*A slight hint that some might find these and future pictures to be gross. But hey, I'm not showing you the grossest stuff - just the reality of what I'm going through. I'm finding a lot of this medical stuff interesting and want to share my experience and knowledge with others.
 |
| Joshua came to my bedside first - boy, was I glad to see him! |
The two nights at the hospital were...challenging. General anesthesia is difficult for me to recover from. And while morphine helped with the pain I was feeling immediately after surgery, it presented more problems than help: I couldn't keep any food or liquid down. And though I tried with all my might on day 2 in the hospital to use the commode next to my bed, it just wasn't going to happen. (And that little bit of movement away from bed got me sick again, too.) So that evening, after an ultrasound confirmed how full my bladder was, I had the wonderful experience of being catheterized for the first time. Not bad, really. And a relief to know that something was headed in the right direction - out!
At the end of day 2 at the hospital, I went on a little walk down the hallway. My legs were shaky and I didn't quite like the feeling of moving, but it was mandatory to do that before being discharged, so I wanted to make that happen. Joshua, dad, and Miyako were there to see that happen. The picture below shows what I had to walk around with - lots of attachments. These were in/on me when I woke up from surgery and they came home with me, too.
 |
| I had three drain "grenades" and a big On-Q local pain med ball. The nurses emptied the grenades every few hours, as they filled up quickly! |
On day 3, I was discharged since I could walk, go to the bathroom, and keep food down. Happy day! I was wheeled out to the car and got to behold awesome sights all the way home since it had snowed ~6in the day before. Our power was out and wasn't going to be back on for another day or more so we stayed at mom's house for a night.
One of the daily tasks I am privileged to do is breathe slowly and deeply in and out of this "Airlife" thing to get my lung capacity back to normal.
 |
| My lung capacity has increased since I first did this in the hospital. Small steps, but it's a positive! |
5 comments:
You look like you are getting stronger by the day. Keep it up!
You are so amazing for sharing your journey with us all. It's great to 'see' you on the blog again. And recovering each day! Good progress. You're in my thoughts.
Laura - continued prayers for you each day for your recovery.
Laura, Thanks for sharing the process with us! FYI, our family has occasionally called those grenades "six-shooters". They can work very well in a "threatening" kind of way. ;) I'm so glad you are recovering so well. I'm thinking of you often and sending warm thoughts your way. XOXO, Am
True, I do tend to feel better each day. So glad people appreciate the sharing. I hope it's not only a log for myself, but a way to keep others informed, and to let others diagnosed with BC know about my experiences.
Amber: love the six-shooters. I never thought to threaten anyone with them - but should have. Especially with the globbies...eew!
Post a Comment