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pandacrazy's Carpal Tunnel Surgery 7/15 , Let's cheer for Barb

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Posted 8/11/2009 8:03 PM (GMT 0)
Barb-
When I had my lung surgery, the hole where the chest tube was took quite a while to heal all the way. They just put a pressure bandage onit and told me to remove after 1 week and just keep it dry as possible. It had to heal from the inside out also. I think it was a couple months before it was closed all the way. I really only had to make sure I dried the area well after a shower.
I wonder if you could tape over it while you were in the lake and that would keep the lake water out and just clean it with peroxide afterwards?
I miss lake swimming and having fish nip at you. Fish are strange creatures. I hate it when something rubs against you in the river. Never know what it is, log, eel, gar, fish, dead body! Oh, I got carried away. We have 2 bodies in the river here that haven't surfaced yet. One went in about Easter and one a couple days ago.

Take care,
Bill
Posted 8/11/2009 8:03 PM (GMT 0)
Barb-
When I had my lung surgery, the hole where the chest tube was took quite a while to heal all the way. They just put a pressure bandage onit and told me to remove after 1 week and just keep it dry as possible. It had to heal from the inside out also. I think it was a couple months before it was closed all the way. I really only had to make sure I dried the area well after a shower.
I wonder if you could tape over it while you were in the lake and that would keep the lake water out and just clean it with peroxide afterwards?
I miss lake swimming and having fish nip at you. Fish are strange creatures. I hate it when something rubs against you in the river. Never know what it is, log, eel, gar, fish, dead body! Oh, I got carried away. We have 2 bodies in the river here that haven't surfaced yet. One went in about Easter and one a couple days ago.

Take care,
Bill
Posted 8/11/2009 8:42 PM (GMT 0)
Yikes, Bill. That's one scary river!

Barb,
Hang in there with that hand of yours. It's only a matter of time and it'll be good as new. Here's hoping that the surgery fixed your hand problem, and this incision problem is worth all the pain and frustration! Just take care of yourself, and don't try to do too much.
Enjoy your day.
Denise
Posted 8/11/2009 10:34 PM (GMT 0)
Denise, too late apparently holding a screw while I tried to put the top of my canapy together again was too much for my hand. It felt like someone was stabbing me in the palm of my hand. I think it was just temporary though. I hope it was. I hope that it was all worth it. I am going for a massage tonight to try to get the knot out of my back. If any one can get the knot out she can.

Bill, yuck! I have been bitten 2x by bullheads when the lake was low and it was really hot in Iowa when we lived down there for 10 years. It tried to bite my arm and I had blood streaming down my arm as I ran screaming from the lake with my one year old who had been on my lap with her feet in the water. I'm glad it bit me instead of my little girl. My doctor laughed when I went in because he had never in all his years had someone that had been bit by a fish. I had some issues for a while about swimming in a lake after that. That's one of the reasons I keep moving to scare the fish away. Oh well you still made me laugh. I'm off to get my massage. Barb

Posted 8/11/2009 10:50 PM (GMT 0)
Oh, man, Barb! Be careful! Hope it's just a passing pain. We always worry we're doing something to hurt our surgeries, don't we? I'm sure your hand will be just fine.
Stay away from those bullheads!
Denise
Posted 8/12/2009 12:10 AM (GMT 0)
Barb, last year, I had my Nissen on July 16th..just in time to miss sweet corn season in Michigan. I was told, thow shalt not eat..... and I didn't eat (oh can you see the halo on my head for that one!!!!) Let me tell you, it was painful, not eating sweet corn! I may as well die. Well, I didn't and I'm making up for it this year!! Oh, the corn is so good this year!..so what's the point???
Stay out of the WATER!!!

Oh, and for the record, I've never gotten bitten by anything in the Great Lakes and Bill? What River are you talking about and OMG!!!!!

