2 weeks into recovery….

It’s been 2 weeks since my surgery.

Sometimes I think I’m all fixed up so then I’ll have a great summer off of work, but then I try to do something and I quickly fail. I guess the Dr. gave me 2 months off work for a reason.

The chimney sweep is coming today to do the seasonal clean of our woodstove and chimney. I went downstairs last night with Jeff to clean up a bit. I was down there for 2 minutes before I was all weak, and lightheaded, and I didn’t even do anything!

I can tell my mind is still mushy because I am not as good at the FreeCell card game on my computer as I was before the surgery. I feel like I’m always tired, but I am too tired to nap.

My incision is healing. I think it has stopped leaking. I’m going to take the rest of the gauze off today and check for sure. Then I’ll just have the steri-strip tape left. (you should see all the tape residue all over me! I pick away at it and rub it off but it seems never ending!)

Every time I wake I have a big muscle spasm across my entire abdomen. Kinda like – you know how if you have a really extreme yawn and you tense muscles and shake a bit? Well my entire mid-section squeezes together for a moment. Is that my body healing up my muscles? It seems like it does it every time I wake.

I’m still not getting through the entire night in bed. By the evening I’m much more miserable, my stomach hurts more, and I feel like my incision is more swollen. So I dread lying flat in bed. Last night for the first time I was able to get on my side a bit. I thought I was just going to stretch a bit, but I feel asleep in about 20 seconds so I stayed on my side until 3am. It seems I head downstairs every day around 3-4am to resume my sleep in the recliner with my hoodie pulled over my eyes to block out the sun as it rises.

Hopefully I soon will get more comfortable in bed so I can wander up to bed during the day for a better nap.

I also hope my incision is all healed so I can get it wet and have a real shower one day soon. I made the mistake of using a hippy healthy deodorant after my last wash up and I smell like a sewer rat this morning. Pee Ewwww. I just washed up and was able to wash my own hair hanging over the tub for the first time.

Mom headed home on Saturday. She was a great help, and put up with my grumpiness well. She even did well with Zeus who hates company, and Sally let her pet her!

I was extra lucky that my brother came to visit for a night too! He was in Halifax for work so he extended his trip a night and drove up to visit. The two of us stayed up late and watched that ding-a-ling walk across Niagara Falls on the tightrope.

Jeff is working this week, so I am officially taking care of myself during the daytime. I can manage pretty well. Yesterday I sat at my computer for a few hours catching up on things, and was able to sit outside in the sun in a lawnchair for a bit. The only problem I have is reaching anything in the bottom half of the fridge, and picking anything up off the ground. My toes are getting well trained at picking things up for me 🙂

Thanks everyone for your notes and cards and phone calls! You are all so kind!