The Bandage Pessimist

Let the record show that I am still trying to will my leg blister to heal. It's egg-sized, you know. I thought progress was being made the first week. The fluid was out. The skin was on. I had Farmer H put a 3 x 4 bandaid (slathered with triple antibiotic ointment) on it every day after my shower. By evening, it would seep some yellowish clear fluid out the bandaid. That's after Farmer H BLEW on the pin that he was using to let out fluid.

Then part of the skin came off with the bandaid one day. I continued my same treatment. A couple days later, more skin came off in the shower, as I gently soaped it with my bare hand. Around this time, Farmer H declared that he had other things to do, and I should just leave it open, to get air, and start healing with a scab.

Well. Like an idiot, I followed Dr. H's treatment plan. I still put on the triple antibiotic ointment. But I could feel my pants leg on it as I went about my town errands. I slept on it that night without covering, although I put a towel down on top of the sheet. Again, the next day, Farmer H was gone. The wound looked redder to me. Had more yellow junk. I washed it. Applied ointment. Slept on it.

The next morning, I LAID DOWN THE LAW! Farmer H was going to make sure he was there to apply my bandage! His prescription was not working. I think it was causing me a relapse. Of course while putting on the bandage, Farmer H had to open his germy mouth to say,

"This looks worse. You need to see a doctor."

From the man whose own doctor wouldn't even let patients in the office, and gave butt-shots on the parking lot! MY doctor nurse practitioner has office space in the upstairs clinic over the main hospital. I knew I wasn't getting past THEIR barricades. So I was resigned to riding it out.

Lots of oozing emanated from beneath my bandage. A slow ooze that I could dab at, sweatpants leg pulled up in front of New Delly. A towel under it on the recline part of my OPC (Old People Chair). After a couple days of my tender treatment again, I noticed less redness. Less oozing. The raw spot oh-so-slowly shrinking inward.

Here's the thing:

FARMER H REFUSES TO ACKNOWLEDGE MY HEALING!

When putting on the provided bandage, and prompted with: "Don't you think it looks better?" All he says is:

"Looks the same to me." Or "It's hard to tell." Or "I still think you need to give it some air."

Since Farmer H was gone to the city three days, taking his friend for chemo and procedures, I was on my own. The edges of my leg-hole have healed inward enough that I felt confident in fitting the bandage over the raw spot without sticking the edges to it. I've done that for four days now. No help needed from Typhoid H.

I KNOW it's better! It gives me the pain twinge much less if I bump it. Sometimes I even forget that I have a bandage on there. The ooze only comes out at the end of the night, with my leg in a certain position, on my OPC chair towel, a spot smaller than a dime. The redness does not extend out from the edge of the bandaid. When I blot it after removing the bandage, just a nickel-sized spot shows fluid. Mostly clear.

In a couple days, I'm going to leave the bandage off. Since I'm not going anywhere, and I can keep my pants off of the wound. Then at night, I'll put a bandage on for sleeping only, until the skin is healed over. Not sure if I'm going to let Farmer H have a look.

I think Farmer H is either reluctant to admit that MY way of treatment is better than his, OR... Farmer H is trying to kill me.