The Steri-Strips were getting looser and looser. Finally Lion took them off in the middle of the night. He has two baby scars and one fully grown scar. For now, the larger one is still sensitive. None of them look bad. It’s not like he needs a plastic surgeon to hide them.

The bandage being gone is just one more step along the road to recovery. For the most part, Lion is out of his sling. Maybe he uses his arm a little more than he should, but I don’t think he’s overdoing it. Sometimes I can see the wheels turning. He’s about to lift his arm to do something, and then he thinks better of it. I don’t think any pain cuts in. I think he just remembers he shouldn’t raise it.

Aside from Lion falling asleep at will, I think he’s getting better. His appetite seems to be back to normal. When he’s awake, he’s awake. There’s no more incoherent babble. He’s been in contact with work and, while he wants to jump in and head off a potential problem, he’s showing incredible restraint. He’s concentrating on getting well.

I’m hoping we can do some snuggling/play/together time today. It was a little difficult yesterday because he was sleeping a lot. He’s still tired today, but we’ll try to work around naps. We need to make more of an effort to get “us” into the forefront again. That’s not to say I won’t still be taking care of him. Perhaps my focus will just be shifted a little. I’ll be taking care of him in a different way.

Lion is still worried he’s taking advantage of me. He apologizes for making me help him. The thing is, he’s not making me help him. I want to help him. I want him to get better. I don’t care about scars or the fact that he’s “useless” right now. He says he’s good at looking at the big picture. Well, I see the big picture here. He’s got more healing to do and that will take a while. That means I’ll be helping him for a while. As he can do things, he will. I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to stop him. I’ll continue to help with the things he can’t do until he can do them. It’s all part of being a team.