Oh Lily what a day!! I'm glad you got to be assessed by a doctor and I hope you heal well. I do hope you carry your cell phone with you on your hikes so if for some reason you can't get back to the car in the future, that you can call for help.

Ohhh Lily I hope you heal well. Agree with Lucille about the cell phone. This is my big fear about hiking.( I will only walk solo on paved trails for that reason).

How unfortunate! Those long waits are so brutal too. Perhaps you could switch to showers for a few days and use plastic wrap and sturdy tape to cover the wounded area?

I'm sorry this happened, but you sound like you've taken it in stride (no pun intended). I love hearing about your hikes and am jealous of your having such a great trail so close. I hope you are back on it soon and walking around those obstacles instead of over.

Sorry to hear this. I love hiking but getting hurt on the trail is NOT fun. This is from one who broke her ankle hiking alone and had to walk 2 miles out of the woods on it.

I'd rethink the bath thing for awhile as I don't see how you'll get in and out of the tub without getting the leg wet and you don't want to do that.

I'd go with sponge baths until it's better. It's not like it's forever. And I've known people with wound healing issues which can go on a long time so you just don't want to go there.

My neighbor used tight wrappings of saran wrap sealed with waterproof bandage tape to keep a leg wound dry in the shower. It might be difficult to keep it dry if submerged in bath water, perhaps settle for a shower for a few days.

I did something a bit similar a few years ago. Skip the baths. A shower at most, with the bandaged area wrapped in Saran wrap or a clean plastic garbage bag. Keep it dry, change the dressing as directed, and keep the leg elevated when sitting. And if there's inflammation, head back to the doctor/hospital. I assume you got a tetanus shot.

I would recommend using a shower chair where you can keep your leg out of the wet area while showering to protect it.

Accidents can happen to anyone, young or not so young. Everyone's skin thins with age as we have less collegian so don't blame it on the sun.

I agree with happy 2b....please be so very careful. Also sending you good vibes

and healing pleas and a hug for what you have had to endure. Hugs.

Here’s how I’ve done it. A produce bag, three rubber bands (asparagus works well) and some paper towels.

1) poke a hole in the bottom of the bag, step in and push through past the bandage. With the bag still pulled up, put a rubber band around it.

2) wrap paper towel around your leg, secure with a second rubber band between the first band and the bandage.

3) pull the bag down and secure the bottom with a third rubber band.

Shower don’t bathe. In the unlikely event a drop of water gets in, it’ll be absorbed before it hits the wound.

Ouch! I hope it doesn't hurt too much. Take care, don't take too much risk while you heal.

Try to stay off it as much as possible.

That sounds awful. Hope it heals well with no problems. I have to be careful around here because if I get hurt, I am on my own. My neighbor works and her husband manages ranches so he is gone most of the time too.

What a day, Lily! With such a nasty wound, thank heavens you kept your wits about you. You didn't mention pain, so I hope that means you don't have much. And I hope it heals quickly!

Sorry to hear about that but I'm glad you were able to make it back t the car. I don't know if this would help but they sell waterproof bags for legs to use in the shower. My son used one when he had a cast on his ankle.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=waterproof+shower+leg+cover&gclid=CjwKCAjwhMmEBhBwEiwAXwFoEe0_vi0BgUPsyjJ-yLsMzjzpM5-Y2lgGyv7wWhX7s2iMS3mApUnOsBoCH1gQAvD_BwE&hvadid=410085988787&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9003800&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=4708786274294153476&hvtargid=kwd-317212350476&hydadcr=21884_11242043&tag=googhydr-20&ref=pd_sl_9qav1tu01b_e

Not a good day Lily. Accidents are just part of life...it's how you handle them. You did great! Sorry you had to go through all that. Hope you heal quickly.

Oh gosh, how awful, especially having to hike back to the car with a bleeding leg. Well, all of it. I’m glad your daughter is nearby and could help. As we age, being close to family helps so much. I hope you heal well and uneventfully.

Wow Lily. How horrific. I agree with the others that a sponge bath would be best in your case.

I’m so sorry, Lily. You seem to have handled things well, despite the obvious severity of your injury. You must have been exhausted at the end of the day. Our thinning skin is awful, is t it. I too have always been tan from working in the yard and natural color and it really is awful to see what a minor scrape can do to my hands and arms.

Yes, you should just stick to showers for a while. You can buy waterproof tape which works pretty well over a sterile bandage, but I would recommend wrapping with plastic wrap and securing it with tape also. You will figure out what works best for you. Walking will help with the blood flow and help with healing. Just keep doing whatever the doctor recommends for the wound.

Oh my!! Hope you heal without any complications!!

Healing thoughts, Lily. Hope it doesn't hurt too much!

Ouch! I am so sorry you went through this. I hope your leg heals quickly.

What a nightmare of a day you had. You are obviously a person who takes care of herself so it's all the more maddening. Hope it heals well and quickly.

