Post op Day 14

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Yay! It’s been two weeks and I’m still going strong. I’m a nurse so I like to take a peek to make sure everything looks okay in between appointments especially if I feel anything abnormal. On Saturday one of my stitches looked odd. I got pretty nervous, emailed Dr G and decided I would just be on bedrest with bathroom privileges until I heard back. It was a Saturday night and Dr G responded saying everything looked fine and just to take it easy. I am so thankful that he is so devoted and checks his email even on a Saturday night. I’ve had a doctor yell at me for calling the advice line before 10pm on a weekday when I was having an adverse reaction to the medicine and the instructions said to call your doctor immediately. Dr. Goldstein really is one of a kind!

I saw Dr. Goldstein and Catherine the NP on Monday, Post op Day 12. They said that everything looks great and that I seem to be doing really well. They told me I was definitely okay to fly home the next day and to keep sending pictures. I’m a little sad I won’t be seeing them every week to hear everything looks okay. I know they can tell by pictures, but it’s not quite the same. Plus, everyone at the office is so friendly that I always leave there feeling happy and cared about.

On Tuesday my husband and I journeyed back to the St. Louis area to spend the next month with our families. I never seem to be able to find a direct flight to St. Louis so we had a layover in Denver. As advised by the other ladies I called the airline ahead of time to set up wheelchair assistance. I know I can walk but not very fast, and our layover in Denver was only supposed to be 30 minutes. If we landed late and our next gate was far away I wouldn’t make it or would be hurting if I did. In actuality, I didn’t need to call, but they did add it on to my itinerary so someone would be waiting for me at each stop for the layover and in STL. Everyone was super nice and helpful, although I did notice a lot of weird look from other passengers probably thinking that I didn’t need a wheelchair. I found it easier just to look down at the ground during transport. It was nice not having to stand in line at security and being the first to board the plane. We were able to sit in the first row with extra leg room and I could easily stand if I needed to. I asked the flight attendant for a couple glasses of ice for my ice pack. She even offered to fill it for me. A word of wisdom: do not use the ice bag from the hospital without placing it in a plastic bag first. I only used the hospital one on the drive home and then we had frozen gel packs that I liked instead. Since the gel packs weren’t refillable I thought I’d use the one from the hospital during the flight. It had a plastic lining and cloth inside so I thought it would work nicely. Halfway to Denver I felt really cold down there. It turns out that the ice pack leaked. My pillow and dress were both really wet and ended up staying that way for most of the trip! I also found that my maxi dress worked really well for comfort and it hides the ice pack nicely.

My pain is still well under control. I’ve been taking 800mg of Ibuprofen, typically every 8-10 hours. The itching got pretty intense and was not relieved by Benadryl so I opted to get the Vistaril. The ice during the day makes the itching manageable so I only take the Vistaril at night. Between the Vistaril and the Percocet I sleep pretty well. When I wake up in the morning I grab Ibuprofen, a heat pack or an ice pack and try to sleep in a bit longer. I can’t seem to fit the 4 baths in, so I’ve been taking 2-3 longer baths. I usually stay in for 60-90 minutes at a time. It doesn’t really help with my pain (primarily because my pain is already well managed), but it is supposed to help dissolve the stitches. Dr Goldstein keeps reminding me to have a quiet recovery so I take slow walks throughout the day usually about 20-30 minutes every 2 hours. I’m really trying hard to be a good patient since I know medical professionals can be the worst!