Stupid Bandages

I'm making progress post surgery. I am still in very little pain. Matter of fact, I am only taking one pain pill per day and I'm quite happy with that. It is usually just before bed or right when I wake up in the morning. I imagine I'll be able to stop them altogether soon.

The incision seems to be healing well. The wrapping is a royal pain in the arse. We continue to have problems getting the wrap to stay where it needs to stay. It either rolls up from the bottom or slides down from the top. This is the one that's on my thigh. The one on the lower part of the incision, on my calf, isn't a problem. I thought about getting some control top panythose and cutting the legs off, using the tummy control part on my thigh. I don't know that it would work, but I may just give it whirl.

Other than that, things seem to be fine. I am really hoping the staples can come out on Wednesday and there will be no reason to continue wrapping. I'm also ready to get back to work. I'm off without pay and that's going to be a problem eventually. Still taking things one day at a time.

Change in Caregivers

My sister's daughter got sick yesterday and had to be taken to the emergency room. She had something happen where she had a stiff neck but when she went to sign her name on something, she couldn't raise her arm. Went to the ER and had a CT scan which showed nothing but some calcium deposits on her brain. They also did a spinal tap to rule out meningitis. I told my sister to go home. Her daughter needs mom a lot more than I need my sister right now.

My youngest daughter Mandi is coming to replace her. Could be an interesting situation. Mandi has a naturally squeamish tummy and now she's about two months pregnant. I'm betting looking at the incision will be her undoing every day! It's okay, though. She needs some TLC from mom right now.

As far as the healing process, my sister says it's looking really good. I've finally been able to look at the incision and though it's really red by my knees, the rest looks good. I'm in very little pain. It really only hurts very early in the morning so I take a pain pill then. I also take one before I go to bed. I'm sleeping pretty well and able to do most things with no problems.

I go back to see the surgeon on Wednesday. My sister thinks the staples will be removed then. The only area that we're not sure of is the bend of my knee. I guess I'll know more on Wednesday.

I'm going to do my best to get around to visit all the blogs of my friends in the next day or so. I know I've been remiss and hope you'll all forgive me.

Fantastic

Had a fantastic day today. Got up and took a nice long shower. My sister, Debbie, is here to help me change the dressings every day. She was so tender and careful not to hurt me. She did an excellent job wrapping things back up and then checked it and adjusted it throughout the day.

I slept great last night. I was able to get into and out of bed on my own. That was a very freeing experience. No longer do I have to wake Tim to help me get up and to the bathroom. I'm loving having the drain out and the tumor gone. At one point, I went to roll over and realized how easy I can do that now the tumor is gone. I almost shouted with joy! For a while it's going to be the most simple of things that make me happy.

Walking is much easier. I commented to the surgeon that I'm less winded and he said he wasn't surprised. He said I have some very large blood vessels going to that tumor and that is likely where a lot of my cardiac outpout was going. He tied them off and wondered if it would make much of a difference. I assured him it had.

Went grocery shopping today and made one chicken and one beef pot pie from scratch. Easy peasy and everyone loved them. I had some leftovers that were packaged and into the freezer for a night when I don't feel like cooking. It felt so good to be cooking and know it was healthy food I was eating.

On to more great days as I move toward total healing.

Post Surgery Visit

So I went to see my surgeon today for an almost one week follow-up. He was quite pleased with the way things are healing. He took out the drain and I am thrilled. This means I can sleep on my tummy tonight, sleep being the operative word here! I've not really slept since I got home from the hospital and the little bit I did get, was sitting up in a recliner with my foot propped on a footstool.

I can now shower, Halllelujah! My hair is so "bedhead" it isn't even funny. I washed it in the kitchen sink yesterday with the hubby's help, but today it's right back where it was before. The dressing on my staples must be changed daily. That scared me a bit. My older sister, who is a CNA is going to come up to stay with me a few more days to help with that. I'm relieved though I know she really didn't want to make the trip back up. Somehow, we'll make it through.

A few minutes ago the most exciting thing happened to me. I was able to cross my legs at the ankles. Now I know for many that isn't such a big wow but to me, it was AMAZING! I can't even begin to tell you how long ago it was that I could do that. No tumor in the way and it was GREAT! I can hardly wait for the next thing I realize I can do.

Have an appointment next Wednesday and will hopefully get the staples removed then. From there it should be smooth sailing. One thing I will say about the removal of the drain. That HURT! I mean it. It really hurt. That was the most pain I've had through this entire surgical procedure, praise the Lord. If that's the extent of the pain, then I'm one happy gal. My spirits are much improved and I'm rearing to go. Yeehaw!

Recovery

I'm home from the hospital. Surgery went well and took only 75 minutes to remove the tumor from my thigh. I've been blessed with very little pain. I'm able to get up and walk to the bathroom without much assistance. I did spend an extra night in the hospital because of the morphine making me really sick. I still feel pretty icky, truth be told.

I can't sit here much longer. The nausea is blurring my mind right now. The tumor itself weighed 20 pounds according to the surgeon. The scale showed a 25 pound loss from Thursday to yesterday afternoon. I'll be adjusting things here when I feel better. Just wanted to check in so everyone would know I'm doing okay.

Have an appt to follow up on Wednesday. The surgeon will remove the dressing and hopefully the drain then. I'm not sure when the staples will come out. More later.

Surgery Details

Tomorrow is the day. I have to be at the hospital at 11:45 AM and the surgery is scheduled for 1:15 PM. My friend Barb is going to pick us up at 10:00 and go to breakfast with Tim. I'm going along but won't be able to have anything, even water. I can eat up until midnight tonight. Drink water and 7-up until 7 AM but then nothing at all.

