Weaning Off The Couch

It's been 11 days since surgery and I think I'm finally turning the corner. The first 7 days were pretty rough and I was in a strange semi coma state during those days and Black Kitty and I pretty much spent our time like the picture below. The issue is that I'm getting really sick of lazing around and she doesn't seem to mind continuing the same routine. Ahhh, the life of a cat.

I had a few big things happen since the last post. The most exciting was that I am now able to weight bear with the crutches. This is a huge blessing since the snow has returned and I am needing to get out and about in it. I'm all for fun, but crutches and snow do not go well and are completely terrifying to get out in. Being able to bear a little weight helps me not bite it so easily. Next, I was able to fully wiggle my toes the other day. I know this seems minor to most, but it felt soooo good to me. The swelling has been so great that my toes were like fat stubs and were frozen into one position. I'm pretty happy about it. Next, I went back to work. The first shift was miserable since I was unable to take any narcs for 12 hours. Coming off taking them every 4 hours was a huge deal and I was in extreme pain, so much so that I was nauseated at the end of 10 hours and had to take some Zofran for it. I was extremely anxious prior to this shift, but I was blessed and didn't get called in to do anything... a true gift from God that day. My next shift was yesterday and I had a short day in the OR with a good crew. It was still very painful, but I was happy to get back to work and feel useful. I really do love giving anesthesia and I was happy to be able to help people again. I will be back to work all next week and have a little travel on Monday to work; I'm already anxious about the pain from the swelling that the travel will cause... but I'm gonna tough it out and pray for the best.

I will be taken down to see Dr Porter on Wed for my 2 week appointment, get my stitches out and get the word on how much longer I will need the crutches, be in the cast, and what my timeline for recovery looks like. He called the other day and said I could spin for 15 minutes in the cast once I was off the pain meds for a full 24 hours AND not in pain... hmmm, I look forward to that day- to spin and not be in pain. I think I'm getting close, but I really just want to focus on making it through a work day without feeling like death first.

Now I have to focus on finding the strength and mindset to take on the recovery phase that will come soon. Everyone always seems to worry about the "day" of surgery, but after a few of them in the books for me, I know all to well that the hard part comes during the recovery phase. My incisions are healing nicely as you can see above, but as below shows, my muscle mass didn't take long to start fading away. I've got a lot, a lot, a lot of work ahead of me for this comeback that spans all the way back to November when I had meningitis. Maybe I should apply for a cat downgrade?

Just joking.... this is Comeback 7.0!

"Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out. "
John Wooden