Amidst all that’s going on with me and with the pandemic, my ring finger on my left hand decided it was going to act up. I have no idea how this happened or where it came from. I developed a sore on said finger. I didn’t pay it much attention because I thought it would go away on its own. Well, it didn’t; in fact, it kept getting worse.
It started to cover the whole part of my top knuckle, and it hurt. I put all kinds of store-bought medicines, vitamins, and home-made remedies on it, but it just kept getting bigger. So finally, I broke down and went to my doctor.
After she examined me for a bit, she referred me to a wound care specialist (didn’t know there was such a thing). Anyway, he examined the lesion, prescribed a couple of topical creams, and instructed me on how to wrap and care for it.
I had several visit with the wound doctor and each time he would try something different that didn’t seem to be working. I heard that maybe a hyperbaric chamber would be beneficial to me. A hyperbaric chamber is for oxygen therapy, for one, to help with infected wounds that may not be able to heal because of diabetes or burns. At this point I was about ready to try anything.
So I brought it up to the doctor but he didn’t think that was something we should pursue. So he just kept trying other things he thought might heal it. Thing is, none of those methods helped either, in fact, it had now started to affect my cuticle, finger nail and it started turning black. This was starting to get a little scary. I was afraid that I might lose that finger. After all the different medical care, remedies, and suggestions, nothing seemed to be helping.
Ok, I guess you may be wondering, “What the heck does this have to do with her kidneys?” Well, remember the AV fistula I had in my arm for my hemodialysis? It has now become an issue. I can’t remember exactly why (I think I may have been dehydrated or my potassium was too low), but I had to go back to the dialysis center for a hemodialysis treatment. While I was there, I was talking to one of the nurses and explaining to her what was going on with my finger. After hearing me and looking at it, she said she knew exactly what was going on. She had seen something similar happen to another patient before.
She said it was my fistula. For some reason, my fistula was not allowing enough oxygen to get to that finger to heal. She also warned me that if I didn’t get it removed soon, I would lose that finger. Now that sounded reasonable, especially since one of the suggestions I had heard was that the finger was not getting the oxygen it needed.
So guess what? My next stop, my vascular surgeon who put the fistula in. I explained to him what had been going on and what the nurse at the center had suggested. He examined me and discovered to that was the case. He set me up for an appointment to remove the fistula as soon as possible.
Almost immediately after the fistula was removed, I could feel and see the difference. After that, it didn’t take long for the wound to heal. Removing the fistula wasn’t a big deal since I was already on peritoneal dialysis and using my catheter.
Here’s what my finger looks like now. It still haven’t healed to my liking but that’s ok.
I guess my point is when you have a chronic illness (or any illness for that matter) you’ll never know what connection it may have to something else going on with your body. Just be sure to pay close attention to what your body is trying to tell you. Talk to your medical professions and don’t stop until you get some real answers.
