I have soooo much to be grateful for! My surgery was on Monday, July 14th, at noon, and I was released to come home last night (Tuesday). I was told it was "textbook perfect" in every way, and my pain has been very minimal. I had more pain with my gallbladder surgery in February than with this! I'm starting to feel a little bit of the residual gas from the surgery trying to work its way out of my system, but it's very minor. Dr. McKinlay said he tries to evacuate as much out as he can before finishing up, so I was very thankful for that! My only complaint after surgery was a bit of nausea and not being steady on my feet because I was a little dizzy, but that has subsided.
The first thing I was allowed in the hospital was 1 oz. of water per hour, starting at 6pm Monday evening. After noon on Tuesday, I was able to increase my water to 2 oz. per hour. I had my first meal of chicken broth and sugar free jello (1 oz. each) for lunch, and the same thing for dinner (waiting, of course, for 30 min. before and after to drink any water). Before leaving the hospital, all of my staples were removed, as well as my drain. I know when my brother had his surgery, they left his drain in for 10 days, so I asked the nurse why they would take mine out so early. I guess every surgeon does things a little differently, but I haven't had any issues related to mine coming out sooner than later, and it wasn't painful having it removed.
Today, my 3 meals will be the same as at the hospital - 1 oz. broth and 1 oz. jello, but my water increases to 4 oz. per hour. I am also doing my breathing exercises with the spirometer 10x every hour to avoid any problems with pneumonia, and I'm getting up and walking just a little bit, as often as possible, to avoid any blood clots. I will probably venture outside of the house in a couple of days to get a little more distance to my walking, but for now, I'm really feeling pretty good!
After my husband brought me home from the hospital last night, he fixed himself some dinner. I found myself thinking I should be hungry, but I'm really not. It's such a strange feeling for a change! I think the biggest challenge will be between my head telling me I should be hungry and my body telling me otherwise. Years of habit will have to give way to a new way of doing things. I will need to learn how to listen to my body more carefully, so I'm trying to pay close attention.
Later in the day, I'll post some pre-op pix from the hospital. Erwin got a kick out of the purple paper gown they put on me before surgery! It had some little vents where they could hook up a big white tube to blow cold or warm air underneath your gown, and they handed me the control to adjust the temperature to whatever was comfortable. The gown was actually twice the size I needed, so I had to wrap it around quite a bit. Anyway... more to come soon. :)
The first thing I was allowed in the hospital was 1 oz. of water per hour, starting at 6pm Monday evening. After noon on Tuesday, I was able to increase my water to 2 oz. per hour. I had my first meal of chicken broth and sugar free jello (1 oz. each) for lunch, and the same thing for dinner (waiting, of course, for 30 min. before and after to drink any water). Before leaving the hospital, all of my staples were removed, as well as my drain. I know when my brother had his surgery, they left his drain in for 10 days, so I asked the nurse why they would take mine out so early. I guess every surgeon does things a little differently, but I haven't had any issues related to mine coming out sooner than later, and it wasn't painful having it removed.
Today, my 3 meals will be the same as at the hospital - 1 oz. broth and 1 oz. jello, but my water increases to 4 oz. per hour. I am also doing my breathing exercises with the spirometer 10x every hour to avoid any problems with pneumonia, and I'm getting up and walking just a little bit, as often as possible, to avoid any blood clots. I will probably venture outside of the house in a couple of days to get a little more distance to my walking, but for now, I'm really feeling pretty good!
After my husband brought me home from the hospital last night, he fixed himself some dinner. I found myself thinking I should be hungry, but I'm really not. It's such a strange feeling for a change! I think the biggest challenge will be between my head telling me I should be hungry and my body telling me otherwise. Years of habit will have to give way to a new way of doing things. I will need to learn how to listen to my body more carefully, so I'm trying to pay close attention.
Later in the day, I'll post some pre-op pix from the hospital. Erwin got a kick out of the purple paper gown they put on me before surgery! It had some little vents where they could hook up a big white tube to blow cold or warm air underneath your gown, and they handed me the control to adjust the temperature to whatever was comfortable. The gown was actually twice the size I needed, so I had to wrap it around quite a bit. Anyway... more to come soon. :)
Here are some pictures from the hospital, just before surgery:
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