Healing continues well. The finger did very well in brackish water during vigorous activity and use for about two hours yesterday. I had a little bit of dead skin around the very edges of the incision, which I debrided. There is a little more skin this morning as well; I’m just keeping it covered and […]

Last night I checked in with Linda, as I was in the neighborhood. She said that the wound was healing beyond her expectations and that since the edges were approximated and the primary healing done, I could stop keeping it covered and start letting the skin get used to being out again. Last night (for […]

Well, I’m definitely getting sick… Dry and scratchy throat with wheezy chest congestion. Systemically, though, I feel fine. I’m guessing this is bad luck and stress/lack of sleep from starting work that’s worn down my immune system. No temperature; procedure site remains healthy looking. The wound is definitely not closing as quickly as I’d like, […]

I seem to have developed a slight runny nose and cough, precipitated by incessant symptoms of dehydration (chapped lips, dry mouth, heavy thirst) despite increased water intake over the last three days. I have no temperature and only a slight scratchy throat; I’m not coughing up sputum nor do I have any joint pain, muscle […]

I removed my stitches today. Below are a few pictures. There was a bit of bleeding when the stitches came out (not much), and there were some odd shadows in my skin that I hoped weren’t the magnet showing through. I remain ever paranoid, however unwarranted, that the magnet was nicked when I sutured myself […]

Healing continues well. Pain has remained nonexistent for the last couple days; I haven’t taken any pain medication since the day of the surgery, and I’ve been just fine. It has been tender to the touch both at the incision and where the magnet is settled under my skin, but only with pressure. The photos […]

Healing is going very well. I took off my bandage for a little while last night as things were getting quite moist and waterlogged under the tegaderm. There was quite a bit of white skin around the wound that was concerning me a tiny bit, but speaking to a medical expert reassured me that it […]

Although the tegaderm definitely had some life left in it, the tip of the finger wasn’t sealed because the incision had bled a tiny bit and loosened the grip. I took it off to redress it. I gently washed off the site with an alcohol swab, helping to get some of the dried blood off. […]

(Phew. Typing with no middle finger will definitely be something to get used to.) Surgery went EXCELLENTLY today. I performed it at a friend (psuedononymously, Chad) and his family member’s (Linda) house. Linda has had quite a bit of medical training, so was an awesome resource to bounce ideas off of and get advice from […]

I attempted magnet insertion myself and went at it with a friend all scrubbed up to assist. Unfortunately, my scalpel wasn’t shaped correctly (#10) to make a deep enough pocket without making a massively oversized incision, and the lidocaine was wearing off by the time I tried using the tip of my surgical scissors to […]