A whirlwind of a week has ended. Most of it seems like a blur. But here I am now, one week after my surgery, and for the most part I feeling good. I have sure had my downs, but I keep telling myself that it’s all worth it. The support of my family and friends definitely helped me get through the bad days.
Monday morning was surreal. We got to the hospital about 30 minutes before we were supposed to be there. It’s probably the first time I’ve been early for anything in a long time. We go to the lab for one last urine sample. I was also dead set on getting a notebook or notepad or something that I could write on for after the surgery. The Wal-Greens inside the hospital did not have anything, so we go to the gift shop, where I’m sure I overpaid for a fancy journal type book. That’s all they had and I had to have something to write on. Let me tell you how not write in that book once. Ha!
Any who, after a quick stop at the cafeteria so Joe could grab some breakfast, up to the 2nd floor we went to register with the surgery department. We were then taken to the pre-op room where I had to use those icky wipes again and changed into my gown. Then it was a haze of nurses, my surgeon, and the anesthesiologist. After a little over an hour it was time to go in. I don’t remember much after that, just flashes of the recovery room and then hours later waking up to Joe’s voice talking to me.
There’s not a whole lot to say about the actual hospital stay, just that I was in much more pain then I thought I would be in. I really don’t think that I ever thought about the pain that I would be in. They x-rayed my stomach on Tuesday to make sure that there were no leaks. Everything was all good. I could start taking liquids. Wednesday I was released and Joe came to take me home. We stopped at the store to get my meds and once we got home all I wanted was a shower. It was the best shower as I hadn’t bathed since Sunday night. The wipes they give you in the hospital don’t do a darn thing.
I slept alright on Wednesday, better than I did in the hospital, but still not great. I pretty much relaxed on Thursday. Drinking was a chore. Every time I took a sip of something it felt weird. It’s hard to describe the feeling. Almost like a gas pain but also a nausea feeling as well. But I kept forcing myself to take slow sips. The drinking has improved since then. It’s not as hard as it was, but I still find myself not drinking enough liquid throughout the day. I’ve been drinking more and more but still not there. I started getting out and walking on Friday. I’ve been taking two short walks every day. Each day I go farther. Today I got up to half a mile. Just taking it slow.
This is the last week of just liquids which makes me ecstatic. Even though the next step is just puree, I’ll be happy to have texture again. The nutritionist said that there are certain foods that you actually have to puree, other things you can smash with a fork….which will be what I will be doing. But until then, I’m trying to make the best of the liquid.
Thanks again for reading….and keep reading each week for more!
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