I Am Sam… Sam I Am…

Monday, July 13th — Two weeks ago today, the second Apligraf skin graft was applied to my wound, after the first one failed because of hypergranulation. I want to do everything I can to make certain that this second one remains with me permanently. So I’ve named it Sam — Sam the Skin — and I talk to Sam several times a day, telling him what a great neighborhood it is, and how happy he’s going to be if he’ll just settle in and become a permanent resident.

Emily was away on vacation in Wisconsin all last week, and so Leesa took her place. Leesa’s choice of dressing for Sam was the usual foam, topped by a wrapping of cotton that looks for all the world like the stuff they used to use for quilt batting before the polyester fluff-stuff came on the market. After the cotton-batting wrap, I got a set of three pinkish wraps that looked like Ace bandages, but that are not stretchy like Ace bandages. There’s a special way to wrap these: first one clockwise, second one counterclockwise, third one in a figure-8 pattern… at least, that’s what I think it was. The result was a leg that was fat enough that most of my jeans and pants wouldn’t go over it, and a foot that was too big to go into any but my Velcro-strapped sandals, on the largest possible width.

But the neatest part of what Leesa did to help my Apligraf Sam feel happy in his new home was to use Maltodextrin powder, sprinkled over the Steri-strips that border Sam, and also around the edges at the back. Apparently my skin “macerates” easily — i.e., and literally, gets “chewed up” and develops raw spots and blisters — and the Maltodextrin absorbs any extra drainage and keeps it dry.

But wait — you may say: isn’t Maltodextrin a sweetener? Yes, it is: I looked at the list of ingredients on an extremely synthetic and unhealthy (but devilishly tasty, unfortunately) lemon meringue pie my unwise Beloved Spouse had brought home, and there was Maltodextrin, the third or fourth ingredient. What a versatile compound! There’s no way I would eat that pie; it didn’t even need to be refrigerated! And what self-respecting pie containing eggs wouldn’t beg for refrigeration? Only one that’s 85% additives, that’s what! But as a desiccating sprinkle to sop up the gooey drainage on my leg, it’s perfect.

Emily was back today. She had arranged with Angela, the representative from Organogenesis, to come  for another look at Sam the Skin, to see how he’s coming along in his new digs. And all three of us were thrilled… delighted… and amazed to see how good that wound looks! Sam has melted right into the rest of me; it certainly looks as if it’s going to be a permanent relationship. Emily took a photo and measured the wound (only 2 x 2.5 centimeters now, where it used to be 6 x 6.5 several weeks back), and we all gave each other a high-five. Angela said the Apligraf looks astonishingly good for only two weeks, and I think that is extra-fantastic, given my age.

So this was a GOOD day, and one that I found extremely encouraging. I am so grateful to Organogenesis for making this amazing Apligraf available, and to the Wound Care team at Scripps Mercy Hospital for thinking of it as a solution for me (thanks, Ryan — I think it was your idea first!)

I guess I won’t be seeing Angela again unless something goes wrong with Sam and we have to give it a third try. But everything is looking good right now, and I certainly hope it continues the same way. I am really ready for this business to be over, or at least to begin to be over. Organogenesis is pretty amazing, to have sent a rep to check this process at several points.  How lucky I am, to be able to benefit from this extraordinary medical technology!

Thanks for reading — Betsy