Skin grafting recovery was a new experience altogether. When I got back home, I had both my legs gift-wrapped. The gift wrapping on my right thigh would be changed weekly and my left thigh gift wrapping would never be touched until and unless the dressing became loose or it came out on its own. It wasn’t easy being bandaged up on both legs, and to top it off the 1st day at home was tremendously painful with the left leg ” I couldn’t help but hear ” Dr. Askhar’s words that I would complain about my left leg more ” and it was true !!.

Dealing with the pain the 1st few days 

My sleeping was difficult, I would wake up in the middle of the night in pain after having scraped the padding at the tug of my bed covers, or my own hands would scrap the padding.

I remember the 1st time I had to use the commode after skin grafting. That was the time I completely lost it. I had scraped my left thigh on the frame of the commode. Even with all the padding and over-padding, the stinging pain was too much to bear. While getting off the commode the same thing happened. I just lost it again, screaming in pain. It took a while for the pain to subside, and soon as it did the words” Allah forgive me kept running in my head” A sudden remorse with guilt came down on me. I had just turned into the incredible hulk ( and it wasn’t to save the world or fight any evil supervillain) I was the villain there, and my poor family and partner had to bear the brunt of it all. At that moment I made a conscious decision not to lose it, and if I had to, not to take it out on my family or partner who has been there with me since this journey started, They were only there to help me out. That night the whole night this thought kept ringing in my head. Why why are we so mean at times, why do we have express pain in such a manner where it hurts the very people who are trying to help us.

Men are such babies ……

When we are sick most of us change, depending on the severity of our illness there are chances that we become an entirely different character. I was no exception when it came to pain, especially with the left leg stinging pain. A universal question goes ” Why are men such babies when they fall sick?” I couldn’t help but think of this question myself. I have heard it from my mum, my cousins, and most of my friend’s wives have the same opinion about their husbands.

Dealing with it eventually 

It wasn’t easy trying to keep your mind focused on not screaming out when the sharp sting of pain hit the roof. But with time, I got to handle that, one technique I tried using was to reverse the situation in my mind, of course, I did this kind of retrospecting when I was not in pain, or just after the screams. What if one of them was the patient and I was the bystander? Would I have understood or reacted appropriately? Has this technique helped? No, not really… at least not in the beginning, but over time it did help, lesser frustrations as time passed, and with the left thigh wound healing. That’s not to say I haven’t lost it once in a while. Although they have been many frowns and frustrations during this stage between us. I have much respect for my family and partner for the patience they have shown, with me, and I love them to the core.

For now, I would like to leave you with this question. How would you have reacted to such a situation dealing with pain? I would appreciate it if you could comment below or for those who have my number, drop in a Whatsapp msg about your views on this.