I Hate Dialysis Message Board
Dialysis Discussion => Dialysis: General Discussion => Topic started by: okarol on July 15, 2007, 06:31:29 PM
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“Scars are tattoos with better stories.”
Of course dialysis and transplant patients have scars. What have you got?
What about other scars? Any stories to share?
My scars aren't too interesting. When I was five years old I tripped over a scooter and split my forehead/eyebrow - had stitches - scar is on my right eyebrow. Also have numerous knee and elbow scars from skateboarding as a teen. When I was 19 I had a waterskiing accident and damaged my right middle finger and nail. Are you getting the message that I am a klutz???
;)
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Scars - makes me smile. Sick eh? Way before Lethal Weapon, my ex-boyfriend & I used to catalog our scars.
I have a few - a sign of a life well lived:
My hands: A bike accident aged 6 - I protected my face at the expense of my hands.
A small red spot on my right pinkie finger where I played with matches as a child. (great memories)
My upper lip - dog bite aged 7, since repaired.
My right leg - slip & fall on ice, 8 stitches and some nerve loss - still have the scar.
My tummy - surgery.
My face - (lower orbit & right eye brow - skiing accident) since repaired (slight scarring). Made me feel like such an athlete!
My left arm - fistula surgery. Yup, you all have those too!
Finally: my chest, two scars I've named "Ariel" after the nurse who went on vacation for 10 weeks, and since he is the only person who can stick me, I had to get a perm cath. ( I am now learning to self cannulate and we are establishing button holes)
My tattoo - well, my classmates at NYU voted me least likely, so when the time came, I put my ankle there and said do it. It was photographed for posterity. Now I wish I had something cooler....
That is the history of my scars.... I love them all. And no, I don't look like Frankenstein!
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Okay, try to get them in order - the scars that I know about anyway LOL
Palm of Right Hand - where I scraped it against a car when I was little
Left Hand - Grabbed a Knife that my Dad left out again when I was little
Knee- Part of Patella chipped off and removed in 1988
Perma Cath Scars- from you know what add up to about 5 all up
Fistula- 2 Beautiful Scars, one in elbow crease the other upper left arm
Ectopic Pregnancy- may as well have had a caesar LOL
Parathyroidectomy- Scar on neck
and next in line Transplant Scar and will wear as I do the others with pride, hey if they weren't there would I be here, and if a tree falls in a forest, hey you get the drift .............LOL
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Hmmm,
Left knee-Bike accident when I hit a patch of ice when I lived in Canada
left arm-Failed fistula on forearm, and graft on upper arm.
Chest/neck-one unsuccessful neck catheter, and two chest catheters.
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My husband has the coolest scars-
he has one from breastbone to 'bikini line' from bike wreck where he lost first kidney
both shoulders have a 4 inch slice from respective surgeries
scars on his back where he fell out of a tree onto a fence as a boy
scar on left middle finger where he almost cut it off with his moms butcher knife
star-shaped scar the size of an oarnge on his right hip from being blasted with a peice of heavy equipment
slice under his bottom lip from being hit in the face with a tire-bar (it slipped)
scar near his eye where a crowbar slipped at work
right big toe dropped an ax on it
bucket handle scar across abdomen from last years nephrectomy
4 inch slice plus two dot scars from gallbladder removal
catheter scar upper chest
four scars from building and fixing his fistula
missing the end of his thumb from a grinder
missing the end of his left index finger from a planer (last month)
both forearms have hundreds and hundreds of small scars from his profession-
we always said -a day he didn't bleed- he didn't work ;D
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Geez I do not know where to start... This may take a while....
Neck for parathyroid surgery
Left arm has railroad tracks below the elbow from graft redo surgeries.
A scar above the elbow and below the left arm pit for graft srugery and one redo.
Two scars on both sides of the chest for catheter placement.
Three long ass scars down the belly- one for urostomy, two for c-sections almost on top of each other.
Not done yet...dialysis calls me.
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Several scars where I have had moles removed (too many to count!)
