Almost ready for Round 2

It's been a month since my butterfly was zapped with the laser, and I'm nearly ready for round 2.  The last of the scab came off today, but it is still tender, red and a little swollen.  I've decided to wait two more weeks for my next session in order for it to heal completely.  I'm really happy with the results so far.  The yellow is no longer visible and the black lines have faded significantly.  There is still a lot of ink left though.  Hopefully, the next treatment will not be as bad as the first. 

Going through changes

‘All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind is part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter into another.’

— Anatole France

My butterfly tattoo has undergone quite the transformation the past few days.  It is no longer a swollen blistery mess, and the only time I experience pain is when I bump my ankle against something or accidentally get kicked (you know who you are).  I can see areas where the ink has faded, and am hopeful once the scab sloughs off there will be even less ink underneath.

Here are pictures from days 12 & 15:

Now, if I can only keep myself from scratching the inexhaustible itching!

Lake H20? Hell NO!

The 4^th of July holiday weekend was traumatic - for me and my butterfly.  Friday afternoon, I left work and headed to the lake for the long weekend.  Somehow, I managed to cut my toe on what I can only assume was a rusty fishing hook, locked my keys in the trunk with the high tech security enabled, got lost on a boat in the dark without lights, and could not even set off my own fireworks due to the dry conditions. 

My butterfly had it worse though.  Even though I tried to avoid the stagnant lake water Saturday (day 5) with my swollen, oozing ankle, it was impossible with 100ºF+ temperatures and blazing sun.  The third or fourth time I jumped in the water, all the skin from my blister peeled off exposing the tender skin underneath-ouch!  I washed it with warm soap and water every time I got out of the water and reapplied sunscreen to avoid infection and hyperpigmentation, but it was really uncomfortable. 

Yesterday (day 8), the swelling and redness were so bad that even the smallest step was painful.  I was certain I had infected the area with some flesh eating bacteria and I would have to have my leg amputated.  As it turned out, I was just overreacting as usual.  It’s just the beginning of the next phase – the scab.