I'm getting up to give DH pain medicine during the night. I don't mind it if it's keeping him comfy.... It's just so hard to go back to sleep. The packing/dressing change was out of this world painful but it will get easier, I just don't know when. The sight of the surgical cut without stitches, well, I will try to lock it out of my memory. It too shall get better and shrink as it heals
My son with Spina Bifida had to have surgery after surgery on a front wound that wouldn't heal. Being paralyzed from the waist down, a stitch or two would open and eventually allow infection back in.
Finally, the surgeon decided to just leave it open and allow it to heal from inside ..up. This opening was across his whole front lower stomach area. He gave me instructions as to how to change it. I hadn't seen it yet. I went to change the packing. I just gasped. I thought, if he was a woman, I'd be seeing a uterus! It was so deep! I also thought, I can't do this.
I had done so many different surgery bandage changes, but nothing like this. I called the Dr. the next day. He said, well, I can close it if you want, but you know what's been going on with stitches that open up, and it will happen again. I knew. So, I decided to keep doing it. It got easier as I got more used to seeing it.
Then..it started to heal. The Dr. never explained to me how it would look. I got very concerned as it began to look like browned hamburger meat! I thought it should have stayed pink. Off to the Children's Hospital we went. Drs looked. They said looks like it's healing great.
Ok. Took weeks but it healed up to the top and closed. It was good for a long time.
Richard..sits..in a chair all day long. Tummy flap. He's now having sores again. He goes to a clinic for them to take care of it or they come to him. At least they're not as bad as before.
He also had a pilonidal cyst in the back bottom area. This is something anyone that sits for a long period of a time can get. Like all those people sitting, working at a computer all day. Bronwyn has a nice table that will lift up so she can stand and type at times.
