In all honesty, this was the hardest part. I had made it through the scary diagnosis, egg retrieval, 3 months of chemotherapy, and surgery. Recovery from surgery was hands down the most challenging for me, not only physically, but mentally.
Getting home from the hospital was nice- got settled in, had some dinner and went to bed. However, I had to sleep on my back, somewhat propped up with pillows, sleeping with my chest pillow in front of me, kind of felt like a dead person in a casket. Not super comfortable, especially since I am a side sleeper through and through. I got used to it over time, but the first few days were hard. The drains coming out of my sides were pokey and sore. Trying not to move too much and accidentally yank on them. Making sure I was still getting enough oxygen and checking my oxygen levels when I went to lay down. Luckily I had everything I needed to check my vitals at home, being a home health therapist. But trying to be a good patient myself was hard. As some of you may know I am not a very good sedentary person and the surgeon did not want me to get my heart rate up due to increased blood flow and possible fluid collection at the surgical site (which could lead to infection). So my precautions were:
1. No use of the arms (T-Rex arms is what they called it), so I had to keep my elbows in, no overhead reaching, no pushing/pulling, no reaching too far behind (hard to wipe your ass or pull up your pants)
2. No strenuous activity (keep my heart rate low) which was hard considering my heart rate would increase with any activity due to the inflammation in my lungs
3. Sleep at 30 degree angle (at least for the first week)
4. Keep incisions clean and dry
5. Keep drains intact and monitor drain output
6. Take medication 3x a day for at least 2 weeks
So this is why this was the hardest part for me. At least when I was going through chemotherapy I could still work, workout and MOVE. I had at least 6 weeks of this, which didn’t seem very long until you are living in it, having my husband and my mom pull up my pants every time I used the bathroom, timing when to strip the drains and check the output, making sure I’m taking all the correct meds at the correct times, and trying not to to absolutely crazy at the same time.
I read a lot of books, tried to get outside when I could, and tried to stay away from the T.V. My parents stayed out at our place a lot to help when they could. We played a lot of scrabble and tried to change the scenery. When I was able to start walking a little bit more, we would go for short walks in the parks nearby. After about 4-5 weeks my surgeon cleared me to start moving and stretching my arms… a little bit of freedom. However, after not being able to move your arms for 5 weeks, it was a little tough and then I realized how long this recovery was really going to be.
Mandafit 