I'M RICH...!!!

Is there anything else I need to add to this? Honestly, I hate associating my bowel movements, or lack thereof, with one of my favorite movies, but if you've followed this blog you will note I've been waiting for the diamonds to be mined...and indeed they have. Yes, diamonds are a girls best friend. In fact, the nurse at the surgeons office called right after the big event and asked if I had had a bowel movement yet. My husband stated with all the proudness of a new parent recognizing the first bowel movement in the nappy of their newborn, "Yes!." As there is a nerve in the area of the surgery that can be pinched if you are full and constipated, the pain I had been having could actually be somewhat attributed to that nerve being pinched because of the lack of the diamonds being mined. Do I feel better? Yeah, a bit. I'm also relieved to know a bit of 'normalness' is creeping back in.

We swallowed the gopher last night and decided to go ahead and take off the left side of the bandage. This was the side that was covered/soaked in blood, that eventually leaked the pooled blood all over my bed and generally caused a bit of apprehension in this household. To both of our surprise...the entire thing came off without so much as a stitch sticking to the incision area. The worst of the whole thing is a slight rash below the sticky covering bandage that had covered the area. And, yes, we smelled the bandages for any type of funk which could indicate an infection. The only smell we could both decipher was a musty/sweaty one. There is still a pinch or two of oozing from the incision areas, otherwise all is clear. This photo has some line marks across it because it was taken right after I got up from bed. Without the additional bulkiness of the surgical gauze and all that other crap, the log roll manuever in and out of bed is a lot less painful because less point pressure is being placed on the sensitive incision areas.

Did a one-half mile walk this morning after breakfast. My energy level still really sucks. It was all I could do to mine the diamonds, shower and update my meds log....and, bam, I was flat on my back again for a mid-morning nap. If you do plan to go through this surgery please commit yourself whole heartedly to the rehab. The self-directed rehab should be fully laid out for you by your surgeon and his office before you ever decide to do this surgery. This is not a couple of stitches and we'll see you in two weeks thing. Some surgeons will insist on a structured, scheduled rehab for you. A good friend of mine who had this surgery done by my surgeon four years ago had to go twice a week for six weeks to her local Florida Hospital branch and participate in exercises to help her regain her balance when walking. I am thankful that I don't have to do that. Maybe the surgeon saw in me a very self-motivated patient, determined to succeed. Last year I followed the patient booklet without fault, even doubling up on the exercises some days. I want to make sure you know the whole picture...this is at least a one-year commitment on your part towards overall healing. A solid fusion can take two years to occur. Keep this in mind through all the pain you might now be in while trying to make the surgical decision.