Fistula scar (and the lumpy, bumpies that go with it)
C-section scar that brought my kids into the world
My beautiful kidney transplant scar
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Okay I am back to finish...
My left upper arm has bumps all over the graft site. Scares some people.
I had bladder surgery at two and ten so scars under the belly.
Also two small catheter scars in the bladder area, one high, one lower for some kind of test they did.
I put a nice scar on my knee falling into a pothole as a teenager.
Dropped a rock on my foot as a kid, have a faint scar there.
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This may take awhile...
above the right eye, learning to walk, walked into the corner of a piece of furniture
right arm, wrist and crook of elbow for fistula placement (which was never used, since I did PD)
right knee, riding a horse in a ring and he decided to rub my leg on the twine circling the ring
right leg, removing a mole
left arm, neck, both ankles various cut-downs when I was an infant, trying to get venous access
"smiley face" on my abdomen where two transplants and c-section all come together
tubal ligation at belly button
various on abdomen from PD cath placement and removal in days before laproscopy
chest, two permcaths placed & removed
I think that's it...
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Lets see.....
2 weeks old had left kidney removed...
5 or 6 fell off rocking chair and split my chin open...
at 16, 3 failed fistula attempts on lower left arm...
about 5 neck catheter scars...
18 yrs old, helping a friend move, fell down stairs and tore tendons in both knees, nice long scar on right knee....
21, parathyroidectomy
25, pd cath removed, had complecations, doc went back in, now i have a long deep scar, never filled out...
25, another fistula attempt on lower left arm, failed, had 4 declots on it and then another attempt in bend of elbow... so 5 fistula attempts in lower left arm...and 8 scars to prove it all, now that looks like i was pieced together...frankenstein or what...
25, successful fistula in right arm, had revision-brought closer to surface, then fistula comes apart and bathroom fills with blood, doc saved me and fistula and its worked for the past 2 yrs. now...
i think thats it... ;D
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Ok here it goes...
- - My Permacath Scar from having to start dialysis sooner than everyone thought.
- A scar from my fistula operation on my lower arm.
- And a little scar on my lower leg from doing.... ummmmm hmm well i don't think i should say on here. :-X ;) ;D
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Ok here it goes...
- - My Permacath Scar from having to start dialysis sooner than everyone thought.
- A scar from my fistula operation on my lower arm.
- And a little scar on my lower leg from doing.... ummmmm hmm well i don't think i should say on here. :-X ;) ;D
holy cow- you can get a scar from "it"? Wow I must be doing it all wrong!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Ok here it goes...
- - My Permacath Scar from having to start dialysis sooner than everyone thought.
- A scar from my fistula operation on my lower arm.
- And a little scar on my lower leg from doing.... ummmmm hmm well i don't think i should say on here. :-X ;) ;D
holy cow- you can get a scar from "it"? Wow I must be doing it all wrong!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No, i think ur doing it right glitter. amanda is doing it wrong. you shouldn't press so hard, its not neccesary to press so hard if u have a sharp razor. ;) glide baby, glide....... :rofl;
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No Glitter and tubes you are both wrong! Its about being at the wrong place at the wrong time!...... :lol; :-X Thats all i'm saying!!!
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If the FBI wanted to profile the members of this site we sure are giving them enough information to do a complete job.
I have a few scars here and there. Just above my right knee is a nasty slash that came from a broken Coke bottle at the age of 4. Just below my left knee are a couple of smaller scars that were the result of being cut in a farm pond while rowing around in little plastic boats and trying to sink each other at age 10. I still don't know what was in the pond that made those cuts.
My face has a few nearly invisible thin vertical scars that are the result of going under a chain link fence on a sled as a kid.
I've got a long thin scar from two fistula surgeries on my left arm, a little one in the upper chest where my Tessio catheters for dialysis were, and my favorite is my transplant scar which is barely visible in the area where the new kidney went.
Please doctor....no more!
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No Glitter and tubes you are both wrong! Its about being at the wrong place at the wrong time!...... :lol; :-X Thats all i'm saying!!!
