Recuperation – Week 2

Well, at the end of another week, figured I’d do a sum up because the days aren’t THAT terribly different. Being on bed-rest / orders not to use the stairs severely limits my interaction with the world and thus my varied experiences. So I’ll just truncate it all into one post.

Friday / Saturday / Sunday / Monday – Most of the experience of these days was the same. Trying to move around minimally… taking my Tylenol ES every 4 hours to keep the low grade fever at bay. Taking Tylenol PM at night to see if I could get some version of rest, but it always ended up being some kind of hallucinatory sleep from which I’d wake up drenched in sweat and with the CRAZIEST headache sitting on the crown of my head. I was limited to doing pretty much nothing as per the doctor and Earl. So there was a LOT of reclining and asking for E to do things I’d normally just get up and do. Laced through all of this were visits from family and friends a plenty; lots of phone calls and emails all of which were really comforting and reassuring. There’s such a great “community” amongst those I hold dear. I feel excited for the kind of close knit wonderfulness that my kids will benefit from. It’s really amazing.

I frustrated myself a LOT because I’m too damned independent and on occasion, Earl would find me doing something I wasn’t supposed to be doing… like… bending… or lifting… or … *ahem* sweeping the floor. He was quick to put me in my place though. After enough delinquencies in my behavior, my best friend J told me that with all that’s in store coming up (getting pregnant, having babies in succession) this might be the very last long time I have to relax and I should revel in it. I’ve taken his advice and am running with it. He’s right. I don’t think after this year I’ll sleep again for 20 years. So i might as well just sit my ass down. LOL!

On Monday I insisted that my brother come by and we fete his birthday. We made him lasagna (as I know Mommy would have made for his birthday because it’s his favorite dish that she prepared on his birthday), some garlic parmesan bread and a chocolate cake. I knew this was his first birthday without her and she was such a huge part of his life still… that she might be one of the only people he’d spend his birthday with. I knew I couldn’t take all the pain away, but maybe lessen the blow.

Tuesday – We woke up bright and early for the appointment for the doctor to remove the staples. What I had realized through trial and error was that the staples were pulling both sides of the skin around the incision and holding them together to fuse. But with all the motion I insisted upon doing… i occasionally would either stretch the incision open, or force the staples to pull to hold together more causing tearing. Not a lot? but enough to be painful. When the nurse tech lifted my shirt and lowered my skirt she was like “wow… those staples are TIGHT. She took what looked like a needle nose plier and grasped the top of the upper most staple and twisted it out of me. Painful? To say the least. And that wasn’t even the most tender of staples. As she worked her way down, she entered the realm of the staples that had been torturing me most all week. And it was all I could do not to scream. Earl sat there and looked on helplessly. I couldn’t even bring myself to grasp his hand because I knew that it would be painful for him, so I just gripped the mattress of the examining chair and gritted my teeth for all 30 staples. They then cleaned the incision with betadine ointment and held it together, finally, with something called “steri strips” – little white pieces of surgical tape that they told me would “fall off on their own” and completely concealed the incision from me. It was still tender but at least there weren’t staples tugging at the skin anymore.

Wednesday / Thursday / Friday – was more of the same as the earlier part of the week. On Wednesday I pulled out the cornrows so lovingly plaited by Victoria and the result was a big bright afro

that Mr. Earl would not let me comb down because he loved the Angela Davis / Coffee / Foxy Brown-ness of it all. It was HUGE.

On Thursday Max came and hung out in the evening and then took a day from work on Friday to sit with me and her Macbook and surf and hang together. We were playing some oldie songs and reminiscing about the 70s and the 80s and the quality of music from back then. We were definitely playing the music loud. But it was still pretty early in the evening. And honestly? we don’t play music that loud at all in this house. But it didn’t matter. My downstairs neighbor came upstairs and made it sound like it was something we do all the time – make noise and make her miserable. Max had some colorful things to say regarding other things she could have been doing. But I’ll spare the public LOL!

On Saturday, The Faction planned a little get together for about 4 in the afternoon so E and I (my participation was limited) tidied up the house and I showered, washed my hair and got dressed. Folks started showing up about 4 and by 6 it was a full house, Faction and Friends. There were spirits and fast food and music and chatter. My spirits were high and I was glad to have everyone around and happy. I did a little dance or two (my mistake) and my body let me know immediately that it wasn’t ready for all of that. Unfortunately, that brought the party to an abrupt end and folks made their way out so I could lay down and I did exactly that while a watchful Earl monitored my sleep. I was really sore on the inside, but hoped it would go away in the AM. Which it did. But I truly learned my lesson. It’s only been a week. Major surgery is no joke. I really just need to take it easier than I’ve been or I may suffer consequences I’m not ready for (like more weeks just sitting around doing nothing).

Sunday was a complete day of leisure, watched movies, played video games. Spent a great deal of it on my own as the Mr. went to represent the Flearys at my chapter’s Community Charter Day Celebration. And when he got home, we ate dinner and I fell asleep. Nothing extravagant to report on.

Today I go for my post-op appointment at 3:00. There’ll be a separate post on that – with the results of everything the Doctor found and our next steps. *keeping fingers crossed*

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