One Week Later

Wow, it has been a week since surgery - actually it took most of the day so the one week starts about 5:00 p.m. I have not posted much and that has been because this morning is really the first time I have felt a little more human. I find myself lying still trying not to have to move because I find every bodily movement requires your core muscles and mine are all cut,sewn, moved, swollen,and just plain too sore. I do get up and walk about 3 or 4 times a day. This is to the bath room which happily causes me no pain. Then once in the afternoon I do my shower routine. I take off all the bandages on my drains and they are taped to my skin so they don't hang loose. I carefully place the drains over my shoulders to keep them up out of they way (they are very long) and then very carefully step into the shower and this feels so good. All my stitches are covered by steri-strips so getting them wet is fine. When done I carefully and slowly manuver around and out of the shower. I carefully towel dry every open area - the drain ports, the stitches of which there are about a total of 40" and my new belly button. Then I drain the tubes, measure, and recap them. I carefully dress in more loose clothes and by now waddle to the chair to redress and tend to the wounds. All of this is done in a crouched position because I cannot stand up straight because of how tight my stomach is. Back in the chair I redo the tape for my drain tubes so they don't pull on my stitches, then put gauze on them to collect any backup fluid (none since the first day in the hospital) and then put stuff on my belly button. I usually take a pain pill and go to sleep until Joe gets home from work.

I am still sleeping in the lazy boy in the living room because I can move around easily. I am not ready to try to get in and out of the bed in the guest room because it sits up so high. I think that will be just around the corner. Visiting nurse has not been here since Sunday so I expect to see her probably today. I see Dr. Logan on the 14th and hope to get a clearance by then to travel on the 21st.

I still have not reached the point where this has been worth it but today is better than yesterday and every day I a healing - this was just way more than I really imagined. Time will tell.