week two!

[nilchance]

obviously it's not the end of the world, but man, I am chafing at the restrictions and unwisely comparing myself to other people's progress. some people are going on miles-long hikes one week in, and meanwhile I went to brunch on Sunday and it knocked me out for the next day and a half. the pain has definitely gotten better, but I'm still pretty sore at the drain sites and my sternum.

and oh, the saga of the drains. my right drain was the drama queen for the first week, draining up to 60 mL in one sitting when it has to be under 25 mL a day for three days in order to be ready for removal. now the right drain is ready but the left drain is stubbornly putting out 35 mL daily all week. I had a postop appointment for tomorrow to get the drains out, but with permission from the surgeon I have cancelled that and I'm waiting to reschedule until I can get both out. hopefully that will be sometime next week? I just hated to have to ask T to take off work and drive me all the way to DC only to have to do it all again in a few days. so yeah, drains are still gonna be in for a while.

I have been very lucky, complications-wise. needing to rest and being unable to help around the house is not unexpected. I was just spoiled by my recovery from the exploratory laparoscopy in 2022 when I bounced back within days. :/

but! I have gone back to working on my preparatory course for the medical transcription certification exam. I did a little work this morning and feel accomplished. I took a full two weeks off, but I was a week ahead and it's a self-paced course. I should be okay to catch up before the end of the course in December.

I will probably update once I get the drains out or at the three week point, whichever comes first. tl;dr, I'm doing okay despite being antsy and annoyed with myself.

Comments

[dine]

I think frustration is pretty normal - you want it to be over and done, and your body's not cooperating. hopefully the flow will reduce soon, and you can be done with drains next week