Ear update....

Last visit I said no more updates, but really, you HAVE to see this.  No more need to warn those with weak stomach's - the ear is looking quite healed.  I know it's not quite there, but I "wear" it and know how tender it still is, but the results on the front are outstanding.

 The back looks bad, but in all reality it is 1,000% better than it's been.  There are still little "lesions" but nothing horrible, and not really notice unless you are morbid and zooming WAY in like I do to see how well it's healing.  To my defense I had a VERY hard time staying out of the pool this weekend, and last weekend as well, staying out of the ocean.  Looking at this now let's me know that every time I have NOT gotten in the water it's been a good choice.

There are a very few spots that are in need of more healing time.  It's almost "normal" on the back now.  I figure in about two or three more weeks it will look as good as the front as it seems to be healing that direction - front to back.  The front looked horrible for a while, and it healed, so there is hope for the back as well.  Now if I could just not SLEEP on it.  There's the million dollar investment - someone needs to invent a way to get a molded ear protector for those having ear surgery to allow them to sleep at night and not crush their poor ears.

Day 16 Post Op and possible last update on the ear...

The good news is that everything is looking good on the ear.  It's looking better and better day by day. I had the stitches out on Thursday the 19th and although they say it was raw, it was/is healing.  The proof is in these pictures.  I had my doubts on if it would heal or not, but looks like this is almost over.  There is one more follow up next Thursday to see how things are doing.  Then I think even they will tell me I'm all done.  I've been "banned" from the pool - I can "swim" but only if I don't get my ear in the water.  To me, that does NOT define swimming, that defines wading and floating.  Sigh.  So no underwater just yet.  Maybe next week.  I'm still on the uber cautious side with it all - as per the doc's instructions.  Covered and gooped up daily.

 The fronts looking very good (even if there was a NICE gray hair right across it in this picture - ha!)

 only one really large true 'goobery' spot still on the ear.  Not looking too bad.  I know most of the middle is still a little raw, but not scabbed like the top, so looking better.

And the other side is barely noticeable anymore... just a thin pink scar that very well could just be a fat crease ;o)

Oh, and a confession - I am pink because of a (shhhh) sunburn!  Yes, I went to the High School yesterday for a few hours to work on the "Load the Simi's" project for the tornado victims of Alabama and got a little cooked while there :o\  and I KNOW better.  Ah, well.  I did sunscreen today while working in the yard.  I'll post those pictures in a bit.

Day 13 post op

Ok, I think I need to give up on the idea that I will KNOW what healing looks like.  Just when I think that things are looking good in my eyes, they change and I think everything looks worse.  Weird.
I used to think the side looked really good, but now that I can zoom in on the side, it's ify at best.  There are just spots that to me don't look healthy, then they will surprise me and pink up and look good again. 

I've heard from a number of folks and I'm always surprised to hear that they had something similar, if not worse done to their ear/neck/lip and I have had no clue about it. I guess until you see it in action, you don't know it has occured. I'm a very visual person and looking through the internet on skin grafts for skin cancer were far and few between with NO detailed steps of "this is what it could look like during the healing process." That's what I wanted to see... I want to see what is "normal" what isn't. Is this right, is this wrong, should it look like this and if it looks like this, what is the true story. I like to be able to look something up and know for sure this is what it should look like if it's healing right. That the gross parts you are seeing here and there aren't the end of the world, that it will heal, that it will look better. Just somethign that would show me that at this stage of healing, you're almost on target. And if I'm OFF target, just how bad it is so I can prepare myself for what the outcome will be. I'm still not sure, looking at everything on the websites. I see some shots that look healthier than mine and there is talk of debriding the dead skin off of those... so I wonder at 2 weeks post op - is this normal.

I guess I'll know tomorrow morning as that is when I go back to the doc and they can tell me if this is normal, if I have to have any of the scab removed. If it's all healthy, or only partially healthy. And the countdown continues.

 Case in point, the back.  Just a few days ago, there was a VERY large dark red spot on the lower half that had me convinced that it was necrotic and dead... now looking at it, it's looking better.  Go figure.  My chiropractor will insist it's the light therapy that he gave me on Monday for healing.  Could be, could be.  I won't discount anything at this point.  It ebbs and flows.

Healing continued...

