Soon after regaining consciousness I was introduced to the worst pain that I have ever felt , and hopefully the worst I will ever feel in the remainder of my life.
I had said earlier that during my accident I was dragged along the road stuck between the lorry tire and the tar road. I had said about how the weight of the lorry crushed the organs in the left side of my torso and a bit of my chest. But what I hadn't said was about the damages to a major portion of my back.
As my body was dragged along the surface of the road initially majority of the top skin on my back was torn away. Anyone who has fallen on the road and grazed along know how much of a pain that can be. Most people would have such a scar on their knees or elbows. But the damage didn't stop there for me.
Under the crushing weight of the water lorry, the friction between the two surfaces increased the temperature to a very high degree. And without the top layer of skin to cover it, the damage was severe. Doctors compared the wound on my back to a burn rather than an abrasion.
Surprisingly the dermatologists involved decided that no surgery would be required and spared me the pain of plastic surgery, where some skin from my thigh would've been taken and grafted on to my back. But I was soon to find out, that that was the only pain that I was spared from.
The second incident I remember after I opened my eyes was pain, pure raw pain. The wound was kept dressed, and even though I lay on it, I felt little discomfort. But when it was time for my daily bed bath, it had to be changed. And unfortunately there wasn't an easy way to do it. The dressing simply had to be pulled out.
The dressing pad was about 70 % the size of my back. And it was stuck on to my back with the help of micropore tapes. Micropore tapes are like cello tapes, but they stick on in a more skin friendly manner than cello tapes.
So first things first, they had to remove the micropore tape. As each micropore was removed, the smaller hair follicles on my back would get pulled out. Ouch ! I would imagine that would be something people who wax their skin feel like. Painful, but it wasn't that bad. They had to turn me from side to side as they did this.
As my left rib cage had fractures, lying on my left side was quite a discomfort. But as I couldn't lie on my chest yet, this had to be done. Once they removed the micropores, it was time for the real pain.
The wound was still very raw that it would stick to the dressing. But what's gotta be done, should be done. They would pull the dressing out by force. Every time they did it I felt as if my skin was being torn away. Maybe that was just what happened. My skin was being torn away perhaps, again.
To ease my pain some saline water would be poured over my wound. The cool water would have a mild soothing effect. But nothing can perhaps fully cover the pain.
They say that shouting or swearing improves your pain tolerance. Unfortunately I couldn't do that either. For a majority of days when I was in the ICU I was under tracheostomy, and I couldn't utter a sound through my mouth. I would open my mouth and try to cry in pain, but there would be no sound. Only a few tears would escape my eyes.
In order to keep me from pulling out a few tubes by mistake I would be held in place by one nursing staff as another worked on my back. So no moving, no shouting, I just had to patiently suffer the pain. And I did just that, for about three weeks till the scar tissue started forming and the pain began to subside. Some days I was more patient, some days less. But either ways not a word could escape my lips.
The dressing became a routine activity. Morning and evening, twice a day on most days. Sometimes if there was a need it was also done a third time.
People sometimes look at me in this state, unable to walk and all, and they wonder how I could be so happy. Firstly, it is the hope that everything will be fine soon and that God will work a miracle in my life. But secondly, it is the fact that I'm no longer going through pain that I once had to go through. Tell me, wouldn't you be relieved, happy and grateful if God took away so much pain from your life ?
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