Something unexpected #
About a year after our son’s final surgery, we noticed a few small black dots on the skin around the surgical site. After everything we had been through, seeing something unexpected immediately caught our attention.
We took photos and sent them to Dr. Snodgrass. He quickly replied and explained that what we were seeing was called a suture tract: Sometimes, absorbable stitches take longer to dissolve than the skin takes to heal. As the skin closes over the stitches, tiny tunnels can form underneath the surface. Over time, those small tunnels can collect debris, which appears as little black dots. The solution, he explained, was straightforward. He could open the tiny tracts during a short office visit.
One more flight #
We decided to use one of our family vacations to fly back to Texas. Not because it was an emergency. Simply because we wanted to take care of it. That alone reminded me how much had changed. A few years earlier, every trip to Texas had felt overwhelming. This one felt almost routine.
A few quiet minutes #
At the clinic office, a local anesthetic was applied to the area. A few minutes later after the medicine taking effect, the procedure began. It was over almost as quickly as it started. Our son stayed focused on his cartoons the entire time. He didn’t cry. There were only a drop or two of blood. Then it was done.
Looking back #
As we walked out of the clinic that day, I realized how different this visit had been from our first trip to Texas. The surgeon was the same. Many of the nurses are the same. The only thing that had really changed was us.
Sometimes healing happens so gradually that you don’t notice it until you stop and look back.
That day, I realized that our family had been healing too.
Take a deep breath. One day at a time.
