The new graft was pretty much white/gray for the first few days, but between yesterday and today, you can see it's starting to turn pink as the blood supply hooks back up better. It's pretty cool to be able to watch this process take place. I have put a timeline photo at the bottom of this post. There's a picture from each day since the revision surgery.
I also asked a few questions on things I was curious about as the swelling has started to go down. I noticed there's a circle area at the top of the front of the ear where there seems to be extra skin, and I was wondering why. Apparently, that's purposeful. The cartilage framework dips way down in the middle of that area, so once the swelling is gone, that extra skin will suck down into that dip and look normal. The canal area of the ear will also sink inwards a lot more over the next year.
I'm also happy to report, as of Sunday (Day 25 Post-Op) I could start to have bowel movements without a lot of pain. I still pushed in on my breast bone just to be safe, but not much pain. I could - and still can - feel some movement in my chest while engaging the muscles, but not any pain so far today!! It's still hard to reach my toes on that side, but much easier than it was a week ago.
So, at this point, I'm just waiting for the extreme fatigue to clear up. But again, I'm only 5 days out from the second surgery, and it is getting a lot better today. Surgery Post-Op care is really all about patience.
I can't wait to be home and see all of my family and friends, my cats, and my bed! I do celebrate Christmas, so I'll be getting home just in time (in the evening on Christmas Eve). I'm looking forward to getting to come home and immediately get to spend time with family the following day. Now, on to packing...
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