Izzy's scars

I worry that Izzy will hate her scars.  It can be hard to be different and I worry that some day in the future she will hate the fact that her zipper will peek out of the top of her shirt.  In the last few months, she has become aware that she is different, that few people have zippers and buttons like she does.  When she is comfortable with someone, she shows them her scars and then tries to lift their shirt so she can see if they have one, too :p  I find it cute--other people, not so much.  But they are nice to her and a few have even let her see that they have no scars (occasionally, she gets to see that there are scars--those make her so happy and excited!).  But there isn't much we can do about the scars--some fade, some don't.

If I can't control how her scars look, at least I can control how they feel :)  Our surgeon talked to us about scar massage and I read up on it before she had her surgery as well.  We have used Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula with Vitamin E Skin Therapy Oil on the boys when they get minor cuts and it has made little scars pretty much disappear so we thought it might make a good massage oil and perhaps get rid of some of the tiny scars where her stitches were around her central line and chest tubes were stitched into place.  She also had a tiny scar from the IV in her ankle.  Once we got the all clear to begin working with her scars, we started massage.  At first, she could only tolerate the slightest touch.  She liked having the oil rubbed on but only very very lightly.  As time went on, though, she wanted her massage to be a little harder and last a little longer.  So for each massage, I rub and press and work the scars in every direction for as long as she wants me to.

The best thing about the massages is how much she enjoys them :)  She will get the bottle of oil and bring it to me and ask for her "sahge" :)  I also noticed that the scars have softened and flattened a bit and when she moves, you can no longer see the skin "tugging" around the scar.  She is more comfortable and rarely rubs at her chest anymore. Plus the tiny scars from stitches and IVs have almost disappeared--when she is cold, they pop out but when they are flat, you can't even see them.  Its kind of weird but the boys think it is totally cool!  Her chest tube scars are faint now and hard to see--they have filled in, too, so she only has minor indents instead of the major indents of those first few months.

For us, doing the scar massage has been great :)  She loves it and it does seem to help with the condition of the scars--plus feeling them go from being hard and rigid to soft and pliable has been pretty neat.  Kinda like our own little science experiment ;-)

Disclaimer in case anyone wants to know:  I was not asked to write about this product.  I am not being paid to write about this product (although if Palmer's want to send me some free stuff, hey, I'm willing!  I'll even write more stuff about what they send me because I love this brand :p).  But I've been asked multiple times what we do for her scar so I thought I'd post in case anyone else is interested :)  And since I use a specific product, why not give you a name and a link?  Do I even need a disclaimer if I am just sharing something I like just because I like it?  If not, OH WELL, you got yourself one anyway ;)