This view looks so promising... everything is looking healthy and happy.  Well, happier and healthier than it's looked in a while.  This is at day 11 post-op.  Sunday.  After a nice shower and a rinse as I have been told to NOT rub it.  Just let water rinse down on it - period.  Do not disturb the blood supply being created.  Yes Sir, I will do my best, Sir.  I have done just that - no touchy.  I have been putting on the antibiotic cream religiously and to keep it out of my hair, a very loose set of band aids overlapped with the sticky edge from the underside one cut off.  this way none of the adhesive is anywhere near the actual stitches.

Even with all these precautions, I have a sinking feeling that the other side is the horror of what can happen when grafts don't go well.

I keep thinking (hoping):

• It's not THAT bad
• It's getting better
• It may just be a process of the healing
• Really, there is some pink skin in there
• There's not that much blood on the band aids (almost daily)

When I look at the band aids after sleeping and know things are just not going so hot with this site. 
Things are NOT healing as they should.

I guess I just have to hold out hope that all things will work themselves out and that time will make things OK with the back of the ear and be very grateful it's the back and not the front that is looking this rough.  It could always be worse, right?  The whole thing could have died and looked like hell.  Right?
Be happy that it's looking as well as it does.

The "recovery" (such that it is...)

** note you can safely scroll down ONE page before you get to the gross stuff of the ear**
Look Ma - No stitches... it's been gooped up in this picture, so a little greasy from vitamin E or antibiotics... I can't remember which on that first day.

 Insult to injury the lip with a BIG cold sore.  As of today it's officially GROSS looking with a scab.  The good news?  I know it's almost over with now... scab is the sign that you're almost at the end of the misery.

Ok, you're on the cusp of getting to the gore - do NOT scroll down anymore if you have a week stomach.  It's not looking good and it's made worse by the goop from the antibiotic creams.  I need to take another from today as this was Thursday afternoon.  Maybe after my shower this morning I'll get in there and take another.  It's still bleeding on and off so I don't think it's "looking good" as the doc said.  I try to stay off of it... I try to be aware of what side I'm sleeping on - making for restless nights and it really is tender after being under a bandage for a solid week... being somewhat naked made it rough the last two night sleeping...

ON the plus side, I'm back to enjoying my GLORIOUS wonderful rain shower again :)  It's the little things in life isn't it?

I TOLD you it didn't look pretty - add to it the "goop" in my hair.  GAG.  Then again, this is the first day "in the open" after being in a bandage and having not been rinsed off in the shower either.
It does look a bit better after a good shower, but I swear it's "indenting" a bit more as time goes on.  I don't know if that's normal or not, but it looks horrible.  :(  One more week of stitches and I'll go back again to see if it's healed enough for them to get those stitches out.

You can see the "donor" sight on the back of the ear... it's a bit lumpy, but all in all looking good.

Sunscreen and misspent youth

In the early 1930's, South Australian chemist, HA Milton Blake, experimented to produce a sunburn cream. The founder of L'Oreal, chemist Eugene Schueller, invented the first sunscreen in 1936. In 1944, Florida pharmacist, Benjamin Green invented a suntan cream in his kitchen that became Coppertone Suntan Cream. In 1980, Coppertone developed the first UVA/UVB sunscreen.

So comes the question – why did we never use it when we were kids?  Hard to know… maybe it’s because it’s touted as giving you a better than, not protecting you from the sunburns.

Where the Bolt was removed ;)

Well, the neck was unveiled on Friday and not as bad as all that - although the blue stitches leave a little to be desired.

I feel like Evander Holifield.....

Well, as you all know - it's Cinco De Mayo!  Happy Cinco De Mayo Day everyone!!!
 oh, wait, that is NOT the news you were looking for is it? 

Today was the Mohs day and not the good Moe's food place, Mohs surgery. Dr. Sharkey day, and yes, I still chuckle at that too.  I had been looking at some of the options on how they can repair after removal.  Most were noses and such.  Some of the ear ones were pretty drastic with pinning down the ear to allow for blood flow to re-establish to the transfer site.  Some were simple removals, others were not.  I started to get very concerned, so stopped looking.  There you go, way to solve a fear.  Avoid it!  Yep.  I played ostrich for a while there.  Plus, let's think about this logically.  What was I to do, really? Can I change the outcome, can I change the procedure?  Can I truly choose how they will repair was was damaged in my youth?  nope.  So I chose instead to wait.  Why worry about something that's not going to change.  Even *I* can feel the good sized deformity in my ear and my estimates turned out to be right on track on the size and just about how it would all look.

