The alien is still lurking

Well, it appears I might survive this latest onslaught against my poor abused body. But it's a slow, very slow recovery.


That silver alginate stuff is really something. It looks and feels like felt, and it is placed dry (or with some Neosporin or something like that if you want) against the wound. It does its magic and pulls the guck and whatnot out of the wound, and when you pull it off, it doesn't rip the wound open again because it creates its own gel around the guck and keeps the wound moist so it can heal.


That and the pills I was taking seem to have been effective. The big wound near the areola is looking healthy and is starting to close up. The littler wound near the base of the breast is not being so cooperative.


In fact, I'm considering going back to see my Nurse Patti who I like so much tomorrow to see what she thinks. That area still hurts like the renowned razor blades are still in action.


It'll be good to see her again anyway. Among other things, she also treated and provided some new bandaging techniques for the MOH surgery wound on my leg and the big hole in my back.


She was concerned that they were drying out too much, no matter how hard I tried to maintain their protection. She suggested another form of alginate dressing, without the silver, so it would provide healthy protection but without the super pulling power that the silver creates.


Plus a hydrogel dressing, designed to maintain a moist surface to promote wound healing. And that stuff (also sold by some pharmacies as a 'moist burn pad' if you'd like to try it at a considerably more reasonable cost!!) is wonderfully cooling and soothing.

All these wound dressings need to be changed once a day, so I am definitely supporting the pharmacies right now, what with fancy bandages and the biggest band-aids I can find, and that lovely stretchy tape that I use on my leg.


The leg would is finally showing some signs of healing - from being the size of a Susan Anthony dollar coin, it's now more egg shaped as it starts to close up from the edges. It's been two months since the MOH surgery for the skin cancer, so it looks like his estimate of four to five months to heal is probably pretty accurate.


Hopefully, the hole in my back won't take that long. Getting a bandage on that sucker makes for a comedy video - it's right in the middle of my back. My right lymphedema arm just won't go back there like it used to, and using my left hand is as effective as putting eye makeup on with the wrong hand!


As far as the poor little boob goes, I just hope to get rid of the infection and move on. I see the doc again in three weeks for his evaluation, and whatever suggestions he might have for tidying up all these various surgeries to achieve something resembling a pair of respectable breasts.

And yes, all the photos are a few of the yard ornaments found around the area where I live. That gorgeous quail stands almost three feet tall, and if wouldn't be quite so obvious when it turned up gracing my yard, I'd bring him home in a minute!

I especially like the folks who happily admit they don't have a green thumb at all and put fake flowers on their artificial agave plant!