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NKevros t1_jdp5re6 wrote

Many years ago I got my appendix removed. After the surgery they decided to only stitch inside with dissolvable sutures and left the outer cuts open. I lived alone at the time and was required to soak gauze in saline and stuff my own open wound multiple times a day. I'll never forget that.

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JonLongsonLongJonson t1_jdpzkls wrote

Yep, I was involved in an explosion and had an amputation. Helicopter ride and everything. I had a Fentanyl drip directly into my nerves in my shoulder for the pain. They gave me a shit ton of thin yellow gauze pre-coated in anti-bacterial goo, a bunch more dry white gauze for wrapping, and a shit ton of Suboxin to wean me off the Fentanyl while providing adequate pain relief.

Let me tell you, for a couple weeks there unwrapping and wrapping my burned, raw, open wounds, looking INSIDE myself for a while there, and treating myself alone (the Suboxin didn’t help much) was one of the most mentally challenging things I’ve ever gone through.

Really fucked me up inside, I didn’t leave the house for almost a year. Thankful the pandemic kicked off around then and I didn’t have to.

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acuriousguest t1_jdq3fj1 wrote

I sincerely hope you are okay now. The pandemic did a number on many people without having the added pleasure of taking care of a... struggling with adjectives here.. Broken body. Seeing some things just seems wrong if you aren't used to them and really make reevaluate life.

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JonLongsonLongJonson t1_jdq4dlk wrote

I am doing much better now, thank you. I had to pull myself out of a deep depression to get back into living again though.

I was out of work for about a year and a half due to the injury and related depression. A few months after I got back to work (warehouses, didn’t graduate since I became homeless at 16, so that’s what I’m stuck with) I threw my back out horribly and was out again for about 5 months. Lost my job and therefore insurance, and therefore my car, and couldn’t finish physical therapy due to cost and transportation.

Laid around feeling bad for myself since I’m only 22 with such a messed up body including a chronic shoulder injury and no high school diploma or family whatsoever to fall back on.

Realized I was dragging my girlfriend down with me and we were just existing with no joy. Had to start going outside again, and then talking to people, and then applying for jobs. I’m at a temp agency now so I get bounced around a lot which sucks since I still don’t have a car. Been working 10hr days not including 3 hours commute every day to pull us out of paycheck to paycheck life, and now we have a great apartment in a better place, lots of time with each other, and I’m not fantasizing about a bus running me over nearly as often as I used to.

So all in all, things could be a hell of a lot worse. One week I lived on a single can of watermelon Arizona and 3 slices of bread because getting out of bed was literally an insurmountable task. Now I spend 13hrs a day out makin things happen for myself and my relationship.

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Seskahawminy t1_jdq4v3n wrote

fuck bro. i read all that. keep chugging man. you're a real one.

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soapboxingdaychamp OP t1_jdr1jn1 wrote

Holy shit man. I’m so proud of you and I hope you are insanely proud of yourself. Congratulations on being a badass and I hope whatever you are striving for in this life is presented to you. I have no idea who you are or where you are but if there is absolutely anything I can do to help you please don’t hesitate to reach out. It takes a lot to be resilient when facing what you have. Cheers!

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JonLongsonLongJonson t1_jdrv5pl wrote

Thank you man, every day when I can pay a bill or get work done is a win on my book since for a long time I was just drifting along. It’s nice to contribute and not just take and feel bad for myself.

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acuriousguest t1_jdq6acm wrote

Glad to hear that. Well, not the bad parts, but I'm glad you found a way through. Best of luck!

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JonLongsonLongJonson t1_jdq7wzs wrote

Thank you:) I appreciate the small things a hell of a lot more right now than I used too

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Alexander556 t1_jdrwl70 wrote

Did you lose a leg during that accident?

Hope everything works out well in the future.

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JonLongsonLongJonson t1_jdry4e4 wrote

My right hand and some more of the arm, large chunks of my midsection area, and burned all over my chest, stomach, and arms/left hand.

