.
She will begin work again, a couple of days a week at first, from September 12th.