Anyway, both of you, stay dry!!
Janice
Posted 8/12/2009 2:22 AM (GMT 0)
Hey Barb
I am sorry to hear you are having problems with your hand take it as easy as you can and try not to overdo it. I know that is always easier said than done. Wishing you a speedy recovery.
Mary
Posted 8/12/2009 4:10 AM (GMT 0)
Denise, it seems to be ok. I think I just strained it by doing that. I don't think that lake has nasty bullheads. Iowa has a lot of them though. My dad would just cut the line when we caught one of those because they can sting you too. So there are some in Wisconsin too. Well my massage therapist said my chiropractor should have no problem moving my back now. Yippee at least one thing on me will feel a whole lot better. Just in time for camping.

Hi Mary welcome to our little world. Every one here is great at supporting you through any thing. Thanks for the well wishes. I'm just being impatient. My surgery was only 15th of July.

Janice you always make me laugh and feel better. We have pretty good sweetcorn in Wisconsin too. I plan on buying some for our camping trip to the cottage. I can't wait. I've never gotten bitten by any thing in the great lakes either. I've swam in Michigan at different beaches and in Superior. Oh and yeah I don't want to swim in the river where Bill swims. Lol. Barb

 

Posted 8/12/2009 10:55 AM (GMT 0)
Barb-
I used to catch a ton of bullheads in the ponds here. They aren't too bad eating either. Just takes a lot of them because they are small compared to Channel cats and Flatheads. The river Is called Rock River. It starts in Horicon Wisconsin and meets up with the Mississippi down here. Not a very big river, but it has been at flood stage for a couple years now and is pretty fast flowing.
Talking about sweetcorn. We had it every night at Nationals. We grill it in the husks. Soak them for about 30 minutes and put them on the grill for about 15 to 20 minutes. We even eat early field corn here. Pick some while it is still soft and grill away. Ok, now I am hungry.

Take care,
Bill
Posted 8/12/2009 9:14 PM (GMT 0)
I've heard of that river Bill. The Horicon Marsh is about 100 miles south of us. I've been down there when my brother in laws band played at some festival. We grill corn like that all the time up here. It's called a corn roast and a lot of times that is all you eat at one of them. When our family has one though we bring a dish to pass and then have lots of corn to go with it. That's the best way to eat sweet corn. Yum!!!!!!!! I'll have to get some even is we don't go camping. We don't have our van back and the mechanic can't even get in touch with the guy who was rebuilding the engine. Well I am off to the chriopractor. I sure hope he can do something with my back today as it is killing me today. Barb
Posted 8/12/2009 11:21 PM (GMT 0)
corn roast and a pig roast too!!! I think we should all meet and just eat!! (That is... once the house is sold, the hand is fixed, the surgeries are all done, the chest pain is gone and we all are just plain feeling better!!!)
Posted 8/13/2009 2:07 AM (GMT 0)
Wow that could be quite a wait there Janet. You never fail to make me laugh. Hey you can add back pain, tailbone pain, Bills rib pain  and poor PAlady's mouth pain to the list too. Lol. tongue Oh my we are a mess aren't we. Oh well one of these days we'll all be better. Barb
Posted 8/13/2009 1:19 PM (GMT 0)

Good Morning Barb,

I will be off here in a bit to the cabin for the week end but wanted to stop in and say hello. 

Here were my instructions but remember my wounds were left open and I am not sure how deep your wound is.  I would talk with your physician re why you are not to use ointment just to find out for yourself the whys and why nots.  smilewinkgrin

1. Wash your hands with soap and water.

2. Take off the old bandage. (If it sticks, wet the edges of the dressing with peroxide.)

3. Saturate Q-tips with peroxide. Gently cleanse the wound using mild friction around the edges and inside the wound. A foaming action is usually seen with the use of peroxide. Never dip a used Q-tip back in the peroxide.

4. Dry the wound with a Q-tip or dry gauze pad.

5. Apply a thin layer of antibiotic ointment on the wound. You should use a clean Q-tip to apply the ointment, rolling it gently over the wound. Never reapply ointment from the tube to a used Q-tip.

6. Cut the telfa pad to fit the size of the wound. Place the telfa against the wound and secure with the paper tape. The bandage does not have to be air-tight.