My hospital roommate fell asleep while camping with his dad and woke up to their trailer exploding with him inside it from a gas leak. He had like 90% burns over his whole body. That dude was fuckin tough to the quick. I don’t feel bad about my burns when I think of David in full body gauze and crying from the pain of breathing.

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Alexander556 t1_jds8ca0 wrote

Thats pretty bad, wish you the best.
I hope David got better too, just thinking about it is horrible.

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BubbleBoyBotanica t1_jdv4kg2 wrote

Love u man. Been through hell my self. Ran over by forklift. Compartment syndrome and crush syndrome. 16 surgeries. I had 2 kids at the time with my girl 7 mo preg... at the time of the accident I was 2 years clean and sober off opiates I had gone cold turkey off 200mg daily methadone 2 years prior to accident. Went through all this with almost no pain meds.. our bodies and minds are insane.

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mristic t1_jdsxtcx wrote

Kudos my man! Keep it going alright!

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Oil_slick941611 t1_jdrweq5 wrote

dude, I had road rash on my arms from a bike fall and I had to change my gauze daily and ummm that was enough for me. Talk about pain from gauze sticking to the arm.

​

I cannot imagine what you went through.

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JonLongsonLongJonson t1_jdrxd50 wrote

Yeah man, the way it sticks is like peeling of your own skin over and over. Goddamn that sucks, doesn’t it? Lol

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a_bearded_hippie t1_jdryd9m wrote

I literally wouldn't have been able to do that 😔. Fuck me I hope you are good now. I cut my hand pretty deep so I could see tendons and I passed the fuck out so hard, pissed myself and all. Woke up on the floor with my coworkers saying they called an ambulance lol.

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JonLongsonLongJonson t1_jdrz034 wrote

Man I woke up in a helicopter being flown to the hospital and the guy was like “are you okay” ( I had passed out originally) I was like “I think I’ve pissed myself but besides that, yeah” and then I looked over and saw the mess of what used to be my arm and stomach, I realized I was not okay, and promptly passed out again. Woke up post surgery and you know what? I pissed myself AGAIN!

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a_bearded_hippie t1_jdrzd4p wrote

Funny how the body is like "yea, not worried about that right now lol". Learned that day that I do not enjoy seeing what should be inside of me on the outside. Hope you are doing alright though for real.

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anon_lurk t1_jdrg8dq wrote

Holy shit that’s crazy. You have to do that so everything can drain?

I would have much less of a problem doing something like that to another person. I freak when it’s my own shit though. I pulled nose packing out of my nose by myself and thought that was bad…

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JonLongsonLongJonson t1_jdruo3j wrote

Well, the main problem I had was that the gauze dries out and sticks to you after a day and night. So to change it felt like peeling off an entire layer of skin off of the burned raw stuff underneath, every day for weeks. At a certain point it WAS peeling off fresh skin once it got healed enough that I didn’t change the bandages daily. So that really sucked that it was so painful every time.

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International_Bet_91 t1_jdscf73 wrote

WTF? They gave you Suboxone for pain relief? If is NOT approved by the FDA as a pain reliever: The literature on the pain relieving effects show it may work for some people.

I am so sorry. The war on drugs has meant you were likely severely retraumatized as your doctors gave u a placebo for an amputation. Adequate pain management is an importance component of reducing the risk of PTSD.

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JonLongsonLongJonson t1_jdsj6pm wrote

Yeah i believe it was because I was on Fentanyl drip direct to nerve cluster for an extended period of time in the hospital.

Isn’t it like a drug treatment for heroin? I might have said the wrong thing, it’s this little square of stuff that tastes nasty and you have to let it dissolve under your tongue. Might have been called something else, this was 3 yrs ago now. They said it was to help with side effects of getting the drip out of my nerves.

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International_Bet_91 t1_jdsz025 wrote

Yes. It's used to treat overdoses and there is some evidence it helps chronic pain, but you should have been given better!

