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Z-plasty? WTH is a Z-plasty? (Yet *another* nahtacruz blog)


JLMoran

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 A slight hijack of this thread to mention that taking our kids to visit colleges was one of my favorite things to do.  I loved being on a college campus because there’s so much energy and excitement.   In fact, I found my post retirement (stay at home mom for 20 years) career because as we visited colleges I realized that I would be so happy if I got to spend every day on a college campus.   I now work at our local community college and love it.    

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  • 1 month later...

2e2.jpg

 

Yes, I'm back! And you know what that means, right?

I'M HEALED!!!!

***with a few caveats and provisos...

 

All of the skin is completely regrown (if a bit ugly), and the suture lines around the flap are fully closed and clean looking (but with a visible crease or seam along the bottom edge). And just in the nick of time, as we're going up for our college visit on Monday. The doctor gave me the green light to go, but there are a few strings attached.

First: I'm still in a compression wrap until I'm back home. The doc told me that healed wounds like this are still quite delicate for a long time, typically at least a year. No way am I going to be wearing a shoe or walking around for miles after just getting healed. Fair enough, I was able to find a loaner folding transport wheelchair that we'll take with us, and my wife and daughter (or maybe the college tour guide) will just have to take turns pushing me along.

Second: Even after the compression wrap comes off and I'm back to wearing my regular compression socks (Bombas makes a great line of these), I have to very gradually get back to wearing a shoe. And because my shoes are custom-made for my feet, they'll guaranteed require some modification from my orthotist before they properly fit again without rubbing or pressing on the area.

Third: I was hoping this meant I can finally stop elevating the leg when I'm working, but no dice for at least a few months and maybe longer. It's fine to put it down for a bit and gradually rebuild that "stamina", but right now I need to baby the scars and give them enough time to solidify. If I feel it swelling, I have to elevate again and not try to power through. Otherwise I'll just be tearing everything open all over again.

Good news on this last point is that once I'm tolerating my shoes again, I can at least start going on short walks and build back up to longer ones over a couple of months. Walking and moving around isn't any issue since that keeps the blood pumping and cuts down swelling. It's just the sitting around that's no good. And my garden really needs me able to get out there and do some major pruning!

With a 1-year clock, things will be truly solid right in time for my Mediterranean cruise next July/August as long as I treat everything right. Which is good, because that's when I'll be doing tons of walking and need the strength / durability this procedure is supposed to provide.

I won't quite call this blog done and closed just yet. Since we're going up for the college visit in less than a week, I figure I'll let y'all know how it went and whether it's still my daughter's number 1 pick. She's already picked another school as her new #2 choice, so this could turn into a horse race! ?

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  • 2 weeks later...

So, we went up and did the college visit. And the college that had been my daughter's first choice for close on two years is suddenly one she isn't even going to apply to. Few reasons:

First, she went onto niche.com and found it has a lot of negative reviews from students on just about every front. The quality of the professors, the academics, the housing... Biggest issue being that multiple students reported that professors don't take students experience into account. They reportedly teach everyone as if they're rank beginners with no accommodation for people who, say, already know color theory quite well or have a lot of experience drawing in perspective. Or just did the work of creating an AP-level art portfolio that got a 4 or 5 when evaluated.

The small size of the school was also worrying her. With only 400 students total, she was very worried about being able to find friends or develop a decent social circle.

But the final nail in the coffin was the town the college is located -- Beverley, MA. To be clear, it's a beautiful town. Lots of old houses that look like they've been well-kept, very picturesque, and right on the water. But it's also a very quiet town with not a whole lot for a college-age kid to do with her classmates. The main street through town has a small movie theater and a handful of restaurants and bars, but almost everything was closed at 8:30 PM when we were driving back from dinner the first night there.

Even the very nearby town of Salem was closed early, except for a couple of restaurants. And the mass transit all closed down at 11 PM, too, so she wouldn't even be able to go into Boston (an hour away) with friends for a late night on the weekend.

Some of this might have been due to Covid and not being in the peak tourist / college season, but it gave my daughter enough concerns that she spontaneously told us on that first night there that she didn't want to even attend the college tour at that point, and she wasn't going to apply there any longer. She realized that she wants a larger college than Montserrat (closer to 1,500 students than 400), in more of a city setting; or at least close enough to a city setting that it's an easy option for a late night on the weekend.

So while it was a disappointing visit, it did do what a college visit is supposed to do. She saw exactly where she'd be and what the reality of attending there would be like in some measure, and had the chance now to realize it wouldn't be a good fit at all.

And now we're looking at other schools, including some she hadn't considered before. She has a reach school in mind (RISD) and is also looking at some additional schools in NYC, maybe one in Chicago.

===================================================

After we got home, I had my final visit to the wound center. I'm officially discharged, and I'm following all those caveats I outlined earlier. So far it's looking great, just have to keep it lotioned up through the day while it gets used to being in the open air again.

 

Question for everyone -- I know I said I wouldn't post pics of the procedure or anything, but now that it's healed would any significant number of you want to see the final result? I'll be honest -- when this has had a few years for the scars to settle down, I'm probably going to get a tattoo to either cover it up or else totally embrace it. Would love to hear ideas of what to get based on what it looks like. But I won't post those pics unless I hear some overwhelming votes to do it.

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15 hours ago, JLMoran said:

So, we went up and did the college visit. And the college that had been my daughter's first choice for close on two years is suddenly one she isn't even going to apply to. Few reasons:

First, she went onto niche.com and found it has a lot of negative reviews from students on just about every front. The quality of the professors, the academics, the housing... Biggest issue being that multiple students reported that professors don't take students experience into account. They reportedly teach everyone as if they're rank beginners with no accommodation for people who, say, already know color theory quite well or have a lot of experience drawing in perspective. Or just did the work of creating an AP-level art portfolio that got a 4 or 5 when evaluated.

 

This is interesting. A friend of ours had a daughter just graduate from the school I believe you are talking about and was in their art program. I should reach out to her and see if she had the same experience. I usually take online reviews with a grain of salt because people are typically more apt to leave negative reviews than positive ones. If your daughter is interested, I bet I can put her in touch with my friend.

 

PS, I'm glad you are all healed up, and I'm never grossed out by pictures!

 

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18 minutes ago, JLMoran said:

@GregD, the school was Montserrat College of Art in Beverley, MA. If that’s the same one, would definitely like to hear about your friend’s daughter’s experience. Feel free to pm me and I could relay to my daughter.

ah, Endicott is where my friend went, which is also in Beverly. Let me know if your daughter wants more information.

 

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21 hours ago, GregD said:

ah, Endicott is where my friend went, which is also in Beverly. Let me know if your daughter wants more information.

Ah, if it was Endicott then no need. But thanks for checking that!

We actually stayed at the hotel right across the street from Endicott (Wylie Inn & Conference Center).

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