You put your left hand in, you
pull your left hand out … that’s what it’s all about. Well that
sounds easy enough, a simple exercise but, I’ve recently been made
to think about just what, and how many, muscles are used in such a
simple action. In fact, in all honesty I’ve been finding the
“simple” act of sitting in a high-backed armchair has become much
more of a technical exercise.
Last
Wednesday morning I visited the Dermatology unit, at the District
Hospital, for the excision of a rodent ulcer (basal cell carcinoma),
an operation which went quite smoothly (with the help of a couple of
extra shots of the local anaesthetic) taking about 35-40 minutes. The
cauterizing and needlework seemed to take much longer than the actual
excision but, it was nice to be assured that all harmful matter had
been removed.
Unlike
previous occasions, when I’ve undergone a similar procedure, the
dressing had to be removed after only 24 hours, and certainly not as
much as 48hrs, preferably following a shower as the dressing seemed
to adhere like superglue. As it worked out, my beloved removed the
dressing, not without difficulty but very carefully; the skin had
reddened considerably in the areas of former adhesion and the pull of
the stitches became much more apparent.
With
the siting of the wound (quite central in middle to lower back) it’s
pretty difficult for me to see to apply the twice daily application
of Vaseline to the wound so, that’s another chore for ma belle. If
only I could see, and manage, the wound myself there would be less of
a shock as the substance is rubbed in to the wound. Even the touch of
a friend can bring a shudder to the spine. One cannot help but be
aware of the wound as I try to sit back comfortably in a chair, or on
the sofa, and so I am consequently unable to properly relax.
On
the fourth morning after the procedure, a modest blood flow from the
wound, wetting my shirt, caused me undue alarm although, fortunately,
the flow quickly reverted to a slight seepage. Each move I make in an
attempt to be seated, in a relaxed and comfortable posture, feels as
if the muscles in the back are trying to rip open the stitches.
The
upside of the situation is that I’ve been inspired to work on a new
poem ‘As
If The Worlds Woe’ in an attempt to capture some of the unusual
situation.
