Friday, February 28, 2014
Any baby name suggestions?
Doc said that my preggers stomach will be sticking around for a couple weeks, at least. I'm taking suggestions on what to call him/her/it. Ideas?
Two steps forward...
...one step back.
Pain is a fickle mistress. Last night was a tough one. I wasn't able to sleep much because of the flaming torch being shoved into my back. My stomach decided to join the party as well, but it chose hot coals instead of a burning flame. But I realize pain is cyclical, so I'm hoping for an upswing soon.
My stomach is somewhat distended after surgery, and probably not going down for a while. I did a little research and found out that women who have c-sections take from 4 to 8 weeks to recover around the incision area. And no, I'm not comparing my surgery with child birth! Mine was way more painful! Pardon me while I run and hide now...
I just got back from a stroll with my lovely physical therapist, Julia. We did some stairs for the first time, which felt good. Another exercise to add to my slowly expanding repertoire. Before long I'll be doing sit ups in bed!
If I was a lover of fatty foods I would thoroughly enjoy eating my way through Germany. Unfortunately, I do enjoy my steady intake of fruits and vegetables, which are in short supply around here. What I wouldn't give for a nice, juicy carrot right about now!
OK, off to do more stairs. Someone please a eat of head lettuce and tell me how it tastes.
Pain is a fickle mistress. Last night was a tough one. I wasn't able to sleep much because of the flaming torch being shoved into my back. My stomach decided to join the party as well, but it chose hot coals instead of a burning flame. But I realize pain is cyclical, so I'm hoping for an upswing soon.
My stomach is somewhat distended after surgery, and probably not going down for a while. I did a little research and found out that women who have c-sections take from 4 to 8 weeks to recover around the incision area. And no, I'm not comparing my surgery with child birth! Mine was way more painful! Pardon me while I run and hide now...
I just got back from a stroll with my lovely physical therapist, Julia. We did some stairs for the first time, which felt good. Another exercise to add to my slowly expanding repertoire. Before long I'll be doing sit ups in bed!
If I was a lover of fatty foods I would thoroughly enjoy eating my way through Germany. Unfortunately, I do enjoy my steady intake of fruits and vegetables, which are in short supply around here. What I wouldn't give for a nice, juicy carrot right about now!
OK, off to do more stairs. Someone please a eat of head lettuce and tell me how it tastes.
Thursday, February 27, 2014
The simple things...
Like enjoying a lazy afternoon reading a good book, or savoring the perfect carne asada taco, or watching the sun set over the Pacific Ocean on cool winter evening, or...taking a poop! Yeah, I know, too much information, but I don't care. If you've had surgery that required being under a general anesthetic you will understand the relief one experiences after finally evacuating your system for the first time.
So, Day 2 starts off with an exhilarating stroll around the 6th floor. I attempted a lap record this morning and broke yesterday's time by 5 seconds! I think I can shave off another 1.4 seconds if I take the turns a little bit tighter.
I'm back on solid foods. I like a good soup, but I think I'm souped out at this point, and it's nice to eat things that I actually need to chew. I haven't had any leafy greens in far too long. If someone could mail me a big basket of kale I'd be ever so grateful! Otherwise everything is steadily improving. My abdominal pain is slowly decreasing and the pain in my back is tolerable. I do need to be careful, however, and watch closely how I move and pay attention to body mechanics. I very softly brushed my hip against my bed getting up this morning and was quickly reminded with a double dose of stabbing pain that I've got a long way to go. I've all but stopped taking pain meds, with the exception of a happy pill before bedtime.
I've got a few more days in the hospital before starting rehab, but I'm passing my time by learning German phrases from the nursing staff.
Auf Wiedersehen!
So, Day 2 starts off with an exhilarating stroll around the 6th floor. I attempted a lap record this morning and broke yesterday's time by 5 seconds! I think I can shave off another 1.4 seconds if I take the turns a little bit tighter.
I'm back on solid foods. I like a good soup, but I think I'm souped out at this point, and it's nice to eat things that I actually need to chew. I haven't had any leafy greens in far too long. If someone could mail me a big basket of kale I'd be ever so grateful! Otherwise everything is steadily improving. My abdominal pain is slowly decreasing and the pain in my back is tolerable. I do need to be careful, however, and watch closely how I move and pay attention to body mechanics. I very softly brushed my hip against my bed getting up this morning and was quickly reminded with a double dose of stabbing pain that I've got a long way to go. I've all but stopped taking pain meds, with the exception of a happy pill before bedtime.
