11/1 Ned pulled my last drain tonight! Yay! (It was in my right hip.) Now I’m free of that lovely little pink pouch I had to wear around my waist, and I don’t have to worry about things pushing and pulling on the exit wound/drain anymore and hurting me. It is such a huge relief to be free of drains! (Especially because I already scheduled physical therapy in anticipation of that!) Now I can officially start physical therapy now that my drains are out, so talk about perfect timing!
And the countdown starts for ditching the girdle! Two weeks from today. I can hardly wait!
Oh, and I am driving now too! First with Ned’s more comfortable (higher up), automatic car with backup camera, then I’ll graduate to my lower to the ground, stick shift, mirror-game little car.
11/2 I had my first physical therapy visit down at the hospital in Denver today. I drove myself, and did fine. (Avoiding any large arm/shoulder movements, and using my foot to help push open the door.) I had to explain my new (SGAP) situation, and show her my scars. She was so impressed. She could not stop exclaiming about how beautiful my scars were! I am so grateful. (Heck, I am impressed! I feel like the magician’s assistant in the box who got cut in half and put back together.)
And so now I am working on getting my pecks loosened so I can raise my hands out and up beyond 90 degrees, lift my chicken arms out to 90% and beyond (and even behind my head in reclining mode without busting in two!). All of it will come slowly but surely- but I am not a patient person.
11/4 I had another physical therapy appointment, but this time with a (non-insurance-covered) miracle worker in Louisville. I felt in extremely good hands as she worked me and talked to me about so many things. (She’s apparently familiar with this surgery and recovery!) My range of motion increased quite significantly in just one visit with her! Nothing like a good session to make me nicely optimistic about a good recovery.
So I have been trying to sleep in my bed again, but only lasting a couple of hours a night. (My butt starts to have nerve pain after a while- like I have barbed wire running across it.) I am truly tired of the recliner (and the cat pile that comes with it), but am finding I need to make the move to bed and horizontal-ness gradually, so that I can get used to the pressure of my weight. I suspect the prickly pain I am feeling is my nerves waking up from their shock and stupor since the Oct 7th invasion– but at least they are waking up! I just hope they calm down pretty soon.
11/5 Well, you’ll never guess… I had yet another physical therapy appointment today, with yet another therapist, but there in Boulder. (Yes, I was shopping around! And yes, I’m a little impatient. 😉 This therapist was great, too! The three continual days of stretching, massage and therapy have felt great. And I look forward to a repeat next week.
Today was also my first hair salon appointment since pre-surgery. Woohoo! I got an awesome shampoo, hair cut and style by my favorite hair artist, and I felt like a million bucks! (New boobs AND new hair! 😉 It was especially welcome after a month of bad-hair days.
11/6 Today was another big day. My dad and his wife arrived in Boulder. It was so good to have them here, hanging out with us, and helping me. Now Ned can finally have a little break and (tomorrow) leave for a few days of fishing.
Tonight I put real people clothes on, and we went out! Yes, I got jeans over my girdle, put a nice shirt and some jewelry on, and (Ned & I) went out with our friends to dinner and to see the interactive Van Gogh exhibit. Wow. I felt like a real person again! (Much different from when we went out for Ned’s birthday last month and I accidentally unsnapped my not-so-lovely post-surgery shirt over my folded-granny girdle top at the restaurant for all the patrons to see! Not pretty, but quite funny actually.)
1/7 Now that Ned’s gone we’ve been here mostly enjoying the beautiful fall weather cooking, eating and doing yard work. Well, they have been doing most of the work, while I have been mostly eating and being pampered! The continual attention continues to feel really good- but I will soon have a few days solo here, and so this is good preparation and practice.
11/9 I am solo, and enjoying my independence. (Well, things have been put within my reach, and I have a few days’ worth of food so I don’t have to cook… but I still have to improvise with things every once in a while.) And after more and more time doing the chair-to-bed-plus-rotisserie bit (side, back, side), I finally made it a whole night in bed last night! Yes! Sleeping in our bed makes for a much better night’s sleep!
11/10 My Denver Therapist and I decided I should continue therapy in Boulder to avoid the 45 minute commute both ways for a 45 minute appointment, so this was my last visit with her. I am kind of relieved I can concentrate on therapy in Boulder now, and not the trek to Denver. I immediately scheduled more appointments in Boulder for the rest of November.
11/11 More miracles in flexibility and range of motion thanks to PT. We are making great progress!
Side note: I happened to have a little problem with the girdle washing schedule today. (I have two, but I still managed to screw it up.) So I ended up with no girdle for about four hours! Whoops! I thought it would feel great, but after a while it started feeling like that barbed wire across the back again. Ouch! I am sorry to say I felt great relief after I got home and put that girdle back on. But I am still counting down the days ’till the 15th! We’ll see what my butt thinks about it then.
