Almost 5 weeks!

I am almost at the 5 week mark since my surgery and 1 week to go until I return to work. Although I do feel physically ready to go to work, I just don't wanna! I love being home with my family and dread going back to a job I don't like. Oh well, I guess there's not much I can do about it. We do have to pay bills. Christmas was great, I loved spending the time with my family. I feel really good, although I do have to say my eating habits over the holiday season have been less than okay, but, I will have to smarten up, I don't want to fall into a rut. My incsions are still a bit sore but looking good. The adhesive is now gone which is nice. I was under the impression that I had no stitches in my smaller incisions, however that is obviously incorrect since a stitch poked through one of my incisions. I found a little clear plastic stitch at one end of my incision that came out and went back in like a little loop sticking out. One end has become detached and it is just sort of sticking out now. So, in light of this I now realize that there must be stitches in all my incisions because that was definately what that was. I had some wine with Christmas dinner which was nice, it was the first time I drank anything since the surgery and I was a bit nervous about, but it was fine. My energy is great and I feel like I can do so much more now, in a much more normal capacity compared to only a couple of weeks ago. I am starting to feel like me again and it's a good feeling. I hope everyone's holiday was wonderful and that the new year brings much joy and happiness.

Yay for jeans!!

Yay! I can finally wear jeans again!! Wooo! My incisions are healing well, they are just looking pink now and I can see what the scars will look like. The adhesive from that blasted tape is still on most of them and it's driving me crazy! Two of my little incisions are adhesive free, and it seems to have come off my big one as well, but a few of my little ones are still sticky with it. I am slowly getting back to my normal size but am still a bit bloated. Today I put on make up for the first time since the surgery, and for the first time since the surgery I felt pretty again. I have felt so "patienty" (if that makes sense) since the surgery that along with my necessary sweat pants I would just wear big t-shirts and not do my hair or put on make up. And today I felt like putting some effort into myself again and that feels really good. Tomorrow marks 4 weeks since my surgery and I can't believe how far I've come since day 1. I feel almost normal again (almost) and I know soon I will be me again. In 2 weeks I will be back to work and I think when that happens, I will start to feel like my life is coming back again. Although I am not thrilled about going back to work, I know that I will feel more like myself once I do. Anyway, everything seems to be going very well and dad is doing great! Yay for jeans!!

Okay another quick post

Hey,

Just wanted to show the big incision without the steri strips, I finally got up the nerve this morning to peel them off, I couldn't stand them anymore! Here it is, and then all of them. My abdomen around my big incision is still puffed out a bit, I hope it goes back to normal soon. I have my appt with the surgeon today, so hopefully he'll be happy with everything.

Quick Post

Just wanted to post some pictures without those strips on there. I couldn't take it anymore so I pulled them off! All except for the big incision that is....anyway here they are, you'll notice I still have the left over adhesive which is tough to get rid of when you are sore and can't scrub at it. Oh, and there are actually only 5 incisions, I mistook a bruise for an incision.

2 Weeks Post Op

Yesterday marked exactly 2 weeks since surgery! Dad and I talked about it last night on the phone and how strange it seems that two weeks ago we were just beggining our recovery. Today, I got paid for my short term. YAY. I can pay my bills!! It's such a huge relief, for those of you who have read my previous posts, you know it was a worry for me. And I think I am allowed to drive now so I might try heading out today to finish Christmas shopping, or I might wait for my husband to come home. It depends on how brave I feel...... Another little exciting tidbit from my recovery, I can actually lay on both sides now when I am trying to sleep. I can lay on either side and that makes it so much more comfortable, although getting on to my side is quite a task, it does take a while. My sister in law was kind enough to drop off a frozen pizza for me yesterday which was good because not being able to go anywhere I was running out of food, and although people were asking me if I needed anything, I didn't want to put anyone out of their way so I said no. But my husband (who is away for work) called my sister in law and told her that I was running low on groceries, so she brought over something for me to eat. She tried to find out what else I needed but I would only accept the pizza. Stubborn I am, but I don't want to be a pain in the ass! My incisions have been itching a bit which I am told is a good thing, but it doesn't feel good. My appointment with my surgeon is only a few days away and I am anxious for him to have a look at my stomach and see what he says. I am hoping he will tell me I can pull off these steri-strips, they aren't physically bothering me, but having them there drives me crazy, I want to take them off! I don't like them. And I would like to take some pictures of the incisions without those strips on there.

Pictures

My 'big' incision where they removed the kidney

My small incisions

My small incisions

Here are a couple of pictures of my incisions, the steri strips are still on there so it's kind of hard to see but there are 6 small incisions total, two are covered with the same tape so it looks like I have 5, and 1 bigger incision where they removed the kidney. I say big, but really it's only a couple of inches. You can see I still have some bruising, but when I first came home it was very very purple. It's clearing up nicely now. You can see there is a small incision on my far left side (right side in photo) this one has kept me from laying on that side.

With the holiday season approaching I am realizing how different things are this year. Last year at this time my father was in a terrible state, and this year he can even eat some of his favorite foods! We put the tree and lights up this weekend and it's great seeing them up, it really brightens my spirits. I have an appointment with my surgeon on the 12th to look over my incisions, and then on the 13th I am flying to Ontario to see my in-laws. I am so excited! Unfortunately my husband was unable to get the time off of work to go, but he insisted I go ahead and spend some time with them, so I am. It's my first time flying and I am a bit nervous, but it's only a 2 hour flight so I will take some gravol and probably sleep. My in-laws are amazing, my sister in-law and brother in-law live close to me but my mother and father in-law moved to Ontario this past August. It was a big move for them and for all of us. They were always sort of the Trunk of the family tree, their house was where we had the dinners and holidays. So it's really strange not having them here, but I will be heading up there in a few days and then we are all driving back down together so that we can all spend Christmas together as a family. I am starting to feel like myself again, I can get up much more easily now and I can move around much better. I actually slept in my bed last night instead of on the couch and it was great! I've had to sleep on the couch because until now I couldn't sleep on either side of my body, only my back and the bed was too hard on my back, but now I can lay a bit on my right side, so I can sleep in my bed again, yay!! My father's creatnine continues to drop which is incredible news and his blood pressure is good as well. He is having a hard time getting used to the regular trips to the bathroom, but is happy about it. My husband has gone away for work for a couple of days so I am sad about that, but with me being on short term and not having received any money yet, we do have to be careful to keep money in the bank and so unfortunately he had to go. I am hoping to hear something about my short term soon, but nothing as of yet. I haven't needed any pain medication which is good and my back pain is slowly getting better. It felt good to be able to help decorate the tree, but I must admit, I was quite sore later that evening. I love the holidays and am happy they are upon us, I just hope I can find the time to get some Christmas cards done. With my husband working, and me not being allowed to drive it makes it hard to get anything done........