Pretty Soon There Will Be A Robot... in Everyday Ramblings

Took this picture Saturday. With the wires (yes I know I could photoshop them out) and all not a perfect shot but it sure is cheerful. And in about 5 hours I will be very cheerful, as I will be beginning a 10-day long vacation.

This will be by far the longest vacation I have had since I started this job almost exactly 6 years ago. And I have the stress related symptoms to prove it.

And a lot of stitches. This amazing super experienced dermatological surgeon did my procedure on Wednesday and then had his resident and a special surgical assistant sew me up. She did dissolvable internal stiches deep and then regular stiches on top and then these loop de loop stitches over those. The surgical professor came in and checked afterwards. It all took a long time. Everybody was wonderful.

They got such a kick out of the idea that shopping may have saved my life.

If they knew me, they would know how amazing it really is, because I tell you if Kes can get me into a dressing room twice a year to try things on she is doing well.

I sure as heck hope I don’t have to go through this yet again so please think clean pathology reports my way. This was like that second procedure x 5. Not fun.

And please, if not for yourself, do it for me, I don’t wish this on anyone. Check your loved ones for weird moles and growths and wear sun block and hats and clothes as appropriate. Use basic common sense in this new more dangerous landscape.

This too is climate change come home to roost.

The nurse, who was male and very skilled, (I lost count of how many Lidocaine shots there were) put this super duper giant dragon ridge nest of tape dressing on that I had to keep in place and not get wet for 24 hours. Getting it off yesterday by myself was quite the challenge. Without getting anywhere near the wound I did this contortionist thing employing a pair of long handled pliers to get it all the way off.

The thing that just killed me was when he said to me slightly exasperated, “Can’t you just call in favors???” When I told him I lived alone and didn’t have someone to help with the dressing every day. That just slayed me emotionally.

(I did ask one of my friends from Women’s Circle a few days ago if she could help but I hate to ask her to drive all the way across town… and Kes and Most Honorable are coming up tonight to offer moral support and wound assistance and my cat sitter is coming tomorrow but you get the idea.)

I need to not let it make me feel like some sort of reject. I know I need to work on my support network, I know that… It is probably the one most important thing I can do for my continued well being… sigh.

So last night as I was telling myself that it really was okay to go to bed without getting 100% of my activity goal for the first time in 51 days (I had 91% but it was already past my bedtime and humid and…) Stella got down on the floor by her toy box and flopped over and started pulling toys out one by one.

She hasn’t expressed any interest in her toys at all since she had her procedure earlier in the month. I was so touched I almost burst into tears.

Now she is hiding though. It’s just going to be like this for the next few weeks, some good moments and some not so good.

But at least during this next week we will have lots of time to hang out together without distraction and express multiples of affection for each other.

Pretty soon there will be a robot that can change dressings anyway.