7. Repeat this procedure twice-a-day according to Physician's instructions.

Due to where my wounds were, one on finger and one on toe I was able to use bandaids to cover the wounds.

I sure hope your wound closes up now for you.  You deserve a break here my friend.

Take care and a Happy Week end to all.

Hugs galore.  I am off to kiss a fish.

LOL

Kitt
Posted 8/14/2009 12:34 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Kitt, I already know from when I had my skin ulcer that went way down and had to heal from the inside out that you're not supposed to use an antibiotic ointment because it is too hard on the new skin that is trying to grow so I didn't ask because of that when he said no antibiotic ointment. He said it had to be kept clean and dry. This after noon it was really dry because I hadn't put oil on since yesterday and the bottom split open. Man did that hurt. there is just one little piece of skin that is still togehter. I am so sick of this I want to scream. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I am at my limit of patience with this. Well at least my PT guy was able to move my lower back this morning and it feels better.

I'm jealous your going to the cottage. that's where I was supposed to go for the weekend but we have no van and swimming isn't a good idea because even with a glove my hand would really sweat and that would mean it wasn't dry. Lol. I hope you have a good time. Are the grandkids going to be there? We will catch a movie at the outdoor tomorrow night for my hubby's 52 birthday and maybe an out door concert on Saturday as my brother in laws band RPM is playing. I don't know what we'll do Sunday and Monday. Probably get ready for our trip. I'll try calling my surgeon tomorrow but I bet he's already gone for the week as i know from the past. He'll probably gone all next week as usual too. I think they go to another hospital every other week. He takes his whole staff so there is no one to talk to there that is competant. Barb

Posted 8/14/2009 2:07 AM (GMT 0)
I love to go to Tybee Island every year. I can't swim, but I've been bumped by a small Lemonhead shark in waist deep water. Needless to say I don't go beyond knee deep now.
I've seen one swim by my niece one year. She doesn't go deep now either.

Joy
Posted 8/14/2009 2:38 AM (GMT 0)
I've never heard of the island. We go out to Top Sail Island to the beach. My son is about a mile or so from there in Sneads Ferry NC. He's a Marine. I can't wait to spend time with my grand kids. My grand daughter was my first so I want to spend some special time with her since she will be in preschool most of the day and then we won't get to see her at Christmas as it is her mom's turn this year to have her. I am afraid to go in the ocean now as they had a tiger shark out there last summer and then just down the coast a small shark took a chunk out of a ladies leg in knee deep water. With my circulation I'd probably lose my leg. My granddaughter and I love to wade in the tide pools and pick up shells though. It's always nice and cool down by the ocean too. Well I am off to do my back stretches and then tend to my hand before I am off to dream land. Sweet dreams everyone. Barb
Posted 8/14/2009 2:51 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Barb,
Just stopped by to say Howdy and hope things are better today. I still say things have got to get better soon. Maybe PaLady is right and it's been a full moon all of August.

Bill
Posted 8/14/2009 2:58 AM (GMT 0)
That's what I keep saying Bill but I'm still waiting. Well at least the back is better but still waiting on the darn hand. It actually got worse today as it broke open more. I'm just so sick of dealing with it as I know you are with yours too. I looked back over the last 6 months and I have 29 doctor visits. No wonder my boss is ticked off about it. That is just ridiculous and that's not counting PT or the 8 dentist visits. Barb
Posted 8/14/2009 3:23 AM (GMT 0)
hope all is getting better!
griff
Posted 8/14/2009 3:34 AM (GMT 0)
Barb,
I still can't figure out why they wouldn't want you to put the ointment on it. I think Kitt's list sounds great. Itis pretty much what I was told by mt mother in the past when my uncle had sores on his foot that wouldn't heal. They had me use the ointment on the hole in my side from the chest tube also for a couple weeks or until it closed up all the way.
Anyhow, ((((((Barb)))))) I will still keep praying things turn around quickly so you can enjoy your trip.

