Saturday, August 1, 2009

Plastic Surgeon..and My Baby's Pressure Spot


Okay here it is. I might as well post about my little Wysdom's pressure spot. It is why I take mostly side profile pictures these days. I am going to share my story so that I can just post pictures of Wysdom with the scar on his head and not have to feel bad about it anymore. And so I don't have to cut his forehead of when I take pictures.

This pressure spot occurred while we were in the hospital for Wysdom's OHS in May. He had trouble coming of the breathing tube, so they used an alternative to cpap mask for his breathing. The mask was tight and heavy and ended up creating a pretty large pressure sore on his forehead. They covered it with some tegaderm and a day later it had developed into a whole the size of a quarter or larger on his head. We are currently being followed by the Plastic Surgeon at Sick Kid's Hospital where he had his initial OHS. Monday they took a look at it and thought that it was healing quite well. It has taken almost 2 months to close. Now that it has closed we are to wait a week or two and then start to massage the area with oil to help prevent it from raising. It will take 18 months to heal and we are not to allow any sun on the scar area.


I don't know if I will stop being angry with myself over this pressure spot. I regret not speaking up louder about this and getting them to figure something out. I did complain, but ultimately it was my husband who created an alternative way for Wysdom to wear the mask in the last couple of days, that I am sure prevented more damage. This pressure spot also happened during the time that he caught pneumonia and also the day that they moved him into a make shift room. While advocating for a different room and dealing with the pneumonia the pressure spot got ignored somewhat and I still feel bad about it.


I really don't see it when I look at him everyday. However I do notice it when I introduce Wysdom to someone, or when I look at pictures that I have taken. I find that I end up taking a lot of side profile pictures or cut part of his forehead off. If I take the picture head on I try to retouch the pictures afterwards, or just don't end up sharing them. Truly I am telling this story and sharing this picture so that I can start to post more pictures without having to worry about how people perceive his forehead. And so that I can start to forgive myself about this too. So here he is with his scar and all. Also I wanted to share this story so other's who go for heart surgery can avoid this same mistake if possible.


12 comments:

Stephanie said...

Ahh your little guy is absolutely adorable and precious, spots and all. Don't feel bad about it dear. I agree, the nurses, rt's, dr.'s, etc should have done more to prevent this, but sometimes these things just happen. It soudnds like your taking wonderful care of it and i'm sure with time it will fade.

Beverly said...

He is so beautiful! I can understand how you feel. You did good and please dont feel bad anymore. We learn as we go and will know better next time. I will pray for his fast and perfect healing.

Brandie said...

He's such a cutie! Don't be so hard on yourself. You're only one person, you can't be on top of everyone/thing all the time! I'm glad you shared this. I didn't know about pressure spost, so now I've learned something.

ds.mama said...

Take all the straight on face shots you want and then I'll photoshop that spot outta there for you ;-)

sheree said...

he is handsome as can be...little McChubbs! Love it!

I feel terrible that you have guilt over this, but I know...I would too! Please know that it is NOT your fault and when you are in the ICU worrying about a million and one OTHER things...things may go unsaid. I am finding that out now firsthand!

Anyway, I am confident it will clear up and it really doesn't look bad at all. I bet it was pretty painful though...poor guy!

Give him hugs from Gabby and I!

kangfamily said...

He is adorable! I'm sure it will heal up just fine. Madi got a staph infection after surgery and they had to re-open half of her scar all the way down to her sternum. It had to heal opened and was so awful to look at. I too wondered if there was some way I could have prevented it. It did heal and looks great now...it just took some time. I'm sure the same will happen with the pressure spot. He is such a cutie...I love the cheeks!

sasha said...

Oh thanks everyone..you helped me feel much better about this...Now I feel free to post pic's of him and not have to worry about how it looks.

SunflowerStories said...

You have an adorable little boy! I hope you feel comfortable sharing any photo of him. It was totally not your fault that it happened and it sounds like you are doing everything you can to help him heal quickly. Thanks for visiting my blog, I look forward to following yours.

The Sanchez Family said...

Never worry! He is your sweet baby and it will heal. I have two scars on my face from skin cancer and I'm totally self conscious about it so I completely understand. There are amazing scar therapies available now and no matter what it wasn't your fault and Wysdom's cute cheeks and adorable face are what people are drawn to!
Sasha- email me your address so I know where to send your tee. I'm at jvaranini@yahoo.com :)!!! Thanks!

Alaina and Kyle said...

I'm glad you posted this because it makes me become more aware. I'm worried the oxygen tube is going to deform his ears and nose so I'm constantly readjusting it. Be proud because you have a beautiful little boy!!

Kristinn&Thelma said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kristinn&Thelma said...

Hi I saw your blogg on DS new mama blogg, I think your son is adorable and so cute I hardly noticed the scar, so dont stop taking picturse you regret it later:) We are a new bloggers form Iceland, we have a son that is turning 6 months old. Just wanted say hello :)
love from Iceland