There are certain day-to-day frustrations that accompany this bloody condition, some of which are directly tied to the nature of the surgery performed. But I think that maybe, just maybe I’ve found a solution to one of them; contact with water. It makes bathing annoying, showering very frustrating and so far, use of the hot tub, which would help with the shoulder issues, completely out of the question.
The frustration with showering and bathing is that the forearm skin graft that must be protected from shampoos and soaps, and kept reasonable dry while showering. It can be done with or without the dressing in place, however, from a practical keep-it-safe-from-infection point of view, leaving the dressing in place does make more sense. So, to keep the dressing from becoming a mushy mess I have been reduced to taking a kitchen garbage bag, putting my hand in it, and then sealing the top with one of the surgical tapes available. I tried masking tape, but when it got wet, it leaked. I tried various food wraps, but the flexing of fingers, wrist and forearm muscles loosened them sufficiently to make it a non-starter. And, both options, initially, required Gail’s help to get them in place.
We even tried looking for long rubber gloves that had some tactile sense (Have you ever tried on a pair of neoprene chemical gloves? And whatever happened to professional dishwasher gloves?), with no great success until I had a brainstorm; what about Lee Valley Tools? And sure enough, they stock, online at least, something called an ‘elbow-length mucking glove’ for $7.95 a pair. Tomorrow morning I’m going to run out to the Edmonton Lee Valley Tools and see what they’ve got in stock. You should have a look at Lee Valley Tools, regardless… they carry quite a range of ‘stuff’ that could be useful.