So, why all the rambling?  Well to drop all the VERY graphic pictures off the screen if you so choose to NOT look at them, of course!  Because I debated if the doc would take pictures for me, or allow a nurse to take pictures.  They quite happily agreed to do so for the gory side of me (and my family members).  So, you will get to the see the procedure in almost all it's glory.

You've seen the before, I had estimated it would be a good 1/4 to 1/2 inch of removal.  I was right on target for that.

All marked up and ready to go 

 The doc enjoyed getting up close and personal on these shots :D

 Quite the healthy CHUNK cut out, eh?  YIKES!  I thought INSIDE The lines - nope to the outside.

Good news?  They only had to cut the once (thank goodness) they checked and clean margins in and outside of the removal area.

 The white on the ear?  Well, that would be the piece of skin they had just removed from behind my ear.  Loverly, hu?  could have been worse, they did debate "pinning" the ear - where they take the flap, allow blood flow to remain and have it attached to the head.  Then they come back after it's healed to the ear, and cut it away from behind the ear and sew it all back up again.  Thanks, this looks worse from this perspective, but better than it COULD have been.

All stitched up and almost out the door.

They took an equal size chunk off the other side of my neck.  I didn't get shots of that, however had discovered I could "watch" using my cell phone to see the entire thing in reflection.  Pretty cool.

The WORST news of the day?  I have to keep the graft site DRY and covered in the SAME bandage for a WEEK.  GAG!!!  So - with it being on the ear, the natural thought is how am I to wash my hair?  Now this will be a good trick.  I think I'll get some help in a few days to stand in the shower with the ear covered in plastic and have someone else wash it for me... or maybe resort to the old talcum trick if it comes to it.  They wanted me to wait until the 16th.  Look at a calendar and tell me I didn't immediately say HECK NO!!  That would have been ELEVEN days with this issue of not being able to just jump into the shower.  Eleven days without my wonderful, glorious rain shower, that I will miss so early for the whole seven I will have to wait as it is.

Hair and Ear update

Linda wanted to see what I do with my hair now that it's MY hands and not the hair dresser... the answer is not a lot... I blow dry and go.  I do use a bit of shaping "wax" to get the part to behave, but other than that, it's blow and go.. It's a good thing I prefer a messy look.

The ear is healing nicely - now that it's on the mend just in time to get really wacked apart... poor ear.

The offender(s)

In some ways it doesn't look any worse that just having a biopsy done..

Then you get the side view and note there is a bulge to it... but still you wonder if it's not just the biopsy doing this.

Nope, it's not... it's just a whacked out ear.  I'm thinking that they'll take that whole red area, then another 1/4 inch above and below - I have NO idea how they will fix it, but from diagrams, I think it best NOT to think where they are going to get the skin to cover the gap, thank you very much!

The neck.. this is the strangest one... it looked like this before the biopsy with the slight exception of what looked to be an ingrown hair... so I figured I would just have it removed before it became a cyst like the other two spots I had removed had done (chin and arm)... yeah, good in theory - the skin looked pretty much the same as it does right this second...

The Little C

Why is the word cancer so wrought with fear and concerns.

Today was the results from my biopsy for my ear (aka – holes in my body post)… and it came back as Basal Cell Carcinoma.  I’m met with a lot of sympathy, but I guess of all the cancers, this is the one to have – slow moving – doesn’t spread.  What could be better, I mean if I MUST have it?  Better than the Melanoma since this is the red-headed-step child of cancers.

I can live with that… quite literally as I commented that I had been in last year and was corrected that it had been 2 years.  I guess that’s fairly fast in growth in my book.  2 years ago it was “pre” cancer.. This year it IS cancer.  Crap.

So… I had 4 spots removed.  Chin (non), Ear ©, Neck ©, Arm (non)  So.. I’m at the 50% mark now.  I had one frozen off today and one removed… let’s hope that this one does not go to 50/50 as that part that was taken in for exam (back) doesn’t ever see the sun.  If that one is cancer, I’m sunk!

So… there it is folks, the good, the bad and the ugly.  I’ll have a kid take a before picture of my ear… right now it still has the scab from the biopsy… but we’ll still get that one out here posted.