I've got a few more days in the hospital before starting rehab, but I'm passing my time by learning German phrases from the nursing staff.
Auf Wiedersehen!
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
While the patient sleeps...
It's kind of strange looking at these images and thinking that was even me. Malte was kind enough to take the photos during my operation.
Some pretty cool stuff!
Baby steps
I walked for the first time since surgery! It was one of the strangest sensations I've ever...sensed. It felt like I was trying on new feet. My back has been feeling rather crummy while laying in bed, and when I adjust my sitting position I experience some intense pain. So I was very apprehensive about walking.
But with the help of two lovely physical therapists I was able to complete two laps around the our floor and felt like I could easily handle more. I had to lean on the physical therapists as I didn't trust my balance. It felt like I hadn't walked in years, and my brain was trying to adjust. I feel so incredibly relieved knowing I can walk. I'l never take walking for granted again!
But with the help of two lovely physical therapists I was able to complete two laps around the our floor and felt like I could easily handle more. I had to lean on the physical therapists as I didn't trust my balance. It felt like I hadn't walked in years, and my brain was trying to adjust. I feel so incredibly relieved knowing I can walk. I'l never take walking for granted again!
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
That's gonna leave a mark!
OK, now that my head is a little clearer I can pass along how I'm doing. First off, Dr. Bierstedt said surgery went well and that the disc is situated perfectly. One good thing about being so thin is he didn't have far to go through my abdomen before hitting my spine. It took about 90 minutes from beginning to end. He also said he made a smaller incision than normal, so I'll be ready for bikini season in no time!
Pain in my stomach is strong enough that the pain meds aren't helping much. But I've never really reacted to painkillers, so I expected that. I was told most people experience a fair amount of stomach pain for the first 2-3 days, so it's nothing I need to worry about. My back is burning a little, mainly in my sacrum, but Dr. Bierstedt explained that the SI joints get a little angry form the surgery, so that's normal as well.
It's 3am here, and later this morning I'll get up and try to walk for the first time. I'm getting pretty fidgety, so I'm anxious to start moving around. I've never been good at being patient through injury rehab, but this is one time I plan to take it very slow and do as instructed.
I still can't believe I've got a prosthetic disc in my spine. The surreal aspect of this entire trip still hasn't worn off yet. It took what seemed like forever to get here, and now that it's happened it feels like it blew by. To say that I was scared as they wheeled me into surgery is the understatement of the year. Rarely do I get rattled about anything, but part of me wanted to jump out of the bed and run like the Santa Ana winds on warm autumn evening. But I took a deep breath, sucked down the happy gas, and came out the other side feeling relieved.
The good doctor is confident that my quality of life is going to improve significantly once I'm healed up, so I'm pretty excited to start rehab and put this behind me.
Pain in my stomach is strong enough that the pain meds aren't helping much. But I've never really reacted to painkillers, so I expected that. I was told most people experience a fair amount of stomach pain for the first 2-3 days, so it's nothing I need to worry about. My back is burning a little, mainly in my sacrum, but Dr. Bierstedt explained that the SI joints get a little angry form the surgery, so that's normal as well.
It's 3am here, and later this morning I'll get up and try to walk for the first time. I'm getting pretty fidgety, so I'm anxious to start moving around. I've never been good at being patient through injury rehab, but this is one time I plan to take it very slow and do as instructed.
I still can't believe I've got a prosthetic disc in my spine. The surreal aspect of this entire trip still hasn't worn off yet. It took what seemed like forever to get here, and now that it's happened it feels like it blew by. To say that I was scared as they wheeled me into surgery is the understatement of the year. Rarely do I get rattled about anything, but part of me wanted to jump out of the bed and run like the Santa Ana winds on warm autumn evening. But I took a deep breath, sucked down the happy gas, and came out the other side feeling relieved.
The good doctor is confident that my quality of life is going to improve significantly once I'm healed up, so I'm pretty excited to start rehab and put this behind me.
Break on through to the other side!
Tired, drugged and in a bit of pain, but I'm still kicking! I'm a little out of it, so I'm gonna keep it brief for now. My back feels achey, but not too bad. My stomach is quite raw and the catheter isn't a lot of fun. But I'm back in my room and resting. I'll write more later once my head clears up.
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