Two Days Post Skin Graft

Two days post surgery: Last night I was upstairs preparing for bed when I noticed a spot of blood on the floor. After cleaning that up I needed to find the source – wound or donor site? The wound had some drainage, but no blood, so I dressed it with a clean ABD. Then as I unwound the ace bandage from my thigh I saw that this was definitely the source. The plastic sticky covering was leaking at one side. I needed Bill to check on the post-op instructions for me since they were downstairs. As the most devoted partner in all of this, he left the Penn State game to come to my aid! The instructions said in case of leakage to remove the plastic covering and replace it with Xeroform. Now how many homes have a supply of Xeroform at their disposal?! Uh, that would be us!! It sounded familiar and, after looking it up online, I had Bill check our past leftover surgical supplies to look for a foil packet and there it was! I cleaned up the site with 4x4s, applied the Xeroform, and we wound my thigh back up with the ace bandage. Done!

Pain meds: Yesterday I dropped the Motrin after the morning dose and started back on my “normal” dosage from pre-surgery. That worked out just fine yesterday. Today, whether it’s from bothering the donor site or just typical two days post-surgery happenings, the pain is a bit less tolerable. I will probably add the Motrin back in at my 3:00 dosing time – no need to be a martyr!

Juicing: The idea is to increase my servings of organic fruits and veggies without chewing all day. Today Bill and I used the Breville Juice Fountain Plus for the first time. I used a juice formula from https://www.chrisbeatcancer.com/ ( all organic): 5 carrots, 2 celery stalks, 1 small red beet and its greens, slice ginger root, 1/2 lemon (or lime), 1 apple (calls for Granny Smith but the store didn’t have any organic). It made just over a pint of juice. Two ingredients I was missing were turmeric root and a clove of garlic, but it was a good start. I tasted the beet and celery most strongly, so I think I’ll add more carrots and apples next time. Also, since I have to peel the lemon for this juicer, I might use a whole one next time. The juicer was easy to clean up, but it’s definitely a two-person operation since I can only use my right hand. I put handfuls of the fruits/veggies in the chute and Bill put the chute cover on ( after we blasted a red beet chunk into the air!!). I’ll double or triple the recipe next time (tomorrow?) so I have juice for a few more servings (days?).

Another juicing recipe I’d like to try is the Gerson Carrot Apple Juice: equal parts carrots and apples. Three large carrots equals one apple. I’ll need to find organic, or at least no-spray, Granny Smith apples since the tarter fruit is best.

I did a lot of standing for the whole juicing process, so I’m back to sitting mode with my leg raised to prevent swelling that could negatively affect the graft. Bill is outside being a lawn warrior and I wish we could be working side-by-side. I absolutely love working outside in my flower beds! Hopefully next year will have me back doing more of the things I love! Dare I hope for long walks, swimming and gardening? I’m trying my very best!

Skin Graft – Done!

On Friday, April 3rd, the skin graft finally happened. The surgery lasted about an hour and a half, and I was home before lunchtime. The site on my shin had a Xerform bolster dressing stitched on with extra 4X4 gauze squares, a gauze wrap and an ace bandage from my toes to my knee. The donor site on my thigh had a Xeroform dressing and a clear dressing on top of that. Directions were to keep my leg raised to prevent swelling and to eat lots of protein to encourage cell/tissue growth. I’ve been dining on lots of meat, cheese, nuts, and Greek yogurt.

The pain was higher than I expected in my shin, and the donor site burned as expected. It feels like the worst brush burn ever! It was also leaking out of the clear dressing, so I dug into my leftover surgery supplies and added an additional dressing to keep myself dry. Extra strength Tylenol helped, and I was allowed to alternate it with ibuprofen every 3 hours.

Today, April 8th, I had the bolster dressing removed. For the first time ever, I felt faint and had to lay down till it passed. I decided not to watch after all, especially since it was painful having the stitches removed, and didn’t I look till the bolster was off. The graft looks really good except for a small spot where the skin folded. My skin was bright red around the site, which explains the pain I was having. For most people, the bolster is not painful, and I think it was the irritation around the site that was causing my discomfort. My foot/ankle were not swelled at all. Just to be on the safe side, I was put on a short course of an antibiotic, Bactrim. Daily dressing changes now commence, exactly as the daily dressings I had been doing prior to the graft.

The clear dressing was removed from the donor site, and the top of the Xeroform was blotted dry with gauze (it was slimy). This is to remain, without any other dressing on top, until it dries and the new skin “pushes” it off. I can trim the Xeroform as it dries and curls around the edges. The directions were to go home and use a hair dryer on the cool setting to dry the Xeroform. The more it gets to dry, the better. I worked with my skirt hiked up my right leg all day, and it’s looking a lot better – drier already.

I go back in a week just for a quick eyeball check, and then a week later for a surgeon checkup. And then a week after that I have all-day appointments at the Block Center. I’m so excited to fill in the pieces of the puzzle surrounding nutrition, exercise, etc. I even have an appointment with Dr. Block at the end of the day. I think I’ll take my book for his autograph! Cancer won’t stand a chance after I make the changes that are recommended to me that day!!