Bill
Posted 8/14/2009 3:39 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Barb,
I'm sure it's frustrating to have to deal with your split open hand. How deep is the wound? I've had some moles removed, that needed to heal from the inside out. The protocol was to apply rubbing alcohol once a day, and change the dressing. He recommended Bacitracin ointment. I was to do this once a day until they were completely healed. I've taken to using that procedure for the skin tears I get because the prednosone/inhaled steroids caused my skin to thin so much that it tears with the slightest bump. Bummer. Oh well, could be worse.

We got an offer on our house today. It's a little lower than we asked, but the people don't have to sell their house, and that's worth something. We will be homeless for a few months, so we'll have to find some place to live. Also, this year will be a bit weird for me, since I'll probably be driving an hour or so each way for some of the time. Oh well...it's not forever.

We're happy to have gotten an offer (we accepted it and signed the contract, so now we've just got to get through the inspection, bank appraisal, well test, water test, septic tests...should be fine, though. We still have an advertised open house on Sunday. That'll be strange, but if anyone's interested, we'll take a back up offer. You never know.

We went out for a little celebration dinner after signing the papers.
Good luck with that hand. So sorry you have to suffer through it. It'll get better, though.
Have a great weekend!
Denise
Denise
Posted 8/14/2009 4:30 AM (GMT 0)
Denise-
Wow, that was quick. Sometimes things work out. Hope everything goes as planned.

Bill
Posted 8/14/2009 1:43 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks, Bill.
We were very lucky to get a non-contingent offer. We grabbed it, so we can move forward without the insecurity of not knowing if our buyers will sell their house. I don't think clean offers like that come around that often. People are afraid to buy a house without knowing their own house is sold. It was pretty quick...it was only on the market for a little over a week. Now we can move forward with our townhouse without worry. My husband can't take that kind of stress, so we'd rather have to find an interim place to live that stress over the house selling. That's why we put it on the market earlier than we'd originally planned.

Also we'll be able to get the townhouse unit we want--with a woods behind it. We're leaving a park-like setting--6 acres of privacy, trees, a stream. It'll be an adjustment, but we have a good attitude about it. We're going to put some extras into the townhouse to make it special for us. Helps make up for the lack of privacy and natural beauty. A townhouse is a good option for us, though. We're both close to retirement age, (I'm retiring from the classroom, but will do something...don't know what yet, but something!). We wanted to move into a place that works for us long term. My husband's not a fan of yard work, and there's LOTS of it here.

It'll be an adventure for us! The great thing is that it's only about an hour from here, so we'll be able to stay in touch with our friends, and even be able to keep our more favorite doctors.

Hope you have a good day today, and your pain subsides.
Take care,
Denise
Posted 8/15/2009 12:03 AM (GMT 0)
Hi every one, I think I figured out why they only wanted me to put hydrogen peroxide on and dry it out more because they didn't want the dead skin to close over the wound. I cut the dry dead skin away from the top part of my wound and there is nice pink new skin underneath it. The bottom part is just split a little bit and looks and feels sore. Now I wish that would have split too and maybe it would have been better too. The oil I used might have helped too but now I'm going to just use the peroxide like they told me too since it seems to be working. Congrats on the house Denise. Hope every one else is doing well. I am off to the out door with my hubby for his birthday. Barb
Posted 8/15/2009 12:14 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Barb,
Hope you enjoyed your movies! It does sound like little by little you're getting your hand healed. It's hard to wait, but it's a good sign.

Well, the house inspector comes on Monday morning at 8:30, so we'll see what he has to say. I'm not too worried about it. The house is well built, and we've taken care of a lot of things. Not so sure about radon. Hopefully it's not too high. Then there's the bank appraisal. We're not totally out of the woods yet. Until we're at the closing and everyone signs on the dotted line, we'll be a bit nervous. Hopefully everything will be known by later next week.

Once everything has been done and agreed upon, we'll let the builder know that he can go ahead and start the unit we're buying. We'll have to find someplace to live until that's done, though. It'll be interesting.

Take care and have a great weekend.
Denise
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