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communityproject605 t1_jdpbf2s wrote

Makes my stomach turn just reading that. Couldn't imagine what it was like to live with it.

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i_should_be_coding t1_jdpwcyx wrote

I had an abscess on my back. Went to a doctor who cut it open, drained it, and then put a bandage over it. When I came home I thought I'd need to change bandages at some point, and my wife was like "Why is your back bleeding?" and that's when I realized he never closed it up.

At first I freaked a bit, mostly because I never really expected my skin to just be able to open up like that with no pain. Went to a nurse clinic and they gave me some pads and instructions on how to clean it. As it was on my back, I couldn't really do it alone. If I wasn't living with anyone I don't know how I would have handled it. The doctor didn't even take a second to explain how to care for it after, tell me to go to the nurse's station or anything.

My brother saw it at some point and asked if I got stabbed. I was like "Yeah, but the guy was a doctor, and it happened in his office."

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AlohaChris t1_jdr14fo wrote

Some wounds are too dirty to close, and need to heal by 2nd intention or granulating in from the bottom. Closing a dirty wound, even after you’ve washed it out, can lead to serious infection and sepsis.

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DongLongus t1_jdsfn2u wrote

I kicked a dirty old nail in a rotten board once but the nurse said I won’t need a tetanus shot because I bled all the dirt out after I removed the nail, sometimes bleeding is part of the healing process

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slowy t1_jdshv0k wrote

I don’t think that nurse was correct… keep your tetanus up to date anyway :)

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DongLongus t1_jdsk38g wrote

I mean I did bleed a lot immediately after I removed it, there’s no way anything that entered would still be in there it was POURING I guess gravity helped push all the blood and dirt out, can’t have tetanus in my blood if I lost the blood that was in contact with the nail lol I’m no nurse tho

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snefnugg t1_jdslxhy wrote

Bacteria dont really care about gravity

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DongLongus t1_jdsparg wrote

Blood does though, no blood to carry bacteria elsewhere because it’s all flowing out

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slowy t1_jdsrurb wrote

It is better for reducing the risk of infection when wounds bleed like that, but key word is reducing, bacteria can still be stuck at the edges of the wound with blood flowing past them, tiny pieces of dirt or rust can get stuck in the tissues if the wound is deep, and it is just not a 100% guarantee at all. It also definitely should be considered in the context of the treatment - a very safe, single vaccination, with good long term efficacy, ~10 years. It’s not like a risky invasive surgery or anything, just seems very strange not to suggest it. If you had got it in the more recent past maybe she was just reassuring you?

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DongLongus t1_jdtajlw wrote

It was a galvanized nail so no rust, the only thing I was worried about was that it was in rotten wood but he said I bled out a lot and I got it cleaned with soap and water, the bleeding was enough to get rid of any dirty blood, it sounds like people think I’m some sort of antivaxxer for saying that when you bleed it gets rid of anything that might cause infection so sometimes it’s better to control the bleed then contain everything immediately

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No-Elk-6499 t1_jdqfc72 wrote

Ya, if it’s a big one they might let it drain nowadays by leaving a stitch or two out. I think they do that sometimes if they’re worried it’ll fill or they missed a peace of the sac.

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Viridia411 t1_jdqs77z wrote

I had a similar surgery on the bottom of my back, down into my buttcrack a little, and it had to be kept open to heal from the inside out, i got a home care taker to come over twice a day to pull out the gauze clean it and stuff new gauze in :p

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supapoopascoopa t1_jdrbfyq wrote

We don't close these back up. The whole point is to let them drain. He definitely should have given you info on dressing changes, and usually come back for a wound check and packing removal.

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i_should_be_coding t1_jdrckx9 wrote

There was no packing, lol. He just put some gauze on it and sent me home. I had a blood stain on my car seat after the drive.