Placement is everything...
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Wow this is a fun thread!
3yrs old - 4" scar on right palm from falling on a rusty pipe
5 yr old- 1" scar on right eyebrow, fell on a pile of bricks
7 yr old - scar on right knee, horrible skating accident
26 yr old - 1" scar on left arm and tiny scar on chin from dog bite
30 yr old - several small scars on left hand for another dog bite
34 yr. old - several small scars and a funky bellybutton from PD cath surgery
21 to 35 yr. several small scars all over hands and arms from various cat scratches, dog scratches etc...
24 yrs old- tattoo of my dog Lucus on right calf
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Some people here are highly decorated!
Me: Long scar on my left leg from stitches as an infant.
Small scar on my ankle from the cast they put on when I kept spitting my stitches.
Many, many little klutz-scars: from knives slipping, grease spattering, tripping over invisible objects, etc. Ouch!
Laproscopic nephrectomy scars: three little ones for the instruments and one where the kidney came out.
Parathyroidectomy scar.
Hoping to get the transplant scar before the PD catheter scar.
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I only have scars - no tattoos.
1" scar on left knee from a sharp license plate. Sat on bumper of car at 6 yrs. old and turned - plate cut a big gash and I had to have stitches.
Small scar under left eye from falling and hitting a doorknob. Drunk at 18 yrs. old. ::) It blends in with my wrinkles now. ;D
Numerous scars on abdomen-
Large scar all the way across abdomen for colostomy and 2 bowel resections.
Big ole gall bladder removal scar.
Large scar from above belly button down to pelvic bone - bladder ops. (My belly button doesn't look like a belly button since it has been cut through both ways. ;D )
Another scar for my urostomy.
Two round scars where 1. - urostomy was supposed to go but wouldn't reach. 2. Abdominal fistula was supposed to go but wouldn't reach.
Long scar on left arm from under arm to past the crease in elbow- failed fistula attempt.
3 small scars on right thigh - my working graft.
I think that's it!
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I don't think I have many but here they are...
Right nostral has a tiny scar, my cousin tried to have me when we were 4
Inch long scar on the inside of my right leg, trying to jump a barb wire fence...
Permacath Scar
And hopfully soon a kidney transplant scar :)
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I only have one but its ugly enough to count as about 7. I had my thyroid and a tumor removed when I was 19 -- the first scar was really nasty so I had reconstructive on it because well, it's the first thing people were seeing, but the reconstructive scar keloided over too - so it's still ugly - but I am okay with that now...
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AlohaBeth's scar makes for a great story. It truly looks like someone tried to slash her throat. Most thryoid surgeries leave a small, thin line maybe 3 inches long. Her's is about 7 inches long ----- it looks so much better now than the first year.
Beth, you forgot to tell them about the tattoos! They are bigger than your scar!
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Beth, you forgot to tell them about the tattoos! They are bigger than your scar!
You are just so hilarious.
I had a few great stories that I would tell people when they asked about my scar, I was in a bar fight, I took down a terrorist -- you know - the usual crazy stories! ;)
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I keep telling my husband when people ask what happened to his leg to tell them "Shark bite".
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I have a scar across my left cheek from a automobile accident at 17. I had plastic surgery twice on it, but the scar is still visible. Funny thing no one ever asks me what happened.
I have a scarr on my left arm also, from the fistula.
Mimi
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Tattoos telling the story of your transplant are pretty cool as well.... :2thumbsup;
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Tattoos telling the story of your transplant are pretty cool as well.... :2thumbsup;
Hey - you've got the scar AND the tattoo - nice! :thumbup;
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Only just saw this thread. As a child, my knees were in constant danger, and so a have a few there. Once at my sister's home we were playing with sticks (can't remember why) and mine hit her chandelier and and one of the crystals broke of and chopped my right index finger at the joint. I was about 12 at the time.
At 10 I had an appendectomy, so that scar is there.
Then my hysterectomy, gallstones operation and hernia operation have given me a scar that looks like the old cornflakes single serving boxes which had a perforation so you could eat it out of the box, like a giant I!
