April 30, 2014 - Post Op Day #2 - Where's the olive oil?

We made it 48 hours post surgery. It’s to be celebrated. We are all in one piece and still speaking to each other.  Actually, in usual fashion Ron has been such a trooper.  From his perspective he would probably say this has been the easiest surgery as of yet – did I say no drains!?! He has been able to be pretty hands free this go round. I suspect he is very delighted in that. I’m still feeling the groggy feeling so you will have to be patient with me as I type today. No promises you will find complete sentences.

Yesterday was slow moving for sure. I’m laughing that I look like I am 9 months pregnant trying to get up out of a chair or shuffling through the house. It’s almost impossible to bend at the waist, so if something gets dropped on the floor, it stays there until Ron comes by to pick it up. And I’m actually fairly comfortable as long as I sit perfectly still. At times, I forget I’m “injured”. But that goes away as quickly as it came when I have to reach for something or head for a bathroom break. There is no way I can get dressed by myself yet, but it will come maybe later this week. The shoes will be the last “success” as there is no way I can reach my feet. For now, it’s flip flops.  We spent the afternoon yesterday removing bandages, eight in all. Two on the lower abdomen (this must be where he inserted that awful suction tube that gave me nightmares), then 3 more on each boob. I’m a little baffled by the 3 on the boobs because I can very easily see all of the injection spots that number at least in the teens, so I’m not sure what the 3 extra holes were for on each side. They have stitches in them so I can only assume maybe suction tubes were there to remove extra fluid. But I do know I don’t like how they all weep fluid. Thankfully, that is much less today and when I go to change today’s bandages I am hopeful all but one will now be dry. I also don’t love that I have gained an extra belly button.  My new claim to fame and maybe a future source of stupid human tricks. The main insertion sight (my new belly button) is located a few centimeters below my original belly button. It freaks me out a tad. This was also the culprit of the majority of the drainage I had yesterday. I learned that when they do liposuction they also inject fluid into the area to help break up the fat cells. This fluid also needs a way back out of the body. Hence the new “belly button” hole. Isn’t that fun? Oh my. My stomach churns just thinking about it. Surely this thing will seal itself off in no time. It has to. My nausea persists with a force and these wounds don’t help that.

The bruising is a good bit less than we expected. They are scattered on both impostors and across the lower abdomen but they aren't near the darkness we expected. But the pain is there and a reminder of what I have done.  Last night, I reached out to my friend Becky, as we will call her here. She had this procedure a few months ago. I wanted to see how long this pain was going to last, hopeful she would say a day or two. Well NOOOO, she had to break my bubble. Really tough pain for at least a week, followed by several weeks of “uncomfortable”.  Well that is just delightful, Becky.  Sort of wishing she had lied to me. = ) Well, we keep trucking on all the same. I’m supposed to be back at work tomorrow. Hum….I certainly can’t imagine driving or walking around to see patients. Maybe a miracle will happen in this next 24 hours.

The best comedy comes with Spanx. Yesterday when we changed the bandages we also changed out the pressure vests. Saying they were uncomfortable is an understatement. Think corset without the lovely dress to accompany it. I shed both vests and switched over to a pair of Spanx. Well, we all know Spanx are next to nearly impossible to put on a normal body without lubing up with olive oil. Imagine trying to work them on up over your legs and hips when your pectoral muscles are retaliating and your abdomen wants nothing to do with the task. There was a little laughter and a few tears, but finally we accomplished the task and I will be sporting some Spanx for the next few weeks.  This is supposed to help with recovery time and lessen the bleeding happening at the donor sites. Needless to say, I can’t wait until the last minute to take a bathroom break. All and all the Spanx feel a lot better than the vests. So I’m grateful.

My top complaints today:

1.       Persistent nausea

2.       Abdominal pain

3.       Constant itching (maybe a reaction to my meds?)

4.       The pull of the stitches when moving about

My top blessings today:

1.       An amazing husband who keeps trucking along with me

2.       Bloated boobs and hopefully restored blood flow

3.       A one story house so I can avoid stairs. I can’t even imagine.

4.       Less weeping from the wounds

I think Boob 1 and Boob 2.2 have forgiven me for the torment I have put them through. I am keeping it under wraps that they may see the OR table again in a few months. What they don’t know won’t hurt them.

For now, it’s nap time.  I can’t get rid of this exhausted feeling so I just give in with cat naps throughout the day. And since I can hardly keep my eyes open right now, I am giving in. I will check back in with you tomorrow.