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 my five hours of sleep; go Goat Simulator) was the first time I had my finger uncovered from the tegaderm for longer than ~3 minutes. Even just overnight, I can see a marked hardening, drying out, and yellowing of wound edges that I suspected were dead, confirming my thoughts. There’s no pain, though, and I can use the finger for daily activities that don’t require too much pressure just fine.

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, but the edges are approximated and relatively healthy looking so I’m not massively concerned yet. I changed the tegaderm after my longest duration yet (36 hrs), and things looked decent. I redressed sans triple antibiotics and just kept the tegaderm; with the deep wound closed, I’m less concerned about infection.

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 aches, or other problematic indicators.

The wound site continues to heal well and is healthy and as pink as my pale skin usually is; certainly no discharge, necrosis, odor, or any indication of infection. I’m going to chalk my symptoms up to a stress induced bug and keep chugging water – a systemic infection or sepsis doesn’t look possible given the appearing and health of the incision area.

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 and the parylene is compromised. I don’t think I hit it; the fear is there, though.

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 below are from this morning when I changed my dressing. I’m currently using triple antibacterial ointment and a half transpore sheet changed twice daily, wrapping my finger in flexible gauze roll over the transpore during the day just to give it some padding and keep me aware of the site.

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 was just scar tissue forming and not skin that I would need to remove manually. In any case, after an hour of exposure to the open air, the white area shrunk significantly, indicating that at least some of it was just water absorption.

Mental note: stay away from harddrive magnets.

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. The little dots of blood are new, and the pale whiteness of the site of one of my first slices that slipped too close to the epidermis is a little concerning – I’m hopping it’s water logged and not the beginnings of necrosis in that one spot; that could be a trick to deal with.

(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 leading up to the procedure.

After my failure last time(s), I was determined to make things work this time. I administered the lidocaine and cleaned everything (with additional clorhex swabs from Linda, which was super helpful).

I’m finally home from school for the summer, and I have one precious week before I start back to work in San Francisco. I’ve also come into contact with a good friend’s family member who works as a supervising nurse at a very large facility who has expressed interest in helping me out. Although I’m very confident in my research, it’s hugely comforting to have a medical professional that is willing to be with me, in person, during the procedure to offer advice and help out.