Healing Power

Yes, it's true.  I am healing.  And healing nicely.

When I last updated, my parents had noticed that my incision had opened, and they were worried about signs of infection.  Well, to tell the truth, it got worse before it got better.  A lot worse.  But the good news is that we are now in the upswing of "better".

A few days after the first little opening was discovered, a much larger opening appeared.  It was in the center of the back incision right under all the goop!  Mom was given instructions by Dr. Bauer's office to begin a new dressing routine of applying a wet-to-dry dressing three times a day.  This was intended to clean off the goop and help the new tissue to develop.  And, as usual, they were right.  The goop began to come off... but then mom and dad saw that my incision hadn't just split -- it had widened.  I had a hole in my back!  And a good sized one.  We never actually measured it, but it seemed to be about a half-inch or so wide. 

While that sounds pretty awful, it really wasn't that bad.  It looked bad, but it wasn't open to the inside of my body like the opening that occurred with my first surgery.  So it didn't need to be re-stitched, which was a blessing.  Dr. Bauer and Mim assured us that if we continued the wet-to-dry dressings the area would heal, and they were right.  Well, I don't want to get ahead of myself -- it hasn't healed yet.  But it is getting there.  Mom and dad have been on top of the triple dressings for a week and have seen a lot of improvement.  So maybe in another week, we can say goodbye to the ACE wraps.  Man, I am getting tired  of those (not to mention they don't make the 113 degree temperatures any easier).  Oh, and I am happy to report that the first little area that opened has healed up just fine.

August 14

August 17 (a clearer picture of how the stitches had entirely unraveled)

August 21

I also got my sutures out today!!  This was not fun.  We estimated about a hundred or so stitches that had to come out, and it ended up taking over an hour to get them all.  It was pretty predictable that it would be a difficult appointment, so mom arranged for Dr. Price's office to give me an anti-anxiety medication before we got started.  It's hard to say if it helped, but I was calm for about the first half of the removal.  The second half was rough, but that was probably a combination of me being tired of the restraint, the effects of the medication, and the pain caused by the removal itself.  And it did take a long time for the medication to wear off, during which I had some negative side-effects, so I'm not sure if we'll try that again.  But hey, it was worth a shot. 

So there it is.  We are very happy with how this is coming along.  Before we know it, all the redness and irritation will be gone and I will be left with nothing but a thin scar line.  What a miracle.