Wapsi Square Forum

Meth labs, particularly 'dirty' ones like this one had to be, are particularly vulnerable to accident. They're basically doing ether extractions, which is a HIGHLY flammable substance. Light a match, toss down the hatch. End of that particular lab.

I hated knocking over the quick n' dirty labs...

I was pleased to notice, upon waking up this morning, that my left leg is not quite as swollen as it previously was...

(Still hurts, though...)

Some may have noted my latest new avatar.

Taken with the new phone's 5 mp selfie cam, processed with Prisma's mosaic filter:

ShneekeyTheLost wrote:Meth labs, particularly 'dirty' ones like this one had to be, are particularly vulnerable to accident. They're basically doing ether extractions, which is a HIGHLY flammable substance. Light a match, toss down the hatch. End of that particular lab.

This area used to be famous for its illicit moonshine stills. Now they've moved on to illicit meth labs. It's at the point where the local news doesn't even bother to mention meth labs blowing up because it's so passé. The most interesting lab locations that they've found here lately include in the false ceiling of a grocery store (operated by one of the past store managers, who had been fired for drug abuse), in the abandoned jail, and some guys who tried to build a home-made submarine lab in one of the lakes (it wasn't a big success). There are always people trying to set up in the local motels, too, but the motels all have drug-sniffing dogs that patrol several times each day so that doesn't work.

lake_wrangler wrote:I was pleased to notice, upon waking up this morning, that my left leg is not quite as swollen as it previously was...

Hurrah for it looking better!

AnotherFairportfan wrote:Some may have noted my latest new avatar.

Taken with the new phone's 5 mp selfie cam, processed with Prisma's mosaic filter:

Hurrah for it looking better!

Bleah.

Santa!

(The funniest thing last year, during some inaugural home made Neighbourhood Watch type gatherings were the 'honoured opposition' who sat in to see what we vigilante type (yeah, right) where up to...

Scurd um...

AnotherFairportfan wrote:Some may have noted my latest new avatar.

Taken with the new phone's 5 mp selfie cam, processed with Prisma's mosaic filter:

While the overall image effect is nice, I have to admit I don't like the way it rendered your eyes and glasses ...

Well, standing up is slightly less painful, today...

lake_wrangler wrote:

AnotherFairportfan wrote:Some may have noted my latest new avatar.

Taken with the new phone's 5 mp selfie cam, processed with Prisma's mosaic filter:

While the overall image effect is nice, I have to admit I don't like the way it rendered your eyes and glasses ...

Left eye does sorta look like i had a stroke, doesn't it?

lake_wrangler wrote:Well, standing up is slightly less painful, today...

Good news... it sounds as if the cleanup-and-mending team is on the job.

AnotherFairportfan wrote:

lake_wrangler wrote:

AnotherFairportfan wrote:Some may have noted my latest new avatar.

Taken with the new phone's 5 mp selfie cam, processed with Prisma's mosaic filter:

While the overall image effect is nice, I have to admit I don't like the way it rendered your eyes and glasses ...

Left eye does sorta look like i had a stroke, doesn't it?

"Duuuuude... I don't know why, but I think you put the wrong kind of mushrooms on that pizza..."

I have an appointment in 45 minutes with the doctor, to evaluate the progress done by my leg... It has shrunk a little more, but the gauze bandage I replace daily on one open wound, which keeps tearing a bit of skin each time (but which I can't leave out in the open air, since it's at the back of my leg, and it wouldn't do to have an open wound resting directly on cushions, blankets, etc.) has drawn blood today (for the first time).

If you don't hear from me in a few hours, that may mean I was admitted to the hospital, again...

You can call off the search party...

The doctor is pleased that the rash itself is receding, and the leg is not as swollen as before (but still not back to normal.)

However, the open sore at the back of the leg, just below the calf muscle, is not doing as well, since I kept it covered with gauze pads (so as to not have an open sore come in contact with whatever I was using to keep the leg elevated), and they kept tearing at the skin around the sore, when I changed them daily. So they prescribed me some sort of bandage that should be gentler on the sore, which they also cleaned.

The doctor has extended my medical leave until Sept 4, and I still need to keep my leg elevated, while trying to not put pressure on the sore at the back (no easy feat...) My antibiotics should run out by the end of the weekend.

The doctor is supposed to fill out a form for me (salary insurance) by the end of the day (ideally, it should have been filled out last week, but she didn't want to take the time...) So my finances are pretty much up in the air, right now... Had the insurance form been filled out last week, it should have kicked in next week. Now, I don't know. And I don't have much of a safety cushion at all, yet, so we'll have to see how that goes.

lake_wrangler wrote:I still need to keep my leg elevated, while trying to not put pressure on the sore at the back (no easy feat...)

Get a large eyebolt, screw it into the ceiling, get a bungee cord...

The thought had occurred to me...

But so far, I manage by shifting the leg sideways a bit...

Ironically, there was a time when I would have decried the lack of time for reading... Now, that's mostly all I'm doing...

lake_wrangler wrote:You can call off the search party...

The doctor is pleased that the rash itself is receding, and the leg is not as swollen as before (but still not back to normal.)

That's good news!

However, the open sore at the back of the leg, just below the calf muscle, is not doing as well, since I kept it covered with gauze pads (so as to not have an open sore come in contact with whatever I was using to keep the leg elevated), and they kept tearing at the skin around the sore, when I changed them daily. So they prescribed me some sort of bandage that should be gentler on the sore, which they also cleaned.

Ow.

Telfa (and similar) "non-adherent" bandages are a definite win... they'll let a wound drain properly, but won't stick.

