Going Bonkers!

Wow!  Time has been flying by for the most part. I have to say that I am starting to get cabin fever after being cooped up for 2 weeks.  I've gotten out of the the house a couple of times, and today I actually drove myself to the grocery store (with doctor approval)!  That felt amazing...to know I am gaining mobility! Other than that I'm tired of sleeping in this recliner.  I tried sleeping in my bed last night...I lasted about 4 hours (mostly restless napping) before I moved back to the recliner.  The pressure of laying on my sides made me a little nauseous. I'm sure some of it is mental. Maybe one more week in the chair will be enough to make me feel better about it.  Huge thank you to Rosemary for hooking me up with the recliner!  I can't imagine this recovery without it.


Yesterday I have a two week follow up with my surgeon.  He removed my belly button stitches, which still doesn't really look like a belly button to me.  The swelling around it is still pretty extensive.  It's rock hard, and not in the "rocking a six pack" kind of way.  Hardcore swelling means rock hard fluid build up.  Speaking of swelling..the swelling on my hips and legs has gone down quite a bit, which makes me very happy!  The doctor said I am healing very quickly and was impressed with how far I've come in a short time.  I have to continue to massage the areas that are hard/swollen to help dissolve some of the fluid build up.  The downside - the second drain has to stay in for a little longer, which was a bummer.  It has to drain around 20cc's a day for two day before he will remove it.  Right now I am averaging around 50cc's a day.  It's annoying but I also don't want to rush removing it...more frustrating than anything else.

How is the pain after 14 days you ask?  Actually - I would rate it a 1 out of 10 right now.  I'm just really sore.  Like I did 10,000 crunches.  Bruising on my back and sides still looks pretty bad and is very tender, but I have to keep massaging it as much as possible.

Overall I feel pretty good at the end of week 2.  I have no regrets so far.  I know that once I heal and the swelling goes down I am going to be very happy with the results!