First Day at Home

I was released to go home after two nights in the hospital.  Friends and family sent me beautiful flowers to give me something pretty to look at while I laid about.  I took liquid hydro codeine to help sleep at night.  My stomach muscles and incisions were pretty painful.  Partly because of this... allergic reaction to the adhesive on the sterile strips.  So glad I had my very own personal nurse at home to take care of me.  We removed the original bandages and replaced them with different sterile strips and applied severe burn ointment.  After a couple of days the incision sites looked much better.  When I was at home I was to start working on taking in protein drinks.  I had purchased a large vat of powdered protein that I felt tasted better than others I had tried.  I used Isopure Cookies and Cream.  I tried blending it with ice in a blender and drinking on it from a glass.  No dice.  I was not able to drink it that way.  So my dad came up with a better plan.  Shot glasses.  We poured a shot of protein shake in the shot glass and put the rest in the fridge.  I set a timer and knew I was to have the shot glass drank in an hour.  That really helped me get in some fluids.  Though there was no way I was able to get in the recommended amount.  Tiny sips every few minutes was a feat of its own.  I struggled to get an 8 oz glass down in a day.  I tried to sip on shot glasses of broth and sugar free Popsicle every day as well for flavor but never got in very much of them because I immediately stopped drinking or eating at the first sign of discomfort.  Full feels different after surgery.  It feels more like a restriction as opposed to the typical "ate too much at Thanksgiving" full I had been use to.  I took my first shower at home and nearly passed clean out.  Without much fuel going into the new tank I was pretty weak.  I walked to the mailbox three times a day as exercise.  I used a lanyard, the kind you put your badge on at work, to keep my drainage port and bulb out of  the way so I could keep my hands free to brace myself against the walls of the shower.  Stay tuned for the next posts about exercise and food!