I'll check in as soon as I can. I know it won't be any earlier than Friday since I'm in hospital overnight Thursday. If I'm coherent and can sit at the computer Friday I'll post. If not, well ... I'll post when I can.

God bless everyone. I'm sure going to be glad to have this 'sidekick' gone!

Just four more sleeps

A dear friend of mine measures things in how many more sleeps there are between now and an event in her life. It kind of rubbed off on me. I now have only four more sleeps until the big day arrives. It's all getting to be kind of surreal now.

I'm not worried at all. It is a necessary surgery. I have the utmost confidence in the surgeon. I like the hospital and the staff there have always treated me with the utmost care and excellence. I'm more concerned about the recovery period but I refuse to worry about it. Yep, I'm gonna be in some pain. But this too shall pass, right?

My oldest sister is coming up to stay a few days (probably the weekend) with me so that I won't have to worry so much about Tim or about getting things done at home. I'm glad someone will be here. She wants to know I can walk unassisted and take care of whatever needs taking care of before she'll leave us to fend for ourselves. It's a big relief for me.

I go under the knife on Thursday. I was given the definite all clear by the cardiologist last week. He said I have no blockages and no problems with my heart so it won't be an issue during surgery. He did say no surgery comes without risks (which I realize) and should I have a massive blood loss all bets are off. He also is curious about how much this tumor weighs. I should have gotten me a bookie!

Anyway, life is good. Tim is starting to stress but I don't think he realizes it. He's been more depressed lately. I know it weighs heavily on his mind that something could go terribly wrong. I keep telling him that's not going to happen, but know I can't obliterate his fear.

I'll weigh the morning of the surgery and then the morning after I come home. I'm sure I'll be retaining some fluids as I'll have the wonderful IV going while I'm in surgery. I'm going to ask that the surgeon have the tumor weighed before it's whisked off to pathology. It's just something I need to know!

Groceries are being laid in and I'm already back on track. I had gained up to 407 but was recently back down to 403. I'll not make any adjustments until after the surgery. Check back on Friday or sometime next weekend for the dramatic weight loss results of the removal of this tumor. I can't say I'm going to miss it at all!

Starting Over

Okay, the time has come to get real with myself. As Dr. Phil says, "We can't fix what we don't acknowledge" and so here I am. I have gained back up to 407. Whether it's weight in the leg or not, it's weight showing on the scale. I have got to reverse this spiral and get back on track.

I started back eating the way I was before I went to work and we moved. I had a great breakfast and did okay at lunch. Dinner will be at work and I won't have much choice, but will do my best to eat healthy. I have to get back to this for me.

Got my kitchen set up and organized over my weekend. I can use the stove. Woo hoo! Did some grocery shopping yesterday and will do a major shop on Wednesday before surgery next Thursday. Planning is half the battle. Now to follow the plan and keep it going.

Thanks to all who've dropped by and been here for me. I know I'm not posting very regularly lately and there are many reasons for it. I do appreciate the comments and support.

The Stress Test

I went yesterday and had the stress test on my heart. Whoo boy! I never knew walking on a treadmill could be so hard and four minutes could seem like an hour. Four minutes at a very slow pace is all I had to walk but I felt like I'd ran a marathon when it was all over! Thankfully, it remained a flat surface with no inclines and no speed changes. I do think the pace was a little slow for me but they assured me it was what was needed. Then I had to wait for 45 minutes and have pictures taken of my heart. That went smoothly. Got a call from the cardiologist office a little later and was told my heart is fine (I already knew that) and I am cleared for surgery. I don't even have to go back for day two of the protocol. So ... looks like the 19th is going to be a go!

Surgery Postponed

Got news late yesterday afternoon that the surgery had been postponed. I was supposed to go for a nuclear stress test on my heart and wanted to get this surgery over first. Seems the anesthesiologist has other ideas so ... The test is a two day protocol. The first part I'm doing today and the second part on Monday. The surgery is now rescheduled for October 19th. Sorry for the confusion. I had no time to post before heading into work yesterday. I'm disappointed but know that there's a reason this has happened. I've lugged this around for three years, another two weeks can't make that much of a difference. I will definitely get a post to let everyone know how surgery goes when it's over. Updates as my saga continues.

The day draws near

Okay ... I will be having surgery on Thursday, October 5. I don't have a time yet. I should know that late tomorrow afternoon or early evening. I will go in and have the surgery and then stay in the hospital overnight. If all things go as planned, I'm to be released to come home on Friday.

I have very mixed emotions right now. I'm excited to have this thing finally gone from my leg. I'm excited about a large weight loss with the removal. I'm excited to get back to an eating program and march solidly on toward my goal of 200 pounds gone by January 1 of 2007.

Then again, I'm scared spitless. I'm worried something will go wrong. I'm afraid of the pain I'll have when it's all over. I hate thinking about being intubated, catheterized, etc. I'm afraid of infection and some kind of complication.

I'm putting it into the Lord's capable hands. I know He won't let me down. I'm not done living yet and I have many things to accomplish. I'll check back when I know more.

Still Waiting

I called the surgery scheduler this morning and had to leave a message. The message said I could expect a call back in the next 24-48 hours. I imagine this so she can check into what kind of surgery and block out the time it might take. Right now I get to continue waiting.

Lost another pound this past week. Not really trying and been maintaining until recently. I'm sure once I put this whole surgery business behind me, I'll be back on track. Actually, I'm thinking about not waiting anymore and just starting up again now. We'll see how the mood hits this week and when the surgery is going to be. No time like the present, right?