I was at wound care today. The surgeon that has followed my care, did the bloody debridements, has not seen my wound since December. This is a long time and what she saw today was nothing short of wonderful. The biggest obstacle I have encountered to healing, significant undermining, is virtually gone. My wound is largely superficial and about the size of a small meat ball. The wound bed remains "lovely" if not awesome. To me it just looks like raw chop meat. Regardless, the biggest problem, one that could have required surgery, no longer exists. Hence no surgery for this man. Indeed, there is a good chance the wound will be healed in one month. Yes, one month, four weeks, 28 days. This means I may ski in March. Spring skiing here I come! Okay, maybe this will happen. I have come way too far and been stuck in bed for way too long to take any risks. At worst I know I will be kayaking come spring. Life is looking quite sweet right now!
Here is a a vow. I will never ever put myself in the position I did last Fall. I will take photos, use mirrors ask family to check my skin. I have learned the hardest of hard lessons. This has me thinking: imagine a health care system that cares about paralyzed people. Imagine the lives saved if every paralyzed person had their skin inspected by a professional. Think of the savings. No wound care needed, no hospitalizations, no time lost at work etc. Yes, this is a pipe dream but nothing can spoil my mood today.
I also had a sweet if not wonderful exchange with two kids and their mom. My look has changed since the fall. No more long hair and pony tail. I now have short hair and a beard. My beard is white, my hair dark. The two girls I met were three and five. Theses kids were cute as a button and dressed in snow gear. After they cheerfully exchanged pleasantries with me they whispered to one another. I asked what the whispering was all about, they looked at their mom who gave the nod of approval and the three year old said I looked like Santa. Oh, how this made me chuckle. I can see it now-next Christmas I will dress up as a paralyzed Santa.