After I had the biopsies and surgeries for what turned out to be skin cancer on my scalp, the doctor recommended using ordinary gauze or bandages, but first squirting a big glob of either bacitracin ointment, or ordinary petrolatum (petroleum jelly) into the site. Keeping it moist and clean was said to be important for the best healing and least scarring. It seemed to work very nicely. I don't know if this would be appropriate for an already-infected area, through... better drainage might be more important.

The doctor has extended my medical leave until Sept 4, and I still need to keep my leg elevated, while trying to not put pressure on the sore at the back (no easy feat...) My antibiotics should run out by the end of the weekend.

The doctor is supposed to fill out a form for me (salary insurance) by the end of the day (ideally, it should have been filled out last week, but she didn't want to take the time...) So my finances are pretty much up in the air, right now... Had the insurance form been filled out last week, it should have kicked in next week. Now, I don't know. And I don't have much of a safety cushion at all, yet, so we'll have to see how that goes.

Ugh. Hopefully it's retroactive to when you had to go off-duty! Maybe you can request expedited handling of the claim, on the grounds of delay by the treating doctor?

Dave wrote:

lake_wrangler wrote:However, the open sore at the back of the leg, just below the calf muscle, is not doing as well, since I kept it covered with gauze pads (so as to not have an open sore come in contact with whatever I was using to keep the leg elevated), and they kept tearing at the skin around the sore, when I changed them daily. So they prescribed me some sort of bandage that should be gentler on the sore, which they also cleaned.

Ow.

Telfa (and similar) "non-adherent" bandages are a definite win... they'll let a wound drain properly, but won't stick.

After I had the biopsies and surgeries for what turned out to be skin cancer on my scalp, the doctor recommended using ordinary gauze or bandages, but first squirting a big glob of either bacitracin ointment, or ordinary petrolatum (petroleum jelly) into the site. Keeping it moist and clean was said to be important for the best healing and least scarring. It seemed to work very nicely. I don't know if this would be appropriate for an already-infected area, through... better drainage might be more important.

This is the type of bandage they had used on my while at the hospital:
http://www.smith-nephew.com/key-product ... le-border/

The problem is, that the 10 cm X 10 cm square bandages cost, according to the pharmacy, $100 for a pack of 10! There's no way I can afford that!

When I went to my follow-up appointment today, and they saw the damage that the gauze pads were causing the the sore, by ripping out a bit of skin each time, they cleaned up the remnants of skin over the sore, cleaned up the sore itself, and tried another type of bandage, which is also supposed to not tear anything out when replacing it. Unfortunately, the 10 cm X 10 cm (4" X 4") are backorder, so they had to give me ones that were half the size. We'll see if we can do anything with them. They also referred me to a CLSC (Centre Local de Services Communautaires - Local Community Services Center - a type of medical establishment that stands between a regular clinic and a hospital, which offers various services to the community) to have them change the bandage for me daily. Hopefully, they can figure out the best way to use those smaller-than-the-sore bandages...

Dave wrote:

lake_wrangler wrote: The doctor has extended my medical leave until Sept 4, and I still need to keep my leg elevated, while trying to not put pressure on the sore at the back (no easy feat...) My antibiotics should run out by the end of the weekend.

The doctor is supposed to fill out a form for me (salary insurance) by the end of the day (ideally, it should have been filled out last week, but she didn't want to take the time...) So my finances are pretty much up in the air, right now... Had the insurance form been filled out last week, it should have kicked in next week. Now, I don't know. And I don't have much of a safety cushion at all, yet, so we'll have to see how that goes.

Ugh. Hopefully it's retroactive to when you had to go off-duty! Maybe you can request expedited handling of the claim, on the grounds of delay by the treating doctor?

As far as I know, it is retroactive to when I started my medical leave. The problem is that the longer it takes to get it filled, the longer it will take to get my first payment... That, and it will be only 70% of my regular pay...

For now, there's not much I can do about it, so I won't worry too much yet...

lake_wrangler wrote:The problem is, that the 10 cm X 10 cm square bandages cost, according to the pharmacy, $100 for a pack of 10! There's no way I can afford that!

YEOW!

It's horrifying, what the cost of prescriptions and other medical stuff has climbed to, over the past decade or so. Really scary.

As far as I know, it is retroactive to when I started my medical leave. The problem is that the longer it takes to get it filled, the longer it will take to get my first payment... That, and it will be only 70% of my regular pay...

For now, there's not much I can do about it, so I won't worry too much yet...

Keeping fingers crossed on your behalf.

Lake Wrangler, I recommend you apply a light schmear of HONEY to your wound.

It is anti-bacterial, and nourishing, and will keep the site moist while drawing moisture from the wound outwards.

During healing and the closing of an open would, if you can inhibit the growth of bacteria it's best to keep the site moist.

Dryness helps to create an inhospitable environment, but cell reconstruction is also inhibited.

Once the site is fully closed it pays to keep on applying a 'wet patch' or plaster to the area, giving it periodic time in rotation to, indeed, dry out a little bit.

Keeping a moist band-aid aids in the reduction of post-healing scars too..

Last thing; inquire into those membrane type, 'second-skin' type patches that once in place you don't remove, until it kind of just falls off.
(This is a later in the processes type application...)

One more Last thing, we heal from the inside out, and while you cant will yourself directly into a blissful state, you can work at reducing a stressful reaction to an inevitable situation.

Work your plan and try and let go of the anxiety that a 'smart person' is supposed to be feeling about having a crappy day/week, etc. You’re going to feel what you feel allright, but you can work on it.

So, Honey, Keep it Clean and Moist, and Chill Out...