4 Weeks Post-Op

I was allowed to walk this morning! I walked Rissa to school with David and then walked David to the corner before heading home. If I had been allowed to skip all the way home in joy I would have.

Saw the Doc two days ago and she was very happy with my progress. She took out the last few undissolved stitches from my incision and belly button. The swelling above and below the incision is not terrible - although my pubic bone still has a bit of a Ken Doll look to it.

I finally gave her a thank you card. She had been wondering if she would get one seeing as the nurses and the anesthesiologist had received theirs at least a week ago. I explained that I hadn't been thankful until the night before so I didn't want to be dishonest. She laughed out loud and said that this card would be more heartfelt then.

I am finally allowed to walk. I am allowed to bathe. I am allowed to do Balance games on the Wii Fit. (I didn't share the fact that I might have slipped a couple Table Tilt games in here and there over the last month.) I am allowed to wear control top panties instead of the binder. I am NEVER allowed to do sit-ups again. Instead after the 6 week mark, I should do planks - for those of you who don't know what a plank is... You get on your elbows or hands and hold your feet behind you like for a push-up and you hold it for as long as you can - starting very small is a good thing for these. I shouldn't be jumping for a bit - so no raves for me for awhile.

But walking? Oh, to walk again more than just around the block? It was Heaven this morning. Pure Heaven. I did 10 minutes of games and a very slight half-moon and warrior pose in Yoga. And then I put an ice pack on my tummy. I will continue to do that sporadically throughout the day because it seemed to help last week so much.

So the night before I went in for my check up, I was getting ready for bed. I was pulling on the cotton tube (from the cut-off men's tank top) that I wear underneath the binder to make it more comfy and it was around my hips (covering the scar) when I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Not having the scar visually screaming at me allowed me to see what my stomach and waist now look like. And they look good. Really good. So I looked up and said my first "Thank you Gran!" and truly meant it. In her memory, I wore my Gran's necklace to my appointment with the Doc. Several people commented on it. It has a gold chain and 7 white gold, yellow gold and amber gold tear-drops attached to it - one for each of her grandchildren and great- grandchildren. It had been a gift from my parents to her on her 90th birthday.

After my appointment, I had an afternoon visit with a good friend I hadn't seen since June and I got to experience her special brand of hug which is one of the best I have enjoyed in my life. Spent the night with two other friends and their son which was great. The next morning I shopped at Zellers for control-top panties. Because of course, I had left the 4 pairs of control-top panties that I already own, at home. I changed into the black pair of large panties and went to meet another friend for lunch. My period was kind enough to start the night before so I had to stock up on pads and tampons and on the drive over to meet my friend I was cramping like crazy and feeling a little bruised and unsupported wearing the control-top panties. I got to his place and changed into the Medium panties and felt a little better, but was pretty exhausted from my adventures over the past 24 hours. I'd walked a couple of times the day before and had been sitting, not reclining when visiting with friends. I was supposed to stay in town to speak about my surrogacy experiences for a group of Daddies and Papas 2 Be for the 519 Community Centre in Toronto. The reason I had stayed overnight was to be part of the panel. The prospect of finding a way to keep myself occupied and NOT being able to lie down for 6 hours was more than I could handle. I called to cancel that evening's event and drove home early, feeling guilty, but recognizing that I needed to rest. I hit traffic on my way out of Toronto so the drove home took 2 hours instead of an hour and a quarter. I kept praying for constant driving instead of the stopping and starting. We have a standard and my right leg was killing me - once I could use the cruise control it made it a lot easier. Apparently, my pansy-assed, un-exercised body gets sore from driving now.

I was all excited to get home and surprise David and Rissa. I arrived and the house was empty but for cats, who although happy to see me, weren't quite the reception I had been hoping for. I knew that David was supposed to be giving blood after school that day, so drove to the Community Centre where the blood donor clinic was, but they had already left. I didn't see them on the drive home - so checked my email and logged onto Facebook before they got home. They were very happy to have me home early and I got lots of hugs and kisses from Rissa. I enjoyed my first bath since the operation - nice and hot and it felt SO good. Before putting my binder on (I'd decided that maybe I might just wear it a bit more for support) I tried on some of my bikini panties that I haven't worn for four and a half years. I said some more heartfelt "Thank you Gran!"s before snuggling in front of Big Bang Theory with my amazing daughter and husband. Everyone went to bed early and I woke with more energy than I have experienced since the operation.

Today I am planning on some heavy-duty writing and I am reclining while listening to some Bowie. It's a good day!

Cheers!
Heather