For everyone who knew Pat Maxwell here is an update on hime from the past few months to catch everyone up. Pat is getting along great and progressing great also. Here is an email I received from Jennifer a few days ago. It has been awhile since we have sent an update and thought you would like to hear what has taken place since last November. Pat had surgery #18 on the right side of his face on May 3, 2013 which was done by laser. This helped relieve some pain, itching, tightness and smooth out the burn scar he was experiencing. It will take several sessions to complete this process, but so far has had outstanding results. He has surgery #19 on June 6, 2013 to release the thick scar on his neck and fix the compressed nerves in his right hand. Although their were some up and down moments throughout the recovery process it ended up in his favor. At first we thought the graft wasnt going to take again, but over time it started to look more and more like his regular skin and is still in the healing process. He has to wear a brace every night to keep compression on his neck to continue to push it flat. They took the thick graft from his left leg and then had to take another graft right beside it to cover the thick graft. This area is healing nicely....it just takes lots of time to fully heal the color to be restored. On July 19, 2013 he had surgery #20 which was another laser surgery on his face. This process continues to show great results. Recovery on the laser surgery is minimal. Their is oozing for about 24-48 hours and then just some redness for about 5-7 days. He said it does itch, but so far no sign of pain. This brings us to surgery #21, which was yesterday, October 18th. Although the surgery in June was successful, he still is experiencing some pulling down on his neck which appears to show signs of scar bands developing, but the doctor felt it was more of his grafted chest pulling down. Therefore, he inserted expanders above both pectorals (6 inch incisions above each) and stretch the skin over the next 2 months. He will have to go in for injections weekly in about 3 weeks to inflate the expanders and then they will be taken out sometime in January. They also took a deep tissue graft from the inside of his right inner thigh (8 inch incision) to help with a release under his right armpit. Since their wasnt enough skin to do a z-plasty release, they had to make the graft first and then perform the release. He was able to lift his arm to 90 degrees, but this will help get it to about 120 degrees. A z-plasty release is just like it sounds. They make an incision the length desired and stitch it back together and looks like a z all the way down. When it is healed you dont even see it. It really is an amazing procedure. We are asked often how many more surgeries..............their is no end. We are prepared for them to be ongoing, but may slow down as the years pass. He still has some major areas that need to be addressed: ear, right hand and right side, but as scar bands develop they take priority and most often some areas take several surgeries to completely fix. Overall, Pat is doing well. Although we have our ups and down, we cant complain. Pat is motivated each and every day by his cows. It takes him time to accomplish a task, but he has all the time needed. It really is the best mental therapy for him. It gives him something to look forward to each and every day. We also attend a monthly burn support group through the hospital and have met some wonderful inspiring people. We also participated in a Fun Walk in September to support the Mid-West Regional Burn Foundation. He solicited sponsors and was very grateful for the huge response. He raised over $2,200. We are very grateful for the continued support and prayers we receive as his recovery is probably going to take the rest of his life. We will be the first to say we dont know Gods plan and try to understand it, but know it is present in our lives. We just trust and put it in his hands. Gods promise to provide for our daily bread comes to us physically, mentally and spiritually. I feel Pat is a true miracle, a blessing he is still with me and thankful of the Lord providing for our daily needs. In Christ, Jennifer
Posted on: Tue, 22 Oct 2013 22:55:57 +0000
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