I followed Doctor, nurse, and assistant wound care orders. I had to soak a gauze sponge with sterile saline, pack it into to the deep thumb print wound, and then cover with a dry bandage.  This is called a wet dry bandage.

Who knew the gauze sponges were different than gauze?  Thankfully it is not what you know but who, so I ended up with what I needed quickly. Thanks to my in-laws for driving everywhere to try and find them in Juneau.

Bandages on the other hand, well the adhesives, have been problematic since I had a MRSA skin abscess years ago.  I bought boxes of the size bandages I needed and tested them out for wearing over my wound packing.  On March 21st, we were running errands before our trip to CA.  I opened a new bandage box, we were gone less than two hours and the bandage was itching the whole time.  When we got home I changed the bandage back to a kind that did not cause a reaction. The next day where the adhesive from the itchy bandage had been on my skin looked like a chemical burn, blistered and everything.  That box now has “not for Felicia” written in Sharpie on the front and back.

My wound healed by filling in with new tissue pretty quickly, and that healing really kicked into high gear when we were in CA.  I took progress pictures for the Virgina Mason nurse.  I took a picture on April 4th, which was the day after we got back from CA.  Good thing I did, the second procedure hole closed on April 7th, 5 months after my original Aortic Valve Replacement.  

I am grateful to report that I can resume to unrestricted activity, I have missed my elliptical.

While the healing process was longer than expected, it was never painful.  Now the 8 days of nerve pain from having Shingles in January - that was extremely painful.  Jim and I are grateful for all the love, prayers, and support that we both received during this whole crazy ride.

Thank you again, Felicia and Jim