The last time I blogged was 2 days before my Tarlov Cyst surgery on 8/18/15. Wow, I guess with my recovery and trying to get back to life I totally skipped updating! Sorry to those of you who don't have facebook and have been wondering about my progress!
We left for Dallas on Monday, checked in to the hotel, tried to eat a good last meal, the key word there was "tried". Nerves were starting to have a party, and no sleep was eminent. It was a toss and turn night for sure! We arrived at the hospital at 8:30 am. I was in surgery by 10:45 am. The last thing I remember was the bright lights as I was being wheeled into the OR and being asked to scoot from the stretcher to the OR table. This was right after they gave me the "I don't care juice".
The next thing I remember is being in my room with Brian at my side holding my hand. I was told the surgery was a success and the cysts were larger than they thought. I was in pain, I'm not going to deny that, but it was manageable. I had to lie flat for the first 24 hours to minimize the risk of developing a spinal headache. My backside felt as if I had a brick strapped to it! I of course had my little friend, the morphine pump. I've always had a high tolerance to pain meds, so I expected not to be pain free. This was after I woke up in my room.
The first night was the roughest, but God sent me a heavenly nurse who took great care of me! She turned me from side to side every hour and kept an ice pack full and in place. She encouraged me to drink water. I vaguely remember grabbing her hand, with tears rolling down my face, telling her she was taking care of me just like my mom would have.
The next day it was time for business! The bed was elevated slowly and by the afternoon it was time to get up and walk! I felt weak and unsteady, but walking felt good! I still felt like I had a brick strapped to my lower back. I was so happy to have real food!
Thursday, I asked to leave the hospital and return to the hotel! A day early! Yep, that's me. So, that's what we did! It felt great to be in a regular bed without anyone bothering me all night! I slept better than I expected but was up often to use the restroom, me and my new friend, a four leg walker. We left the next morning for the 5 hour drive home. I had a "make do" bed in the back of the car as I was advised not to sit. The drive home wasn't bad as far as the surgical area hurting any more than normal, but after 2 hours I started getting nervous and we had to stop often. Climbing in and out of the car from the hatchback wasn't easy, but we thought to take a stool.
It was so great to be home! My bed, my boys, my Marlee! The boys were so sweet and caring. Marlee was so gentle with me! I slept a lot the first week. I was still in bed more than not up thru about 8 weeks post op. No bending, twisting, no pushing, no pulling. That was the rules. There wasn't much I could do without breaking them. I learned a pair of BBQ tongs were my best friend! Easy to pick things up, move things around, and I even pulled clothes out of dryer to fold with them.
These pics show my incision at 5 days, two weeks and eight weeks, respectively.
Nice 4 1/2 inch extension of my butt crack! I know, nothing sexy about this old 49 year old butt!
So that's an update thru 8 weeks recovery, a long 8 weeks! I'll continue the progress in the next post!
And, I'll try to catch up and not fall behind again! Once again, "try" is the key word!
