On Jun 13, 5:47 am, Curt <curtja...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Marian wrote:
> > Um, hi, I'm new here.
>
> Welcome.
>
> > <snip> Shock Trauma intensive care <snip>
>
> Good to hear you survived.
>
> Wait. You're not an axe murderer, are you?
Not as last I checked.
> > Even before I had any clue of how
> > extensive the damage to my leg was I
> > knew it was going to be bad ugly.
>
> With that kind of intro, I'm interested in what actually happened.
Chemical explosion caused by monumental stupidity on someone else's
part. Compound complex open tibia fibula fracture. The tibia was
almost but not quite shattered while the fibula was merely a spiral
fracture caused by my continuing to run (getting the hell out of
there) after my leg was already broken.
Brunt of the damage was my right leg. Some sunburn level mild
chemical burns and lots and lots of tiny chicken pecks from shrapnel
but I was very very very lucky.
Because my hometown (Baltimore, MD) has a number of world class
hospitals (like Johns Hopkins) I've consistently gotten top notch
medical care and for followups have frequently been the only person in
the waiting room who was even the slightest bit local.
> > <snip> surgeons finally gave their approval. <snip>
>
> Congrats.
>
> > <snip> June 11th unbirthday
>
> Happy Belated!
>
> [...]
>
> > I've already done well enough on the
> > standardized Chinese Proficiency
> > Exam that I could enter a Chinese
> > university as an undergraduate if I
> > really wanted to <snip>
>
> Cool.
>
> Is that Mandarin, Cantonese, other?
The HSK is actually for written Chinese. I took the exam with the
modern simplified characters. I can't understand a single word of
spoken Cantonese but the grammar and vocabulary differences between
the two don't really show up in writing at my level.
> > <snip> left the studio with nothing on my
> > leg but vaseline based aftercare ointment.
>
> Btdt:
>
> http://www.geocities.com/curt_james/calvin.html
Once upon a long time ago many members of the F-lun Gong (fill in the
blank with an "a") had websites on geocities. I do not know if this
is still true. I do know that the mainland firewall has never
unblocked geocities.
> > The afternoon of the second day after the tattoo
> > I started getting some ink colors on my sheets.
>
> I slept with my leg outside or on top the sheets.
>
> > Today is the evening of the third day. I've now
> > got a bandage
>
> On day three, Calvin saw no bandage. Neither did Hobbes. By then I was
> leaving it air dry with the very slightest hint of A&D ointment
> smoothed across its surface.
>
> > and extra amounts of wonderfully soothing
> > vaseline above and beyond the aftercare
> > ointment he gave me
>
> Likewise on the above and beyond action. Actually, none on the above
> and beyond. It was the wisp of A&D and nothing else.
The bandage was to keep the vaseline from making other things gunky.
It also keeps my fingernails away from it. The vaseline is like the
aftercare ointment only gloopier and more soothing. As I write this
my leg is open to the air and not currently itching.
> > and I'm still seeing some colors when I
> > change the bandage.
>
> Stop with the bandages. Again, I was letting my tattoo uncovered and
> with only the slightest dab of A&D. Like you, I was seeing some colors
> but they weren't on a bandage. Instead the color was in the form of
> ink sweats or however you'd like to describe it.
Okay.
> Blood, afaik, initially made the yellow of Calvin's hair appear orange
> and I silently questioned that, however kept my mouth shut to the
> tattoo artist, iirc.
With the exception of the photo realistic bruise that wasn't in the
preliminary drawing (but which makes the emerging bramble look
absolutely fantastic) I have no visible bleeding or scabbing and had
none when I left the studio. The friend who was watching the process
told me (and I don't know how much of this was true and how much of
this was soothing me) that she'd never seen a tattoo in process with
so little bleeding going on.
> > Is this normal?
>
> Yes.
>
> > Should I be worried?
>
> No.
>
> (However I really would stop the bandage action.)
>
> > <snip> My skin is really warm to the touch
> > at the tattoo site. Sort of like a seriously
> > skinned knee which I guess is kind of what it is.
> > Not quite hot just really warm. And my ankle
> > isn't swollen merely itchy (another reason why
> > I added the bandage).
>
> > Again, is this normal? Or should I be worried?
>
> I've never experienced what you describe with any of my three tattoos.
> Doesn't mean it's not normal, of course.
Currently normal temperature.
> > <snip> artist told me if I wanted to I could get
> > take some antibiotics as a just in case.
>
> Just-in-case antibiotics, from what I've read, isn't the wisest course
> of action.
>
> > This not merely being the tropics but also being
> > the tropics in China this probably isn't such a
> > bad idea.
>
> Otoh, I'm not looking out a window at the tropics in China either.
And there was this really nice mud puddle that I had to specifically
not take my freshly rebuilt mountain bike through <sigh> last night
when I decided to explore the area along the old railroad tracks.
I've even go so far as to reschedule the mountain bike's virgin group
ride for later in June.
> > (I was also told to only wash the tattoo site
> > with clean boiled water.)
>
> That available to you?
Yes, though I used bottled water since that takes less effort than
boiling it myself.
Unboiled tap water isn't always (often isn't) safe to drink
> > Unfortunately I didn't recognize the Chinese names of any of the
> > antibiotics he specifically suggested. I can get just about
> > everything except the super fast super new superdrugs over the
> > counter.
>
> No FDA interference, eh?
Pretty much.
> And super fast super new superdrugs? :oD
Can be purchased at the hospital. And are usually overkill for
whatever infection you have.
> > Are there any antibiotics which anyone
> > here can recommend as prophylactics
> > against potential skin infections?
>
> Dunno. Is there a "tropics in China" general equivalent to a family
> doctor in your neck of the woods?
The pharmacist. Who tried to sell me cinnamon oil when I bought the
vaseline. Cinammon oil is fabulous stuff for massage and is also a
pretty good antibacterial. Strangely enough the one variety I know
also works pretty good at keeping mosquitoes away. But it hurts to
even think of putting it on something that in any way resembles a
wound.
> Fwiw, it sounds as if the ink sweats (or, yes, however you'd care to
> describe that) is normal as ever. I'd give your colorful wound some
> air and decrease by bunches 'n bunches the amount of goop you're
> applying. No help with the antibiotic advice, however.
>
> Best of luck. Please post a follow-up.
I'll try to find a place to post pictures that doesn't require a log-
in.
-M