The Healing Process

It has now been 5 weeks since surgery and I will be the first to admit they have not been an easy 5 weeks. Over the next week I will be posting on what the recovery process has been like and other aspects of my life that are directly related to surgery such as finding out that people found out about surgery when I have been very specific about keeping it private. For those that have been following my journey, I thank you for your time and patience. I will admit, part of the process was spending 14hrs a day online watching TV and movies, to the point where I didn`t want to be near a computer to post, hence the delay.

I am back, and will do my best to post with some regularity, and as always welcome any comments or questions. The comments have inspired me to return to the blog and continue posting about my experience.

Week 1
Short Summary: pain, drugs, loneliness.
I was amazed at how much every little thing took so much more effort. From standing up to getting in and out of a car (if I was up to going out), it hurt. The laproscopic incisions are on my left side and it felt like every time I moved I was using my abs, muscles that had been cut to allow for the tools. Hence the drugs. They gave my T3s when I left the hospital, a small prescription meant to help control the pain, but there wasn't supposed to be a lot of pain, and I suppose that would have held true had I been able to slow down and take it easy. I suck at that. Its one thing if people do things for me because they want to, its another if they do them because they have to. I didn`t like the have to part very much and thus would try and do things for myself. Not a good idea.

On Sunday my Father in Law came to stay with us for a few days. My husband had taken 2 weeks to travel for surgery with me, but needed to return to work. I was not in a place where I was okay to be alone, and thus my Father in Law came to stay. He arrived on Sunday and returned to him home on Wednesday. I must admit, having him there those first few days was so very important. First of all, I was not able to cook (for what little food I was eating, bend or reach, and most of all, I was bored. Already being back home for a few days, my hubby and I had passed the time watching TV and movies online, surfing the net, and generally hanging out in front of a computer screen. When the computer is your only source of entertainment for days on end, it can really get to a point where you want nothing to do with it. And that's what happened to me.
Thankfully, my Father in Law provided some great company - he makes a fantastic soup, was there to make sure I didn`t over do it on walks (my max was 3 blocks, round trip) and basically stop me from going insane. That's the thing, I couldn't walk very far at all, I mean, wearing denim was hard as my abdomen was still slightly distended from the CO2, and form fitting pants were painful. I`m not the type to hang out in public in sweats, so any outing was rare and short lived. I couldn`t walk, and the other thing that was interesting to learn is no driving for a month! Let me just say, the 3 blocks around my condo - not that interesting.
No walking, no driving, and over-saturation of being online. Thank goodness for company. It made all the difference in the world. My husband was still there of course, however I was sleeping when he left for work, he didn`t get home until 6ish and there was a loooonnnngggg day in there. I was trying not to sleep during the day because I wanted to be able to sleep at night, but sometimes that didn`t help either.
Just as having someone do things for me because they want to is different than if they have to, so is alone time. If I want it, great, but when its forced upon me because everyone is either at school or at work, or in a different city, the days can drag.When my Father in Law left, the remainder of the week was pretty lonely.

If I have any advice for anyone going through this: the first week after surgery when you are most limited in terms of ability and movement is almost as important, if not more so, to have someone there with you than the actual surgery itself. I could not have gone through surgery without my husband there with me, nor could I have gotten through that first week on my own. Also, don`t be afraid to ask for help. Simple things - the water pitcher in the fridge was low so I had to bend, and it was kinda heavy when full - thus I had to ask for water all the time. I fought back at first, trying to do things but I quickly realized the bravado wasn`t worth the subsequent pain. Ask for help. And be careful with the pain pills (more on that in Week 2).