Steve had wound care coming the our home 3 days a week for several weeks to change the dressing on the wound vac and check on the healing progress. Eventually when Sports Authority's short-term disability turned into long-term disability Steve also sought the help from the VA. He was put into the rotation at the VA Hospital and the wound care ladies there were so sweet, patient and honestly surprised and how quickly Steve was healing in between visits. What felt like an eternity to Steve (and I) apparently was totally normal and, in Steve's case, better than expected given the situation with the Prednisone. The ladies actually called me one of the visits that I didn't accompany Steve to ask me what in the world we were doing. They were so surprised at Steve's rapid healing. I was scared to tell them, I didn't know the nature of the call when I took it and certainly was a little timid to share that I'd been using essential oils on my man's residual limb.
I sheepishly decided to share that I'd primarily been using Melaleuca (Tea Tree). I would also use Frankincense and, when necessary for bleeding issues, Helichrysum. To my surprise I was not verbally reprimanded, but rather was delighted to hear the excitement in the nurse's voice as she told me to keep doing whatever I was doing. Whew!
So let me back up just a little. I was new to doTERRA essential oils at the time. Yes, I had used some cheap crap that I bought on Amazon, but after my first doTERRA class and learning about the purity and potency of their essential oils I threw out my old stuff and haven't looked back. As Steve's health issues were on the rise, so was my desire to learn more about these essential oils and how they could help.
Looking back it's crazy to think that with my limited knowledge and research I'd done online that Steve was willing to give the oils a try.
So anyway, we kept up this routine of home treatments with the essential oils and going to visit the VA wound care team on a more limited basis. I'd changed the dressing with them watching and they cleared me to take care of his dressing changes so he didn't have to go in so frequently.
If you'll recall Steve was supposed to have the wound vac for about 3 weeks. His last washout surgery was on December 2nd (remember it was a Friday and he had to spend the weekend plus Monday at the hospital?). Anyway, this went on for another few months. Same routine. I would change Steve's wound dressing at least once a day, occasionally more - just depended on the activities and how it was feeling.