First post-op Gratitude Monday, and I give thanks that all has gone well so far.
They did keep me in hospital overnight, which I suppose was all
for the best. When the surgeon came by to check on me I told him I felt like
someone had been pounding me with hammers. “We prefer the term ‘mallets’”, he
replied. And it turns out the procedure does involve pounding me with hammers.
I was in a haze (and had some amazing waking dreams—like being
at the Salvador Dalí movie theatre, if Dalí made color cartoons instead of
helping with Chien Andalou).
On Friday morning—around 0600—the nurse asked, “Do you want to
sit in this chair?” I answered, “Not particularly, but I will if you want me
to.”
She did.
There was a lovely sunrise, which of course I shot.
The rest of the stay was PT teaching me to use the walker and a
cane going up and down stairs; getting a shedload of instructions; and OT supervising
me getting dressed.
My BFF and her son chauffeured me home; and I got to practice
using the walker in real time. The rest of Friday and all of Saturday was a
cycle of drinking water, walking, icing the incision, reading, sleeping and
weeing. Had some applesauce Friday night, soup Saturday, cantaloupe yesterday
morning. I’m ready for food, I think.
I’ve graduated to using the cane most of the time—very carefully—though
on my first trip to PT today I’ll take the walker. Made it upstairs yesterday
afternoon and had a shower. Slept in my bed last night. Yummy.
I’m grateful for all that. Also for not having needed any pain
medication higher than the Tylenol 500mg since I’ve been home. I was hoping for
that—that’s my pattern in the past, but you never know. I think that the nerve
block would have worn off by now, so this is what it is.
(Fun fact: you can buy Tylenol 500mg OTC in France. I hadn’t
brought a lot of Tylenol 200mg with me, so went to a pharmacy in Avignon to top
up. Wouldn’t you know that the dispensing pharmacy was up a flight of stairs—why
would they do that? But when I asked for Paracetamol, they gave me a pack of
the 500mg.)
It’s clear that I won’t be driving this week; my hopes of that
were a pipe dream. But I’m grateful for the progress I’ve made, and looking
forward to the future.
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