Is it healing?

[cjsmith]

Usually I can tell when a surgical incision is healing because it starts to itch all around the surface. I can't feel that now. Is it not healing? Is it just that the area is numb?

Can't wait to go to the doctor and see what's under there. I'm curious as a kitten. I'll take a picture.

Two people told me that they're surprised I'm following doctor's orders and not unwrapping the dressings myself. I was insulted. [um, edited to spare you a rant.]

Wow, there was more under that emotion-scab than I thought. Anyhoo. I'm very curious about what my incisions look like and how well they're healing. Hopefully the surgeon will unwrap and inspect them tomorrow morning and I'll get to see.

Comments

[rampling.livejournal.com]

I've gotta say that I'm very thankful for my diligence in documenting my surgery and taking pix and putting them on LJ. At the time I mostly did it so my friends would know what was up with me, and so I'd have a place to talk and vent about my trials and tribulations. But it's additionally been a great resource for me to refer back to, and even shows me stuff I don't remember any more! I get dates, times, places, details, useful for my own interest and for when talking with doctors. Especially interesting to me is I can see the mental states I was in; verrrrry interesting. I suspect you'll get fine benefits like this later too. Especially from the (what will become) "before" pictures. :)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I know I'm pouring loads of crap onto LJ that many people may not be thrilled to read, but like you I see both the documentation and the venting as truly valuable things. To cut traffic I'm marking half the posts as private :)

[rampling.livejournal.com]

A good compromise is the LJ cut, if you think there are a few people who might be interested, but most would wanna skip. Some of us are appreciating the details.... ;)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Eh, true, but there are details and there are details. I think I'll skip posting the specific difficulties of bathrooms. ;-) As it is, the details are becoming less important lately because I'm so much more functional now than I was on Thurs/Friday.

[rampling.livejournal.com]

True, that sort of details aren't really necessary to share. ;)

Glad to hear you're more functional! :)

[sunnydale47.livejournal.com]

Oh, but bathroom issues are important! No, stop laughing I'm serious! I had a great discussion in chungjik's journal awhile back, with him and a couple of other women friends of his, about the issues of using public bathrooms when one is handicapped (to any extent). It was very helpful to exchange experiences and thoughts with others who have similar problems, albeit for different reasons. (I had written "exchange views," but thought better of that phraseology! )

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

They are indeed important! They were VERY important to me those first couple of days! That doesn't necessarily mean I'm comfy discussing them in a public entry, of course. ;-)

My worst problem, Thursday and Friday, was the transition from fully-clothed-on-hands-and-knees to seated-on-the-throne-and-ready. Move the shorts BEFORE getting up (thus tying knees together, CJ fall down, oops) or AFTER (need two hands to lift up my weight, then have to move the clothing via telekinesis)? That was a toughie. I learned that while crawling was faster and easier and more stable and less painful, still it was better to get into the bathroom on crutches. Thank goodness by Saturday I could stand up pretty well.