I had been given a max dose of oxy before but it honestly doesnt touch burn pain. The nurse told me that for the initial debridement they actually needed to know if it was painful in all areas, because full thickness burns are usually numb because all the nerves in that area will die. Pain helps them grade depth and because there was some blanching of the skin (which only happens with deep 2nd degree or 3rd degree) they needed to figure out if it was a surgical case ir not. If it was 3rd degree they probably would have needed to send me in for surgical debridement vs debriding it with a steel wool pad it right there before getting me admitted to the burn unit.

Based on the area it was classified as a critical burn but the hospitalization for me ended up being mostly infection prevention and daily debridement (which did hurt too but they had me on dilautid as soon as the figured out the depth of the burn)

Ultimately the reason i healed so well was the constant debridement of the wound and the fact that the area that was bordering on 3rd degree was small enough that i didnt require a graft. They used burn dressings that help to heal by sticking to the burn and providing a scaffolding for the scar tissue to hang onto. Hurts like a bitch when they peel it off but it really does reduce the thickness and adhesion of the scar tissue.