You must be exhausted! Please cut yourself a bit of slack and take care of your wound before you start back 'full ahead'. (Sorry about the mixed metaphores. LOL)

Wondering if the reason for bath's is personal or no shower available. Even with a shower if it is not one of those hand held ones perhaps replacing the showerhead at least on a temporary basis may be something to think about. The hand held ones can be directed to make bathing easier when parts should not be wet. Just get one with a long tube.

I wonder if your own doctor wouldn't agree to quick showers, pat dry, after a day or two. While I wouldn't suggest soaking in a tub, when I had orthopedic surgery several years ago they had me in the hospital swimming pool doing water PT with no wound covering on day three, incision, stitches and all. And then showering at home with steri strips in place.

I'm so sorry you had such a day. I hope you're getting some rest today. And how I wish there was some way to speed up those lengthy urgent care and emergency visits - they can be almost health compromising in themselves. Our local hospital has the reputation for being just about the worst.

I didn’t pick up on baths being the regular routine, read quickly and thought it was a recommendation. Could probably fashion some sort of shelf to fit somewhat securely across the top of the tub. Towel around a board, etc. Might be a little tricky to navigate if it’s a left hand tub but a right hand should work pretty easily.

Glad you're okay.
I agree with others about switching to showers until your leg heals. Easier to keep dry wrapped in plastic.

Wow, in an instant, a pleasant walk gets ugly. So after all that waiting around, you ended up not getting stitches.

I guess you can be grateful it wasn't worse. No broken bones, no twisted ligaments.

Sorry to hear this. I hope you heal quickly and completely lily.

What an ordeal, glad to read you'll be okay. When husband had foot surgery we just used a couple regular plastic bags taped around his ankle. Once it was healed enough to clean, we combined shower time with bandage changes. Worked out fine. Since it sounds like your injury is higher on the leg, you could use kitchen trash bags and tape those. But you can also order shower boots/leg covers online, they are pretty much guaranteed to keep the leg and the bandage dry and protected while showering.

Sorry this happened to you!
Long time surgery postop nurse here- I’d advise you to follow the instructions you received. Keep it dry, sponge bathe, don’t remove or change the dressing unless you were instructed to do so. Don’t risk getting it wet. Keep your leg elevated (area of wound above the level of your heart) for a few days, as much as possible.
Call the doctor if you see signs of infection, such as fever, increasing redness, swelling, or pain.
All the best to you! Heal fast, and happy hiking.
If you have questions about wound care before your next appointment, call your doctor’s office.

24 hours later and I'm doing okay. I didn't go back to the trail today because I have no way of knowing if the tree was removed. Otherwise, it's not enough miles for me to drive out to it. The AT runs all thru this area and we go to the closest point to our house but it does involve a 13-minute car ride. So I walked my town instead today. I've been taking my antibiotics and wrote to my doctor on my portal. He said to see him in 5-7 days so I will on Tuesday. I have a sock over it and see a little oozing thru the bandages but not red blood. It's so gross I don't want to see it. I might remove the other bandage but I won't touch the steri strips even though the nurse gave me some. The oddest thing is my arm hurts like heck from the tetanus shot and I never felt either Moderna shot go in my arm and no soreness after. I'm not sure I needed a tetanus.

You really need to rest the leg and keep it elevated. Give it time to heal. And a tetanus shot is standard safety procedure for any puncture wound.

PLEASE rest and keep your leg elevated, unless your doctor specifically told you to walk as much as you like.
Please don’t remove the bandage unless the doctor specifically instructed you to do so. Removing it might increase the risk of infection- again, follow instructions given to you. If the bandage is soaked, it can be safely reinforced.
Yes, you needed a tetanus shot.

China, I respect your instructions because of your background and I am a person who follows the rules. My instructions from the hospital Tuesday night where they washed the wound thoroughly with a saline solution twice. This was also done at Urgent care earlier. Report said.."It was very clean and dry. You may reinforce the steri strips as needed. This will take several weeks to heal completely. You may resume hiking and walking as long as the area is protected and dry. Tetanus was given. Begin Keflex for prevention of infection. ( so far I have taken 7. ) Motrin Tylenol for pain as needed." ( I have taken none) I have kept the wound completely dry and have not touched it. I take a bath backward in the tub with my leg encased in a plastic bag hanging over the side of the tub. My arm finally doesn't hurt and the leg aches. I can't tell if it's swollen because it's tightly wrapped by the nurse practitioner. I see my regular doc on Tuesday. There is no sign of any more oozing. Thanks so much for your input. I appreciate it.

Infection is often caused by organisms on the skin. We generally advise to remove and replace with a new clean dressing daily, to both visually check for signs of infection and to remove any drainage that may be accumulating on the dressing. Steri-strips can get wet after 48 hours. Keeping a contaminated dressing in place creates an ideal warm, moist environment for pathogens.

I communicated with my primary doc thru my portal and he said the reason given for the feet up is for sutures and since I had steri strips, walking is okay. He said when I asked that it was up to me if I wanted a nurse to change the bandage. My daughter said she would. It isn't an ace but a thick layer of gauze. There was some leakage yesterday but none today.