I guess I didn't think this one through and didn't ask enough questions. The doc says, "We'll just do a little touch up in the office. Fix the ends of the scar and that little droop in the middle. I want this to look as good as it can look." Well, so do I. I agree that it needs to be done, so I schedule the appointment. The nurse says, "This is a minor procedure, eat and drink normally, you'll be able to go back to work and drive yourself home." So I didn't think too much about it. When can I fit an hour long appointment into my schedule? Book it, get it done.
So he's cutting on me and burning excess tissue (man, that stinks!) and I ask, "What is the care routine, afterwards." He says, "It's no big deal. Take the pads off tomorrow, shower like normal, no exercise for two weeks." As if that is nothing! Ack!! I just got back into the routine of exercising normally and am loving how much better I feel. There is more bounce in my step and more sparkle in my eye. What about my 12 week challenge?!?! Ugh. I guess I should have thought this through. I should have figured this out on my own. But, really, even if I had known all of the details, I would have made the same decision. The "dog ears" at the ends of the scar needed to be fixed. There was a little pocket of skin on either end, just like when you put a dart in fabric. They needed to be fixed. And at the center of the scar, there was one side that drooped down, and I wanted that fixed, too. In spite of the 2 week hiatus, I am glad I started my challenge. It felt good to feel good and remembering how good I felt after just a few weeks of being back into the routine will be great incentive to start right back up again as soon as I am cleared for exercise. I texted Lauren last night and let her know. Luckily, we worked out this week on Tuesday, since she had a body building competition she is going to this weekend. So we will only miss one weekend. I told her we could double up on workouts for a week or two to get caught up, since I know she quit her second job after we started working out together. It'll be fine. For this two weeks I am going to be hyper vigilant about my diet. The challenge is still on. No delays, no postponing. I am going for it!! I am 100% in!!
And what fun is blogs that talk about surgery if you don't get to see the gruesome looking pictures? So here you go. This is what the doctor did to me yesterday.
There is a similar spot on my other hip. The procedure was actually a little more extensive than I thought it would be. I thought it would be just skin, but he cut fairly deep, removed some tissue that was causing the bulging, and sewed up a few layers. In addition to the repair of the scar, I got steroid injections into the small scar keloid that had developed under my right arm. The surgeon was confident that the steroids, along with massage and continued use of the Scar Away strips, would heal the keloid and the scar would be fine. He said the keloid was small and would be easy to treat.
Oh yeah, one more thing. He had trouble getting me completely numb. So yep, in two places I could feel the cutting and stitching. He maxed me out on local anesthetic, so there wasn't much we could do about it. He felt terrible, but I kept telling him to stop worrying about it, that I had been in much more pain than that in my life. The problem was that it is not easy not to flinch, so he could tell when it hurt. Oh well. We got through it. The steroid shots into the scar were a little painful, but only one out of the several (maybe there were 6 small shots in total) really hurt.
I'm glad I had this touch-up work done. In the long run it will be worth it. For now, I am a little tender and I am back on the disabled list. I already notified my kickball coaches that I will be relegated to the sidelines this Sunday. That's OK, I still get to cheer and that's what I do best!
And that's all I have to say about that. Have a great one, today!!
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