Yes. To you it might be boring, but hey, it's my life, and until it completely heals, it's a daily part of that life (I truly won't be insulted if you skip my posts on it).

To update everyone still reading, I've been taking off the big Band-Aid every morning before showering (the water does not do any harm, and it doesn't even sting --although, of course, I'm careful not to wash the area). Then I dry off around the wound, put some of the medicated gel into it and put on a new Band-Aid.

I'd been doing this almost a week, beginning last Tuesday morning and for the first 5 days saw no difference in the size of the wound. But today I did--it definitely looked smaller to me. Just got back from the surgeon and indeed, it is smaller. New photo with measuring tool will be posted on flickr shortly (only for those who choose to see the set). He's very pleased. Needless to say, so am I. I'll see him again next Monday, leave for Florida the 11th and we both hope that it just might be closed up by the time I return to see him the 23rd.

Saw my surgeon/doc this evening and it's healing. Looked too icky to me for me to want to have it photographed. It's going slowwwwly. He said I could opt out of the unaboot at any time but he also said that a skin graft would be painful so...nah. I think I'll keep going for now. I'm probably going to have to find a surgeon who can change my dressing while down in Florida visiting my parents (or as soon as I get to Orlando). We'll see how it's doing in three weeks. Boooring. Sorry. (next visit Monday evening)

Appointment at noon with my internist. Ellie came with me.

My doc and I talked, he said I needed to see a surgeon (from what I told him) and he set me up with his upstairs office neighbor about half an hour later. Very cool guy from Montreal. He listened to the story, unwrapped it and although I said I did NOT want to see it I peeked and it wasn't sooo bad. Clean, no infection any more--pink and as Ellie and I agreed, looks exactly like a zombie took a bite out of my leg before the bad stuff sets in.

Options: First was the surgical one--(he IS a surgeon after all)--skin graft--would need a decent bit of skin from my outer thigh --that would hurt. Wound would not. It would be done out patient but have to be checked regularly and could reject the graft. Would take awhile to heal. And although it's minor surgery it is surgery

Second--some kind of surgical pump that would have to be attached to my leg and which I would have to lug around with me for weeks--not so good

So I'd pretty much decided on the graft and he wrapped me and then he said..there is one other option: the unaboot, a pressure bandage impregnated withe meds that promotes healing and needs to be changed once a week. There's the possibility that the wound will stop healing at a certain point over the next few weeks but even if that's the case, the wound would be substantially smaller, hence any skin graft would be similarly smaller. I can live with that.

So that's what I got--he wrapped gauze around it that he says will fall apart and that I need to replace with an ace bandage (I bought some) and I'll be back to see him Thursday afternoon for a look as to how it's doing.

Slight update 7:15
One of the nurses on Mary Ward C just called me from London to see how I'm doing. I cannot express how moved I am by this. I asked her to give everyone on the ward an update on how my leg is.