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Zalenka t1_jdr39a0 wrote

I had a friend that had a similar thing and they said it had to heal inside out. I helped him clean it and maintain for a couple weeks. It was odd but it healed perfectly.

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Ok_Telephone_3013 t1_jdpjfyk wrote

Wtf why!!

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Bttm4FandT t1_jdpl515 wrote

People are often put in charge of wound care for themselves. I’ve done a bit of home health care and I’ve seen bed sores progress to a point they had a few inches deep tunneling you have to pack with gauze and bandage up.

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WastingTimeIGuess t1_jdpo2pe wrote

No - why not stitch it up? We all get why they had to take care of the wound.

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Bttm4FandT t1_jdpoans wrote

Because you can trap in bacteria and stuff before it has time to heal, you have to clean the wound and bandage daily.

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Benbot2000 t1_jdq3s78 wrote

I would think that leaving it completely open would result in a much higher risk of infection.

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bearhaas t1_jdqw3jx wrote

Understandable thought. In fact, we used to close all wounds on the battlefield during early wars. But eventually it became clear that closing the wound just traps in bacteria. Bacteria are just like us. They like warm wet places. So now standard of care is to leave infected wounds open and they heal from the bottom up. Best thing for a wound is to be draining and not accumulate.

Source: I’m a friendly surgeon

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FantasmaNaranja t1_jdsf4qn wrote

having lived near the equator im not so sure humans really like warm wet places

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theluckyfrog t1_jdr4lca wrote

All wounds have bacteria in them, but unless you've got certain comorbidities, your body is really good at using its own mechanisms to handle that, as long as all the waste products (dead white blood cells, dead tissue cells, loose bacterial cells) have someplace to go. When a wound is "open" like this, they get sloughed off the surface and absorbed by the bandages. No big deal (from your body's perspective). But if the wound is closed, all that stuff just collects in it, and you get an abscess which prevents further healing, causes pain and inflammation, and can lead to sepsis if the bacteria gets into adjacent blood vessels. It's like the difference between taking your trash out on a regular basis or keeping all of that trash in your kitchen as it rots.

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anewconvert t1_jdrq72b wrote

Bacteria aren’t smart. They don’t think “let’s go over there to eat”. They go from high pressure to low pressure (lots of bacteria to fewer bacteria).

Basically If you leave the wound open the bacteria can’t burrow into healthy tissue. They are met by a host of immune cells and connective tissue that makes the process hard. If you close the wound you trap the bacteria in a warm, wet space with plenty of food. They will multiply and pressure will build up and start separating the tissues and the bacteria will move into that new area. That’s an infection. If they have somewhere else to go that is no longer an infection. Leave the wound open and it will heal towards to skin, then the skin will heal over the healthy tissue and there will be no pocket for bacteria to hide in. This is a VERY simplistic way of describing the process.

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squishymelon t1_jdqnnhd wrote

You remove the gauze 1-2 times a day and when you pull it out it takes a lot of the gunk out with it which helps to clean the wound

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WatermelonWithAFlute t1_jdpugoj wrote

is there any reason why you can't just clean it and then immediately stitch it?

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Bttm4FandT t1_jdpvlv9 wrote

I think from what i remember, stitching it up is a lot like intubating someone. High risk of infection. Also for draining purposes.

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los-gokillas t1_jdqsy2c wrote

We've been so programmed by movies and TV to think that every single wound needs stitching. Often stitching is not the best option because it has a higher chance of infection. Being able to observe an open wound and clean it multiple times a day is healthier. Though it does create more of a scar and a aesthetically people don't love that

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WatermelonWithAFlute t1_jdr57qm wrote

Why does it have a higher chance of infection if it’s immediately cleaned beforehand, though?

