After the skin graft, I cleaned and took care of Jordan's nose like they told me to do. Dr. Harshbarger told us that the skin graft would be white for about three days. It would then turn purple and slowly turn to pink. I watched for it to turn purple but that never happened. Her forehead was glued together, and we were to leave it alone and the glue would fall off slowly. Last Sunday, I saw a little puss coming out at the top of her forehead from under the glue. Monday I took her to Austin to have it looked at. Dr. Harshbarger was out of town (which we knew about), so we saw a Physician's Assistant. She said that the skin graft looked pink to her and maybe we missed seeing the purple stage. She said that she did not see any puss and that maybe I saw glue on her hair. She said to keep the appointment on Wednesday for possible suture removal. We also discussed Jordan going under light sedation for this, since she doesn't like anyone touching her nose and she now fights to have it looked at. So we went home feeling pretty good. When I cleaned her nose that night, I noticed that the skin graft was not attached to the bottom part of her nose. I couldn't remember if this was normal or not. I tried to stay positive.
I expected Wednesday's appointment to be a quick visit. Shannon decided to stay at work because they weren't going to do much. The plan was to look at her nose and set up a time for the stitches to come out. Of course, I still had concerns about the glue and if that was infected on her forehead. Jordan started complaining that her nose was hurting and that she smelled that yellow stuff in her nose. Jordan and I left early on Wednesday and did a little shopping. When we got to Austin, her nose was bleeding a little and I smelled something. I thought it was her forehead. At the doctor's office, they still did not think her forehead was infected and said that her skin does not heal like other children. They said that is why the glue looked like it did. I had to hold Jordan down while they looked in her nose. I took a quick look and knew it was infected and that the skin graft didn't take. She said that it did come undone at the bottom and the smell was coming from her nose. I then shut my eyes and rested my head on Jordan's belly until the exam was over. I picked her up and we both cried together. Of course, Jordan pulled away from me and looked at me like I was crazy. It was really cute. The team came in to set up a procedure to clean her nose and to see if any part of the graft could be saved.
On Thursday, my mom and I took Jordan back to Dell. When we woke her up that morning, she had dried puss splattered across her forehead. I knew then that her forehead was really infected. So Dr. Combs cleaned out her nose. He said that the skin did not survive and that is probably what we were smelling. The skin graft was completely removed from her nose. He removed the glue from her infected forehead and debrided the area at the very top closes to her hairline. This was the same spot I saw the puss on Sunday. We had to stay the night to learn how to do wound care for both places.
I am now numb to what happened in the last four weeks. Her nose is collapsed again, and now she has a big gash on her head that will need reconstructive surgery in the future. I have watched this child's lip fade away when she was a baby. I have now seen her nose collapse twice and I just watched part of her forehead fade away. It is really hard to stay positive right now. I feel God's presence but don't understand His master plan.
Piggy has been with Jordan through all of this.
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