FAO: Birdgirl

Good gosh, that WAS a big lump. That was a heck of an abscess, and I'll bet that was a medical mystery! Your body must have just responded uniquely to that bump against the table leg in the alley. I'll bet they were fairly keen on checking your blood count when they first saw that, weren't they, to make sure you didn't have leukemia or some type of bone marrow disease that would cause your body to bruise/abscess in that fashion?

My lump from the car wreck was only about half that big, and it went down pretty steadily as it was healing. Also, my legs aren't as hairy as yours!

OK, your most recent question, about the numbness/hair fallout? I can help with that. That's very common after even minor surgeries and/or injuries. The injury or the subsequent surgical incision through your skin would have cut some nerves and also interrupted the blood supply to that part of your leg skin. Places where people have had surgery or injuries are often numb afterwards, and sometimes much later some sensation comes back and sometimes it never does. (Not too big a deal here, luckily.) The same interruption to the blood supply to your skin and any scar tissue left there after the healing could account for impaired hair growth there, too. I have a couple of scars and former injuries that don't have the same nerve sensation and also don't grow hair in normal ways anymore. Not a big deal and certainly nothing to worry about!

I've had about all the medical fun I can have for tonight and am about to go sign off and either read a book or see if I can wrestle the remote control away from my husband and watch a movie. Hope you have a good remainder of your night shift, Robert!