Lance works for CityKidz - an organization committed to building resilience in Hamilton's inner city families. During Covid Restrictions, City Kidz has not been able to bus in children to the theatre for a meal and production on Saturdays - so they decided to take pop up programs to the doors of their kids! The production team and fun hosts accompany leaders who regularly do home visits throughout the year to provide a magic trick, a song, a game, and a story with a character building focus. Lance was on a route with two new volunteers leading the program with a few children who stepped outside November 7, 2020. He had just performed a magic trick talking about possiblities beyond what we can see or imagine. He had vaguely noticed a dog run out of a house nearby with children chasing him. But Lance was focussed - right up until the dog came from behind and tore open his hand. It was a warning nip, I think - Lance was too close to home. But all Lance knew was that a flap of skin and amount of blood meant a trip to the hospital.
Lance called me from the hospital where they were doing a very thorough job of wound cleaning before giving him two stitches and some steri-strips to hold the skin in place as it healed. All I saw was a very bandaged hand for several days. Lance had to shower one handed as he held the other hand above his head to keep it from getting wet. When we finally removed the bandage the wound in the picture was revealed.
So how do we care for a wound like this? 
I decided we had to clean away the dried blood to get a better look at the wound. So I put some Epsom Salts with a drop or two of Frankincense and Lavender - our skin loving essential oils - into a bowl with some water and let him soak for 5-10 minutes. Then I used a piece of sterile gauze to dab it dry and wipe around it to remove any last traces of dried blood.
Our favourite way to care for scratches, cuts and abrasions is to help the body heal with Helichrysum, Frankincense and Copaiba. I have two roller pre-made and ready for such a time as this! One with Helichrysum diluted with coconut oil - and the other with Frankincense and Copaiba combined for helping with swelling and cleaning. We applied these around the wound and then wrapped it back up. The doctor's office checked it to remove stitches on Day 7 but only one stitch was ready to come out. We were told to help dry it out more. So I changed from using the roller with coconut oil to just using a drop of Helichrysum directly on the cut, as eo's generally are drying to skin. Then we applied the Frankincense/ Copaiba roller on the swelling around the cut and left it open to the air for the night. We covered it only for work but removed it for rest periods.
A month later, the skin has totally reattached and regenerated! I love how the body can do that! Our ability to keep the area clean and support healthy tissue growth naturally has made everyday wounds so much less scary! I love having effective tools at my fingertips with my Essential Oil kit!
Did you know?
The reintroduction of essential oils into Modern Medicine first began during the late 19th and early 20th century. Aromatic ointments and essences were used in civilian and military hospitals in WW1. Jean Valnet, a medical doctor practicing in Paris exhausted his supply of antibiotics while stationed in China during WW2. He began using essential oils on patients suffering battlefield injuries. To his surprise, the essential oils showed a powerful effect in fighting infection. The work of studying antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal and antiseptic properties in essential oils was expanded in France by Dr. Valnet's students. In 1990, Dr. Daniel Penoel, a medical doctor collaborated with Pierre Franchomme, a biochemist to co-author the first reference book, "l'aromatherapie exactement" that cataloged the various medical properties of over 270 essential oils and how to use them.
Nice to know that even medical doctors in crazy situations have found essential oils to be a great help in encouraging the body's ability to heal!
I'm just happy to have Lance whole and healthy again!
Oh... and the dog? He will stay properly leashed and a Beware of Dog warning is posted on the door as the owners work to keep her under control.
Lance was just thankful the dog went after him and not any of the children or volunteers that day. He was most bummed about missing a hockey game and a golf game with his sons while the weather was fine! But he is a resilient guy who always puts a positive spin on the crazy happenings of life! I'm so glad he's my partner!
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