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JonLongsonLongJonson t1_jdpzkls wrote

Reply to comment by NKevros in Incision in my arm that doctors left open for 2 weeks after a surgery. by soapboxingdaychamp

Yep, I was involved in an explosion and had an amputation. Helicopter ride and everything. I had a Fentanyl drip directly into my nerves in my shoulder for the pain. They gave me a shit ton of thin yellow gauze pre-coated in anti-bacterial goo, a bunch more dry white gauze for wrapping, and a shit ton of Suboxin to wean me off the Fentanyl while providing adequate pain relief.

Let me tell you, for a couple weeks there unwrapping and wrapping my burned, raw, open wounds, looking INSIDE myself for a while there, and treating myself alone (the Suboxin didn’t help much) was one of the most mentally challenging things I’ve ever gone through.

Really fucked me up inside, I didn’t leave the house for almost a year. Thankful the pandemic kicked off around then and I didn’t have to.

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acuriousguest t1_jdq3fj1 wrote

I sincerely hope you are okay now. The pandemic did a number on many people without having the added pleasure of taking care of a... struggling with adjectives here.. Broken body. Seeing some things just seems wrong if you aren't used to them and really make reevaluate life.

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JonLongsonLongJonson t1_jdq4dlk wrote

I am doing much better now, thank you. I had to pull myself out of a deep depression to get back into living again though.

I was out of work for about a year and a half due to the injury and related depression. A few months after I got back to work (warehouses, didn’t graduate since I became homeless at 16, so that’s what I’m stuck with) I threw my back out horribly and was out again for about 5 months. Lost my job and therefore insurance, and therefore my car, and couldn’t finish physical therapy due to cost and transportation.

Laid around feeling bad for myself since I’m only 22 with such a messed up body including a chronic shoulder injury and no high school diploma or family whatsoever to fall back on.

Realized I was dragging my girlfriend down with me and we were just existing with no joy. Had to start going outside again, and then talking to people, and then applying for jobs. I’m at a temp agency now so I get bounced around a lot which sucks since I still don’t have a car. Been working 10hr days not including 3 hours commute every day to pull us out of paycheck to paycheck life, and now we have a great apartment in a better place, lots of time with each other, and I’m not fantasizing about a bus running me over nearly as often as I used to.

So all in all, things could be a hell of a lot worse. One week I lived on a single can of watermelon Arizona and 3 slices of bread because getting out of bed was literally an insurmountable task. Now I spend 13hrs a day out makin things happen for myself and my relationship.

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Seskahawminy t1_jdq4v3n wrote

fuck bro. i read all that. keep chugging man. you're a real one.

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soapboxingdaychamp OP t1_jdr1jn1 wrote

Holy shit man. I’m so proud of you and I hope you are insanely proud of yourself. Congratulations on being a badass and I hope whatever you are striving for in this life is presented to you. I have no idea who you are or where you are but if there is absolutely anything I can do to help you please don’t hesitate to reach out. It takes a lot to be resilient when facing what you have. Cheers!

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JonLongsonLongJonson t1_jdrv5pl wrote

Thank you man, every day when I can pay a bill or get work done is a win on my book since for a long time I was just drifting along. It’s nice to contribute and not just take and feel bad for myself.

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acuriousguest t1_jdq6acm wrote

Glad to hear that. Well, not the bad parts, but I'm glad you found a way through. Best of luck!

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JonLongsonLongJonson t1_jdq7wzs wrote

Thank you:) I appreciate the small things a hell of a lot more right now than I used too

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Alexander556 t1_jdrwl70 wrote

Did you lose a leg during that accident?

Hope everything works out well in the future.

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JonLongsonLongJonson t1_jdry4e4 wrote

My right hand and some more of the arm, large chunks of my midsection area, and burned all over my chest, stomach, and arms/left hand.

My hospital roommate fell asleep while camping with his dad and woke up to their trailer exploding with him inside it from a gas leak. He had like 90% burns over his whole body. That dude was fuckin tough to the quick. I don’t feel bad about my burns when I think of David in full body gauze and crying from the pain of breathing.

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Alexander556 t1_jds8ca0 wrote

Thats pretty bad, wish you the best.
I hope David got better too, just thinking about it is horrible.

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BubbleBoyBotanica t1_jdv4kg2 wrote

Love u man. Been through hell my self. Ran over by forklift. Compartment syndrome and crush syndrome. 16 surgeries. I had 2 kids at the time with my girl 7 mo preg... at the time of the accident I was 2 years clean and sober off opiates I had gone cold turkey off 200mg daily methadone 2 years prior to accident. Went through all this with almost no pain meds.. our bodies and minds are insane.

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mristic t1_jdsxtcx wrote

Kudos my man! Keep it going alright!

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Oil_slick941611 t1_jdrweq5 wrote

dude, I had road rash on my arms from a bike fall and I had to change my gauze daily and ummm that was enough for me. Talk about pain from gauze sticking to the arm.

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I cannot imagine what you went through.

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JonLongsonLongJonson t1_jdrxd50 wrote

Yeah man, the way it sticks is like peeling of your own skin over and over. Goddamn that sucks, doesn’t it? Lol

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a_bearded_hippie t1_jdryd9m wrote

I literally wouldn't have been able to do that 😔. Fuck me I hope you are good now. I cut my hand pretty deep so I could see tendons and I passed the fuck out so hard, pissed myself and all. Woke up on the floor with my coworkers saying they called an ambulance lol.

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JonLongsonLongJonson t1_jdrz034 wrote

Man I woke up in a helicopter being flown to the hospital and the guy was like “are you okay” ( I had passed out originally) I was like “I think I’ve pissed myself but besides that, yeah” and then I looked over and saw the mess of what used to be my arm and stomach, I realized I was not okay, and promptly passed out again. Woke up post surgery and you know what? I pissed myself AGAIN!

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a_bearded_hippie t1_jdrzd4p wrote

Funny how the body is like "yea, not worried about that right now lol". Learned that day that I do not enjoy seeing what should be inside of me on the outside. Hope you are doing alright though for real.

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anon_lurk t1_jdrg8dq wrote

Holy shit that’s crazy. You have to do that so everything can drain?

I would have much less of a problem doing something like that to another person. I freak when it’s my own shit though. I pulled nose packing out of my nose by myself and thought that was bad…

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JonLongsonLongJonson t1_jdruo3j wrote

Well, the main problem I had was that the gauze dries out and sticks to you after a day and night. So to change it felt like peeling off an entire layer of skin off of the burned raw stuff underneath, every day for weeks. At a certain point it WAS peeling off fresh skin once it got healed enough that I didn’t change the bandages daily. So that really sucked that it was so painful every time.

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International_Bet_91 t1_jdscf73 wrote

WTF? They gave you Suboxone for pain relief? If is NOT approved by the FDA as a pain reliever: The literature on the pain relieving effects show it may work for some people.

I am so sorry. The war on drugs has meant you were likely severely retraumatized as your doctors gave u a placebo for an amputation. Adequate pain management is an importance component of reducing the risk of PTSD.

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JonLongsonLongJonson t1_jdsj6pm wrote

Yeah i believe it was because I was on Fentanyl drip direct to nerve cluster for an extended period of time in the hospital.

Isn’t it like a drug treatment for heroin? I might have said the wrong thing, it’s this little square of stuff that tastes nasty and you have to let it dissolve under your tongue. Might have been called something else, this was 3 yrs ago now. They said it was to help with side effects of getting the drip out of my nerves.

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International_Bet_91 t1_jdsz025 wrote

Yes. It's used to treat overdoses and there is some evidence it helps chronic pain, but you should have been given better!

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