Halo Clinic - Week Nine

Week nine, and we are limping towards the finish line!

This is the face I will make to whoever takes it off.

The posterior pins remain crusty with some "over-granulation". I googled that and saw the gross images so you don't have to. Normal granulation is when the wound heals properly and lovely pink tissue with new connective tissue and tiny capillaries grows over the wound. Overgrannulation is when the wound heals beyond the surface of the skin, which prevents capillaries from moving across the surface of the wound, delaying healing.

To fix it, they kill off some of the proud flesh using silver nitrate. Stings like a mofo, but only for a little while. Then it just continues to sting a moderate amount, all day long.

If the pins continue to cause trouble they ~might~ consider taking it off as of next week (10 weeks!) but I'm not going to hang my hat on it, when I can hang several hats off all these handy bars instead.

It has been quite a lovely week, with seeing a lot of friends, and I'm looking forward to a Hen's High Tea for the weekend. I feel better about attending Neil and Sarah's wedding in the halo, since I've learned the other young fellow in my halo clinic is also attending a wedding. But whereas my only responsibilities are draining the open bar dry ("Alcohol is the only thing that helps with the pain!" gets you served very quickly) and dancing the robot, he gets to fly to Tasmania and be the MC. Game, set, checkmate to Roshy.

Halo Clinic - Week Eight

The left posterior pin has broken a perfect run and lost pressure for the first time, decreasing from 8 to 5. The tightening was unusually unpleasant and has left me with a bit of a headache. However, it has answered the question of, has the screw fused with my skull? Apparently not yet.

The nurse also confirmed what everyone was wondering and said that, "The infection was deep. We were basically down to the bone". Totally unlikely, but I just can't shake the paranoia that when I lie down, the pin will puncture through some rotten skull and pop my brain. That's what I get for scholar googling "halo brace complications" and learning the phrase, "cerebrospinal fluid leakage from a halo pinhole".

Don't never trust Dr Google!

Also, I hope I'm as classy a bobblehead as Clooney when the halo comes off. We have similar haircuts.

Stay gold, George.

Halo Clinic - Week Seven

Another week done and dusted. Well and truly on the home stretch now!

Discussion of the clinic under the classic Demotivational Poster.
  

Take care on waterslides over the Australia Day long weekend, kids.

Screwed

Greg's mum Tes kindly took some photos of my infected screws. Sharing them here in case you thought having your head screwed on would be a barrel of laughs!

 

Halo clinic - Week Five

Week five has been conquered! It was a good week. I caught up with my mates for the $15 steak at The Odin and we brainstormed how I could gussy my halo up for my friend Neil's wedding in February. Other topics: Dominating the photobooth. Tearing up the dancefloor with The Robot. Charging through the crowd for the bouquet. The usual.

All of these plans come to naught because after today's halo clinic, I have a finish date, and it is six weeks away, and is the day before the wedding!

Not exactly halfway through yet, but this was too good to wait a week.

But I know-- I have only been in the halo for five weeks! And 12 weeks is the recommended period of time! To which I say: Keep your doubts to yourself, haters! I'm blowing this thing! And then I'm having a shower!

That may have been the highlight of the clinic, but plenty of things happened today!

Halo Clinic - Week Four

Officially one-third of the way through!

Halo Clinic - Week 2.5

Halo clinic came early this week! Since no one wants to be working on Boxing Day.

One of my pins is infected-- actually, the technical terms used by the medical staff were "grodey" and "squiffy". So in addition to the topical cleaner, I'm now on antibiotics. Fortunately for the holiday season, not one of the ones that interact with alcohol. However, it is one of the ones that needs to be taken on an empty stomach. Good luck with that over Christmas!

'tis the season