Thank you for sharing your story.  I did make a mistake and a typo.  The baby 
is 3 weeks old not 6.  Not that it makes any difference at this point.  Mom is 
in so much pain today.  I went with her to the Surgeon"s office to have her 
dressing changed.  What I saw was pretty eye opening on how our bodies 
heal and the trauma one goes thru with this procedure.  The MD was not very 
gentle to be mild.... I took the outer dressing off as I had guessed correctly 
he would probably go quick with the tape.  We waited an hour before being 
seen.  Ok next things next...he pulled out the dressing in the wound.  It was 
deeper than I thought.  You could easily put your longest finger in, when he 
repacked it his finger couldn't touch the bottom so he had to us a Q stick to 
get the material all the way down.  The skin is healing nicely, and he said to 
only take the remaining anitbiotics (3 days worth) that she should shower and 
allow water to freely run into the open flap of skin or use the baby's bulb 
suction to pull water out.  Nothing needs to be sterilized.  He empasized that 
point.  "you are young and healthy and the only reason we are putting a 
dressing over the site is to protect your clothes".  He felt very stongly in the 
body's ability to heal itself, when allowed to.  He was able to remove about 1 
and 1/2 cups of pus. (sorry) That is how much was infected.  The wound 
needs to be left open and close from the bottom up.  Like a petal opening on 
a flower, but reverse it.  If you close the top you would end up with another 
abcess.  So he showed Dad how to change the dressing, and is expecting he 
and she together to do this.  I told mom that I would support her decision 
whatever it is to either put baby to breast or let breast involute.  I am not 
her. I cannot sway her in one direction or the other.  I saw how painful it is.  I 
hope tomorrow it is a bit better for her.  She wasn't engorged on that side 
thank goodness, and the baby has been fed and satisfied with the unaffected 
breast.  Thank you again for sharing your story, because she did ask me today 
if relactation was possible.

Best,
Robin

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