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los-gokillas t1_jdr5hi7 wrote

Anything that was missed is stuck in there and it will take longer to notice an infection starting. An open wound can be continuously cleaned which allows for error and you'll be able to see the skin and fluids changing colors or even start to notice a smell earlier

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WatermelonWithAFlute t1_jdr6cbx wrote

That does make sense, though wouldn’t the constant exposure be an issue? Cant clean it if your sleeping. Although I guess you’d probably have it wrapped in something- I can’t imagine you’d just have your arm like that exposed the entire time. I’d hope.

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los-gokillas t1_jdr6h0k wrote

Sure no, but you could clean it right before bed and after waking. Couple that with a midday clean and you're probably on a fine schedule

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Bttm4FandT t1_jdpvpm9 wrote

Some people require wound vacs to keep the fluids out of the wound so I would guess that can play a huge part in it.

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Degenerecy t1_jdprt3g wrote

Had a similar thing. The Drs referred it as wet to dry treatment. Something about the gauze drying pulled in fresh new tissue. Left a bump but no scar. Might be why they do that. Researching, it is. Granted they consider it an outdated procedure.

My wound therapist used a dressing with silver gauze and gel. Which is one alternative. It always depends on the training. Our city docs may not know the new stuff(Nearest PT is 70 miles away).

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hollow_xy7w0 t1_jdptbh4 wrote

I had my appendix removed when I was 11 and I’m terrified of the thought of what you just said

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Agile-Department-345 t1_jdq41o9 wrote

my mom had stitches like that for a cyst she had removed. then she popped the internal stitch. I came home from school and she calmly asked me to bring a roll of paper towels. I had never seen so much blood in my life and cried because I really thought she was going to die lol

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_lippykid t1_jdr46fi wrote

That’s crazy. The procedure must have improved massively since then. I can’t even see the scar from my appendectomy. I was in/out in about 8 hours. Walked out the hospital after a banging crab cake lunch

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Prinzka t1_jdrfbo3 wrote

That depends on how bad your appendicitis is.
I was in the hospital for two weeks.
They've been doing laparoscopic appendectomies for a long time, but that only works if things haven't exploded yet.

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_lippykid t1_jdrhca3 wrote

Sorry to hear that. Similar thing happened to my nephew in the UK. His parents thought he was trying to get outta school so didn’t take him to the hospital quick enough. Nearly died. Shit is no joke

Luckily, in my case I’d literally just read the symptoms a few days before and knew what it was right away. Happened in NYC and the hospital was awesome

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Prinzka t1_jdrjf7z wrote

>Nearly died. Shit is no joke

Yeah same here, came pretty close.

>Luckily, in my case I’d literally just read the symptoms a few days before and knew what it was right away.

Yeah, recognizing the symptoms makes such a gigantic difference, and it can go wrong so quickly.
Had I recognized the symptoms right away it would've probably been minor.
As it was it was quite close to killing me.

>Happened in NYC and the hospital was awesome

I was in one of the best hospitals, so I trust they did what was best. It was mainly my own stupidity that made it bad.

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Prinzka t1_jdrfjhm wrote

Hey, samesies!
They had to exteriorize so I've got a huge scar and yeah it was left completely open to reduce risk of infection.
Rinsing that out multiple times a day was an odd experience.

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Flimsy-Buyer7772 t1_jdrggbo wrote

My ex had an abdominal surgery incision that got infected from the inside out because the skin closed too early- before the rest of the wound healed. The Dr picked up a scalpel and slit that sucker right open in front of us and then packed it with gauze. It was…quite a thing to witness. Ex had to pull the gauze and rinse the wound out nightly until it fixed it was WILD.

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Eswyft t1_jds1nem wrote

I just had that surgery. They just glued me closed

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mace t1_jds6kbc wrote

That’s messed up. I got an appendectomy a few weeks ago and they used some kinda fake skin bandages. Maybe super glue I think.

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New_Horse3033 t1_jdss6l4 wrote

I'm dealing with an open wound I have to repack every day by myself right now. It's in a hard to reach place and I have to use tools to get it done. In a way I'm glad I'm by myself, I don't want to see me repacking with my tools on tic-tok.

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