Lay, Lady, Lay

(trying to actually type this one at the computer - yay!)

Well, I am starting to learn more about what I can and cannot do, post-surgery. I was given a list of "precautions," which are activities or actions I am not allowed to do:

• Bending
• Lifting (anything heavier than a gallon of milk)
• Twisting (so hard to avoid this one!!)

Plus, I am not allowed to sit longer than 30 minutes. This one is SO hard to do. Essentially, I am supposed to change positions as frequently as possible, so as not to get stiff, or put any pressure on the surgery site. It is definitely difficult to follow this strictly - for instance, at the doctor's office yesterday, I had to wait in the waiting room for FORTY MINUTES before they called my name. I started getting SO uncomfortable, and also knew that I was long past the legal limit. I went up to the receptionist (Yay for being assertive!) and she said that they were now, indeed, ready for me.

As far as getting the sutures removed went, it was more weird than painful. It is just a very strange sensation, having a string pulled through your skin. I just kept breathing, and hoped that it would be over quickly (and it was!).

Funny thing - as I was waiting for the nurse to get started, I was laying on the table, back and tush exposed (I was facing the wall). I hear a knock on the door, and a loud male voice says, "This is what you think of me?!?!" LOL - it was my surgeon, coming in to say hi. He wasn't actually scheduled to meet with me at the appointment yesterday, but he saw my name on the wall and wanted to pop in to say hi. What a nice doctor! He even took a look at the wound and said that it was healing up very well.

Now that the sutures are out, I no longer have to wear a bandage on my back. THANK GOD! It has been so gosh darn itchy, I can't believe it. Now there is just some surgical tape over it, and that is supposed to fall off on its own over the next week or two.

So, the moral of the story is, I can't sit so long. I am SO SORE today, all along my hips and tailbone. A good friend took me to and from my appointment yesterday, so I treated her to lunch after the appointment - another hour of sitting. Ugh. That didn't help. Consequently, I have tried to stay in bed most of the day today, while being very conscientious about ice and medication.

Overall, I feel better and stronger each day. 99% of the pain from my pre-operative life is gone, and I am only experiencing the surgery pain. After three years of getting worse, it is so great to actually IMPROVE!