First - fair warning some of the photos below you may find gross. If scars, surgery, etc makes you squeamish, stop now. By the way his grandmother requested the photos.
Some history - Allen broke his arm (compound fracture of right forearm bones) doing parkour (click link for more info) on May 1, 2010.
On May 2 he had surgery to repair the break. His bones were held together by two plates and 13 screws. No cast just hardware.
In the ensuing months Allen was bothered by the hardware inside his arm. Consultations with doctors led us to the decision to pursue a second surgery to remove the now unneeded hardware. Allen had this surgery on May 23.
Following the surgery Allen had to keep his arm bandaged and dry for over three weeks. Upon his return to school, his friend wrote on the bandage "Dan's Arm." The next read "Still Dan's Arm." The next "Still Dan's Arm - again." The last bandage as you can see "Dan's Arm - forever." Dan is moving to Florida in two weeks, it may be his arm, but it is staying in Belgium.
On Thursday, Allen was finally able to have his stitches removed. This was not as bloody as the above photo makes it look. It wasn't bloody at all - the dried blood was from the surgery three weeks prior.
Upon peeling back the surgical tape, what was visible was Allen's new scar and a piece of stiff thread used to stitch him up. His skin looks flaky and yellow because it has not been washed since the surgery. The scar is smaller (Allen does not appreciate this - he liked his wide bumpy and wicked looking scar). And for the moment (I'm Allen's mom - I can say with almost certainty there will be a next time) we are done with surgery.
Grandma says, "thanks." Someday he will appreciate this, and it appears he still has some of the old scar.
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