Saturday, January 23, 2010

What's holding me together...

So here's an image of me in my compression binder & my old lady stockings that are suppose to help prevent blood clots. My drains come from just above my pubic area & I have gauze around the incision & then I velcro them to my binder to keep them out of my way. Everything is very tight & creates a lot of swelling on my hips. I have no idea how lil' old ladies get those stockings on!

Today I had more energy than the previous days. I got in some good naps & sleep, ate a proper meal, and managed to take a real shower! I feel so much better. I'm still very hunched over, but I'm walking a bit faster & can get myself little snacks, medication, and can empty my drains on my own. I'm still looking quite pail & have raccoon eyes. I'm hoping I get some color back soon.

I can't even emphasize enough what a great help my boyfriend has been. He's taken all the photos for me, helped me getting to the washroom, taking sponge baths/showers, feeding me, setting alarms & making sure I get my medication on time, making sure I'm comfortable, and I even got a manicure + pedicure last night! I'm so greatful for his help. I know it's hard to see me in such a pathetic state, haha, but he's done a great job of going above and beyond.

Tomorrow morning I have to go back to the hospital to see if I need to have some minor surgery for draining out some of the fluid/blood out. I'm hoping that he'll be able to get out some of the captured blood & reduce some of this swelling. He said it won't affect my final results & that he will more than likely open a bit on my incision & only need to go under some local anesthesia.

I'll report tomorrow & post pictures of my 4-day post-op. Thanks everyone who has been posting such supportive comments!!

K

3 comments:

  1. I think you are terribly brave!!!! Good luck with all of this.

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  2. I'm so glad you're feeling better - I have had to wear the granny stockings because my obesity has caused my legs to fill up and look like troll legs! I roll them off and then roll them back on - it's a little easier! I haven't had to wear them so much since I've started to lose some weight and exercise so I'm hoping I'll be free of them at my goal weight!

    You look GREAT!

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  3. I had an oophorectomy in August - where my ovaries and tubes were removed. I hadn't expected it to be all that bad but for what ever reason I was in a lot (a LOT) of pain afterwards for the first week or so. My husband was sooooooo clueless. The first day at home I finally half crawled downstairs to find him. He and our roommate were watching 'Deep Space Nine' on DVDs. I was sooo hungry and thirsty. I text messaged my sisters saying that I wish I could be at Mom's house. That freaked them out because my Mom is NOT a nice nurse LOL- she's the stereotyped gym teacher who thinks running a few laps will cure anything.

    I just read him the paragraph about your boyfriend taking good care of you - (he got the message from friends and family that he effed up) and he's like "you might want to cut and paste that into an email to me...". I'm to have my mastectomy next year and I'm so afraid he'll "forget" me upstairs for days on end! A few friends have even offered to take a little time off to stay with me :) My poor big sister had here oophorectomy and mastectomy AND reconstruction all in one surgery! (but she had a few people to help out!)

    Thanks again for keeping us up to date! And tell your boy friend that he's done good!

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