WARNING: Graphic Images!!!!!

**Disclaimer: This post contains images that may not be suitable for all audiences (i.e. those who have a weak stomach). View at your own risk.**

I wanted to post a few pics of exactly what my incision and drain site look like, for anyone who might be interested. If anything positive has come out of this whole ordeal, it's that my sensitivity to pain, needles, blood, and other medically icky things has decreased drastically. I am actually fascinated by the mechanics behind this whole operation (no pun intended), and I figured that there must be others out there who feel the same. So here are a few pics.

Proceed with caution!!!!!

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Last chance...

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This picture was taken on 5/31. At this point, the drain was in place (although I forgot to photograph the bulb into which the drain empties) and the incision is held together by one large steri-strip. ((This picture is of the left side of my back, under my shoulder blade. And that thing on the left side of the picture is my left arm. I realized after the fact that this pic might be hard to make out if you don't know what you're looking at.))

((This picture is the same area of my back, slightly hunched over.))

This picture was taken this evening (please excuse the formatting issues). Although the stitches were removed today, the steri-strip is still in place to hold the skin around my incision together. The drain was also removed today, which was a far more painful process than I was expecting. Yikes! I spent the majority of the day after my appointment resting on the couch, reading, and popping pills to ease the aching/throbbing pain. I am very relieved to be done with the drain!!! I feel so liberated, knowing that I no longer have to walk around at work with my drain clipped to my clothing in a professional office environment or worrying that I'll snag it and begin "The Great Blood Flood, Part II".

Considering all I've been through in the last few weeks, I feel as if today was a huge milestone, and we have so much to be grateful for. God is good.