Post-Fire: Update III

A quick update on issues medical:

Carl is now being treated on an outpatient basis in Buffalo and is doing well. On Wednesday, the burn clinic there removed the bandages on his hands and only rewrapped the palms and backs of the hands, leaving his fingers free. This obviously allows him much greater freedom but also exposes new skin to the air, so it’s going to take some adjustment. He’s played the piano a few times too and is getting to the point where he’s actual playing and not just banging. Excellent news for everyone.

They’ve fitted him for some tight-fitting gloves, an expected step in the burn healing process, and those are scheduled to arrive this evening. They should help protect the hands and be considerably less bulky than the remaining bandages.

The rest of Carl’s stitches – hands, feet, leg – came out in that same appointment on Wednesday. This was 3-7 days sooner than expected, so overall a good thing, but still somewhat nauseating. If any of you have had deep stitches taken out, you know what I’m talking about – it’s a bizarre feeling. Aside from that, there have been no bad effects and we still have full confidence in the doctors’ choices.

Carl’s eye appointment is early Friday, so we’ll see what that yields. His vision is still foggy enough that it’s hard to read, so he’s concerned, but by all accounts corneas are slow to heal, so even normal recovery may take a while. The ophthalmologists in Pittsburgh did not seem worried about long-term damage, so until we get this next opinion, I’m going with that.