Now my failed graft between my elbow and hand, and my working graft between my elbow and shoulder are my dialysis badges.
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First pic - transplant scar and I think you can see the PD scar on the right
Second pic - transplant tattoo
Third pic - just getting addicted to tattoos
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Big, round pit in my right thigh form a mosquito bite that got infected when I was little (it was so deep, there was actually a hole in to my leg until it healed!).
Small line from a cyst removal on my lower back along the spine.
One on the tip of my pointer finger on my right hand where I accidentally sliced the tip off with an exacto knife when I was 18.
Numerous small scars from when I worked at the vet with birds, reptiles, wildlife, exotic animals and cats and dogs. They are barley noticeable tho.
Tattoos:
Bucky Katt from 'Get Fuzzy' on my shoulder.
A heart and vines on my lower back.
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Tattoos:
Bucky Katt from 'Get Fuzzy' on my shoulder.
A heart and vines on my lower back.
I love Bucky! He's such a smart-a**.
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That's why I got it! ;D
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For Traci - I know this photo is posted somewhere else but I cannot find it so posting again. This is Jenna's transplant incision scar at 6 months post-op.
They used surgical glue so she never had any staples or drainage, and there was no bandage or dressing afterward. It was really amazing how quickly it healed.
Two years later it's practically invisible, maybe she will let me take a photo later.
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If the FBI wanted to profile the members of this site we sure are giving them enough information to do a complete job.
That made me laugh!
I have many scars... the most interesting is the 14 inch "v" scar from my radical nephrectomy. I always point to it and say "land shark" when people ask or stare.
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I have to comeback to this topic to post my answer and photo of scar or scars.
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:bump;
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I now have two seven inch diagonal scars that start just under my pelvic bone and meet in a V. Then right in the middle, I have a three inch scar from an appendectomy. Together they make a sort of W (the initial of my surname) or a huge arrow pointing straight at my crotch. It all depends which explanation I prefer on a given day. :rofl;
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:rofl; :rofl; Monrein, your second explanation literally had me on the floor laughing!!
I'll have to get a picture of my graft scar to post. Oh yeah, and from my chest cath.
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:rofl; funny image!
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Starting in my left arm, I have one on my hand for a rusted door falling on and in my hand, at my wrist for my fistula then one at the bend of my elbow for my graft and one in my underarm for the graft, then on my right arm, a scar on my fore finger and wrist (hand thru a windshield in autobody class). On my head, I have one in the back of my head on the right side, one below my left eye and one in my eyebrow on the same eye, but diferent occassions and ages, and a scar near my lower lip on the left side from a chain sproket going thru (forgot how that happened while working on my bike). Next that I know of is 3 in my lef clavicle area for catherters for dialysis followed by a midline scar 5 inches above the navel, around, and then down midline another 5 or 7 inches. Going down my left leg I have some scars on my knee doing stupid stuff on a bicycle as a kid and then one on my left foot on the medial side. I also have a burn scar on my left foot from hot oil. There might be some more on my neck from catherters from transplant, but can't see them, but hurt like a *** when they put them in while I was awake.
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Geez Chris. You were quite the accident prone kid, weren't you? ;D
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Geez Chris. You were quite the accident prone kid, weren't you? ;D
Um, most happened later in life though :urcrazy;
Guess I should have put them in chronological order :rofl;
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let me just say 1st of all this site is awesome! lol, ok here is my list.
12 weeks-collapsed lung
16 weeks-skin graf(wrong meds in iv in my hand caused vein to bust)
2yrs old-kidneys failed, got 1st kidney from my mom with in 6 weeks, lasted 17 and half years, developed renal cell cancer in 11/03,started dialysis
feb 04'-stroke due to high blood pressure bleeding in the brain.
april 06'-left lower lung lobectomy due to trapt mucus in my lung causing re occuring pneumonia
oh and also all the lil surgieries for shunts, and catheters.
