Civil War Hospital

Today I had my appointment at the wound clinic.  It wasn't as bad as I expected. I didn't see a waiting room full of bloody bandages like a civil war hospital.  I did see people in wheelchairs, using crutches and wearing splints.  In the therapy room I saw a man's stump where his leg was amputated below the knee and of course the first words that come to my mind are, "Civil War Hospital."  My therapist was very kind and a good listener.  She didn't give me permission to shower like I had hoped though.  And her estimate of the time until my wound heals was twice as long as the doc's which was disappointing.  She thinks it will take a month before I am wound-free and he said two weeks.  In the back of my mind though, I have to admit that I thought he was overestimating my healing ability.  I suspected he was telling me what I wanted to hear. Just like he didn't want to be the bad guy on the shower issue.   She says some necrotic tissue has to be removed with a scalpel before the wound will heal.  Again, not the news I want to hear. She said the doc can do it in the office.  She debrided the wound and that was not fun but she was careful and gentle. She photographed it and measured it.  She took a pen and drew lines on my leg around the red areas and told me to call the doc of the redness went beyond the ink borders.  She showed me a new way to pack the wound.  She taught me about wrapping it.  She offered to teach me how to use an ace bandage. I accepted and am so glad I did.  She had a magic touch with the ace bandage.  I've been using ace bandages off and on since July but never has one given me as much comfort and pain relief as the one she put on me today.  The way she put that ace wrap on cut my pain level completely in half.  The rest of the day I felt more comfortable and had more energy  and felt lighter on my feet than I have in almost 3 months.  She spent 10 minutes teaching me how to wrap my leg in an ace bandage.  Who would think using an ace wrap was so complicated?  When I see her again I will have to demonstrate my skills.  I wish I could see her every morning and have her wrap my leg.  I will try my best to duplicate her efforts.  I might have to set my alarm an extra quarter of an hour early so I can get this right.  So even though I didn't get the answers I hoped for (Yes, feel free to take as many showers as you want.  I totally think you'll be healed by October 1st) I am glad I went.