19 Days Post Op

Yesterday I was feeling pretty darned good and went for a walk with David all the way down to the marina and back. Then last night I went out for a girls' night to see Whip It (excellent film I've decided that my roller derby name will be Red Zeppelin) with some friends. Sitting mostly straight up wasn't too bad. When I got home last night I decided to take a gander at my tummy and noticed that right above my incision my skin wasn't as tight and was a little warm to the touch. When I showed David he poked around a bit to feel the difference at my midline and around my hips and said "Yeah, you seem more swollen here." Then he gave me his best "What have I been telling you?" look. (A look that I have seen many times during the course of this recovery - three times this morning alone.)

It was agreed (he ordered me) that I would call the Doc this morning and ask what I should do - I had a sneaky suspicion that I might need to be aspirated. I walked 4 blocks towards Rissa's school today whereupon I acquiesced and turned around to come home. I started the laundry that David had brought down for me. This process involved a lot of squatting up and down so that I wasn't carrying lots of clothing weight in my arms, which probably isn't good for me either. (It's only laundry for heaven's sake!)

At 9:02 a.m. I called the Doc's office and spoke to Jane (the receptionist) and gave her my symptoms and HURRAH! she said that it was normal and not to worry. She recommended that I take it easy and that I have the binder as tight as I can stand it so that what fluid is there can be reabsorbed. I have an appointment for next Tuesday, but if anything changes - if I'm in pain or it gets red or I have a fever I should call immediately. So that's good news. She did reiterate that I should limit my activity until then.

Okay, may I just say that I may go squirrely before the 4-week mark? I am not a sitter-downer, a lounger or a recliner. I like to move and now that my energy level is better I'm having a hard time with the little to no movement orders. I understand that my body is still healing and that I need to give it time and I wouldn't be so upset if my lack of exercise wasn't affecting my sleep. This morning I did not have my one coffee so that there wouldn't be any extra caffeine in my system - which I hope might help me when it comes time to turn the lights off. I had to take 2 Valerian last night and it still took awhile for me to fall asleep. David's going to source some more non-prescription sleeping aids for me after school today.

My mid-morning snack almost made me lose it. I had a bowl of granola and yogurt on the shelf that I am using as a table on the recliner, and as I was moving it to the side so that I could lower myself into the recliner it tipped over and there was granola and yogurt all over the carpet in the family room. ALL OVER. And I'm NOT supposed to vacuum. So the granola is still all over the carpet. I did grab a cloth to wipe up the yogurt, but I'll bet there's still some yogurt lurking in there, just waiting to get smelly. And I'm not allowed to clean it. And that makes me a little cuckoo. Because I feel like I'm okay, I'm not exhausted, it doesn't hurt to get up - there's only moderate discomfort when I sneeze now - and really, I think that I am doing pretty darned well except for this little squooshy bit of stomach - I swear that it's only about an inch wide by six inches long - it could be so much worse... and I feel like I can handle doing a half hour's walk and I know that it would help me sleep, but I'm NOT SUPPOSED TO!

So now that I have done my best impression of a peevish sheep I shall now talk about what is really good... This morning I was able to lie on my side for more than 5 minutes! I got to snuggle with David, actually spoon with him this morning and that was pretty freaking awesome I have to say. And because I'm not supposed to do anything active, perhaps I can practice the lying on my side as my exercise for the next week and a half until I get to the 4-week mark. And maybe David might even be able to spoon me (I don't even mean that as a euphemism - I really just want to spoon) and that would be the absolutely best!
Cheers!
Heather