thin skin

[rocmg]

dear all... my mum had to get blood work done yesterday and i was shocked to see the condition of my mum's arm today. it is very bruised and swollen, and when mum ripped off the elastopast, she tore a little of her skin from the stickiness.

when she showed me her arm tonight i was upset beyond belief.

is thin skin a product of this bastard disease, that even ripping off a plaster can cause so much damage? and do veins and skin tend to look more battered and bruised than would a healthy persons skin after letting blood?

thanks.

 

[joelc]

When your arms atrophy it is harder to find a vein, so there can be more bruising. Skin does not normally deteriorate.

 

[thelma313]

rocmg, I am so sorry that you got so upset. When my Dad got his feeding tube, the nurse had trouble finding a vein in his arm to put the IV in and that upset me too. Please know that you and your sweet Mum are often in my thoughts. I know that is not a consolation but I really sympathize with what you are going through and I really wish none of our loving parents, or husbands, or wives, or siblings, or friends had this "bastard disease." (well put)

Be well.

 

[rocmg]

aw, thanks thelma. you're very kind.

this thing is just so unfair. most of the time i try to stay calm and collected, but when i see things like that it makes me physically ill. i wish those scientists would hurry this whole cure thing up a little...

positive vibes to you and yours!


and thanks to joel for your comment also. i read somewhere that thyroid trouble can cause thin skin, so perhaps that has something to do with it.

 

[BarryG]

I had the same experience at the hospital for my peg tube. I had three different nurses try to put in an IV needle before they could find a vein. It was painful for me and I felt badly for them because they were trying so hard to help me but my skinny body wasn't cooperating. I think that this is another reason to have the tube put in well before you need it, I had lost so much weight and was dehydrated that even finding a vein was hard. I think that probably the same goes for skin tearing, the general malnutrion and dehydration that makes a peg tube necessary deteriorates all of the organs in the body including the skin.

 

[thelma313]

rocmg, thanks for the positive vibes! I really know how you feel. It's so incredible how parallel we are through our experiences. I also try to stay calm and collected and then I have moments when I am so angry and upset that my Dad is having to live through this! It enrages me and I too wish those scientists would hurry up and find a cure.

Barry you are so much like my Dad. He was also feeling bad for the nurses trying to find his vein. You guys are our heroes. I hope you know that!

Wow, this disease really is a test in courage. I am in awe of PALS like you Joel and Barry and rocmg's Mum and my Dad who face these challenges every day but are determined not to let ALS bring you down. As a family member looking on and trying to be as supportive as is humanly possible I must tell you that I feel helpless and outraged at the unfairness of it all. At the same time I am in awe of the outpouring of love in my family because of my Dad's condition. It's such a big mixed bag of emotions!