Naomi Update – Ok, So Maybe the Knee Can Stay!

Just a quick update on Nomi while I take a break from my Manifest preparation.

Good news! The surgeons and orthopedics (not osteopaths as I mistakenly said yesterday) people had their meeting, and have decided on a compromise. The options Naomi was given initially were replacing the prosthetic knee twice, with a course of anti-biotics in between, or being on antibiotics for the rest of her life. Both of those are very serious propositions. So the surgeons are instead going to open up her knee, and thoroughly clean and flush the joint out. This is an attempt to remove all of the bacteria which are expected to have formed a protective biofilm against the metal of the joint, where they could hide from antibiotics.

This compromise solution will still require a large incision, probably 15-20cm, into Naomi’s knee, and will require a moderately long recovery. She will be unable to bear weight for 5-7 days, and will need to remain on IV antibiotics continuously for a month. However they feel this is a treatment which has a good chance of removing the infection, without having to go to the extent of replacing the whole joint – twice!

I want to apologise if I worried anyone with yesterday’s blog entry. All of what I said was true, and not exaggerated, but given the despairing mood I was in, I used a tone of voice that may have alarmed some of you. Particularly my comment about scanning Naomi’s heart for the bacteria. On this particular issue, it’s not as serious as it might sound – from my understanding. Apparently the scan is precautionary. It has also been postponed a couple of times, so they are apparently not concerned about it being a pressing issue. Also, if anything of concern WAS found, the treatment would probably be what Naomi is already receiving: strong antibiotics.

So far Naomi hasn’t had this scan, and there’s no set date for it as yet, so we’re just not going to worry about it for the time being. More pressing is the scheduled time for Naomi’s surgery – 3pm tomorrow. This is coincidentally exactly the time I will be photographing one of the costume competitions at Manifest! I hope I’ll be able to keep my concentration.

Tomorrow is going to be a very stressful day for us both, but the day is also an important step forward for us both, paving the way for a brighter future. Naomi will be taking a big step forward to returning to her normal health, and I will be starting my first big professional event photo shoot.

Please wish us both luck! :)