Like Cinderella's Glass Slipper

It has been a battle trying to get this Santyl ointment that my surgeon prescribed. He prescribed it at my follow up appointment on Monday and here we are on Saturday finally getting it. I kept getting told it would be in at this pharmacy, then that pharmacy across town, then a different pharmacy up north only to go there and nothing, as it was a specialty ointment. Finally it was available at a pharmacy today only about 15 minutes away. I visited the website for the drug as the instructions were super vague, and it said to "debulk" as much as possible before applying 2mm of the ointment to the area of the "wound" after cleaning with saline. Then apply a sterile dressing. After being covered for 24 hours, gently clean the area with saline and apply again. It is important to note that this ointment is only for dead tissue. I did not realize I had dead tissue. The white area that had appeared below my belly button had healed while trying to get my hands on this ointment, and the white you see inside my belly button looks like fascia tissue. No seeping of any kind, no pus or any other drainage. I almost wonder if it is the stalk of my belly button. It is shiny and smooth and doesn't seem to change. The flash of the camera makes everything look much more red than it is in person. I guess we will try this out and see how it goes.

I had my 4 week post op appointment today. 2 separate photo shoots - one done on the tablet, and one done with the fancy camera. Same 5 poses as normal, just done twice. I have been feeling pretty great about most everything except for my belly button. I don't know whether to worry about it or not. I know fever, pus and a foul odor are worrisome, and I don't have any of those, but beyond that I don't know. I had not been wearing a silicone scar sheet that extended 1''/1.5'' below my belly button as there was still a yellowish scab there, but last night the scab fell off so I extended the sheet up to cover it. When I removed the sheet in the morning for the appointment there was a white spot on the incision line where the scab had been. It looked like maybe the incision was going to spit a stitch.
My surgeon took one look at it and said he was prescribing Santyl ointment to be applied daily until my next appointment where he might need to cut some tissue out. (!?!) He was in and out so quickly I didn't get to really ask any questions. The medical assistant said to keep it covered to avoid any bacteria getting in.
By the time I got home I had a text from my pharmacy stating that my prescription was only available at select locations and to call an 800 number for more information. The agent stated not to worry, it had already been processed and was only a $20 copay with my insurance. ??? Okay, I will go in the morning. The 9 hour round trip journey had taken a lot out of me. I needed a nap.

Chugging along, just shy of 3 weeks. Swelling has gone down quite a bit. I am much more comfortable moving around and sleeping. I just swapped my knee pillow for a shorter pillow, and I can sit upright for longer periods before I become uncomfortable. I am starting to push myself to be standing/walking/doing things for longer stints each day. I work 12.5 to 13 hour days for 3 days in a row, so I need to be good to go in a little over a month. Hopefully things get real easy real quick when the time comes. I'm still not completely upright without some effort. I don't know when I'm allowed to start stretching my abdominal muscles - I will have to ask at my next appointment at my 1 month followup. I am very afraid of harming the muscle repair. It's the one thing that meant the most to me about this surgery. It had been very difficult for me to not have core support over the years since the emergency surgery that left me with my muscles split apart. I had balance issues, urinary incontinence, painful hernias, weakness, problems I've never had in my life previously. I lift weights, and that has been difficult without proper core support. I work in a hospital, and transporting and lifting patients has been scary without a good core. I really want this to heal properly. I've been wearing the scar tape, but until all the scabs are completely gone it's not 100% doing it's job. But I keep reminding myself - no picking!