11/06-2nd kidney transplant.
then 11/07-broke both hips in a motorcycle wreck and was lucky cuz wasnt wearing a helmet and didnt hurt my head at all left hospital with a MARSA staf infection had to go back and was in hospital for 4 MONTHS!!.
but now im all better trying to live each day ya know, I'm young I'm 24 I've been through alot but hey it could be worse right. I love the scar talley ups on here I think I have about 37 scars, long and short HA!
Thank you for reading my book!
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Thank you for reading my book!
:rofl;
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On my nose ridge between my eyes from falling onto a broken drain pipe when I was little.
One on my right index finger from high school when a light (as in concert/theatre type light) fell onto me when I was standing on the stage trying my hardest to be a groupie with a visiting band. That'll teach me...
Five (or six) holes at the sides of my lungs from various attempts to drain fluid.
Left and right neck from dialysis thingies, and upper right chest from the same.
Best one is a big scar at the back on the right from a decortisation of my lung. I always say I'm an angel and they had to remove one of my wings. That's what it looks like.
Two scars from getting catheter placed, then fixed.
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One the inside on my right arm almost at my elbow I have a nasty burn scar. When I was about 5 I was helping my grandmother wash some cloths. She had one of those old washing machine that had the rubber rollers on it to ring out the cloths. Well she went inside to get the phone and told me not to do anymore until she got back. Well I decided I was gonna try one by myself. So I somehow get my arm stuck in the dam rollers! I am screaming and what not. And by the time my grandma got my arm out it was all burned up. Below is a picture of a washer like the one she had.
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:bump;
This is gonna be fun. haha
Perma cath scars.
Long scar on my right arm, from the elbow crease to my armpit. It was to move the fistula up to the surface.
Another scar on my right arm, where they made the fistula in the first place.
Left arm-first fistula that failed, scar.
On my stomach-I had some bladder stuff done. So I have a big scar there, it's like a circle thing.
On my back-some surgery when I was like 5? I don't even know what it's from! All I know is that they didn't' ask my parents permission, and they just took me in and did it. And the didn't even need to do it! And that got infected, so they had to stuff it, and pull the stuff out. Yeah. My parents needed to hold me down because I was kicking and screaming, obviously! The had to change the gauze like 4 times a day for a couple weeks.
On my ankle-I was walking my dog, and I had one of those retractable leashes, and he went around me, and the rope part of the leash wrapped around my ankle. I got rope burn and a scar around my ankle.
On my knee, I poked myself with a pencil on accident when I was little, and there a little scar there! haha
I think that's it. I probably forgot some!
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Sarah had scars. See if I can remember:
1 scar on upper chest from subclavian access
2 scar on eye lashes from chicken poxes....right eye missing a few lashes.....that one always got the Dr's. Always asked her what happened.
3 scars from two kidney transplants
4 scar from parathyroid surgery
5 scar on left leg from surgery, broken bone and an added bonus a sore developed on her heel while she had the cast
6 fistula with many bumps on it
There probley was more but me being 47 going on 48 my memory isn't as good as it used to be :)...... but these are the tattoes of Sarah's life.
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There's a little story behind the scar on my right wrist (not my fistula wrist).
I had just got out of my bath and whilst drying off I practiced a speech I was to make the next day. I was gesticulating in front of the bathroom mirror and gashed my wrist on it. Lots of blood, so my wife called for an ambulance. The ambulance guys were writing their report and wanted to know what I was doing when the accident occurred. "Gesticulating" I said. I was naked apart from my dressing gown and I could see from the expression on the ambulance guy's face that he didn't know what "gesticulating" meant and was forming some curious idea in his mind...
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:bump;
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OK....going to get a tattoo Friday I think. I have more scars over 25 yrs of dialysis of all types and 2 kidney transplants as well of the removal of all of th3 other kidneys plus many other surgeries for other reasons!!!
I am a bit worried about the pain but come on...I am a kidney patient...
Im thinking of a cursive L with a donor awareness ribbon in ther somewhere put on my left chest...well???
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:pics; If you get a tattoo please post it in the thread "Tattoos" http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php?topic=859.0