The Wednesday pulling was hell. Both of the drains that were pulled were laying under the incisions that run from my crotch to my knee down my inner thigh. They had been in for 21 days and the ripping sensation as they came out left me screaming out the most creative curse words I have ever come up with. When we looked at the drains after the fact, I know why there was such an intense ripping sensation. My body was healing into the perforations along the drain tubes. We could see the bits of flesh and goo stuck in them. There were over two feet inside me on each drain.
Saturday morning the drain amounts were low, so out came the last two! And thankfully, they were both easy to pull out with very little pain and no creative cursing. My poor crotch is so swollen from all the discomfort over the last few weeks!
On Thursday we also took my catheter out after 22 days. I was worried my body would forget how to function and I would just piss my batsuit, but thankfully that hasn't been the case!
I feel like a normal human again now that I don't have tubes and drains coming out of me. The best part of the drains coming out, well other than my crotch finally looking semi-normal, was the shower. I hadn't showered in 24 days. That first hot shower was pure bliss. I still need to keep my incision lines and wounds very dry, so showers will be every second or third day.
One of my wounds (top of the inner thigh incision) is healing very well, but still being treated by Matt every day with special wound cream and gauze. The hole that was there looks to be filling in and I don't freak out when I see it anymore.
The wound at the top of my ass crack.... well I freak the frack out with that one. We had to take a picture of it this week to send back to my surgeon and when I saw it, I nearly cried. It is about a loonie sized hole, but it goes in at about inch. I swear, it looks like a worm has burrowed into me. So everyday Matt has to clean it out, fill with wound gel, pack with special gauze and then cover with more gauze. But he says the wound is looking good with nice pink skin in there. It is just going to take a very long time to heal.
The rest of my six feet of incision lines are looking fantastic. Most of the scabs have even fallen off and the lines are getting flatter. I will get a picture of the incision lines later this week to show how much improvement there has been. I am confident in a year those scars will be pretty light.
Yesterday was my first outing since arriving back in Faro and I felt like a superstar. We went to our town's annual Church Ladies Tea and Craft Show where I was hugged over and over again. People did some serious double takes when they saw me. I was able to do a lap of the gym and look at all of the great craft stuff for sale and then sat down and had a lovely lunch and got to visit with friends. I left the outing exhausted, but feeling very loved and supported by my town. This town does an incredible job of rallying behind people who need support. I have felt very loved and supported throughout my journey to become healthy.
The boys have been fabulous with me this week. They know how to help me with my pillows the way I like them. They bring me snacks and kittens and entertain me with their antics. I still don't feel comfortable being at home alone with them yet, but Matt doesn't go back to work until this coming Friday, so I am sure it will be fine by the end of the week.
I am finding it difficult now to still have to sit still and recover. I want to be up. Baking. Crafting. Helping some other people who are having difficult times. Decorating. Cleaning my house. The squirrel wants to go all out! Then I realized that taking a shower, brushing teeth and hair and getting into the batsuit fully exhaust me to the point I need an hour sitting before I can even think about putting clothing on over top of the batsuit. I have to watch out now that I don't over do it now that I don't have those physical reminders of my surgery hanging out of me.
So now I just wait and relax. The swelling will keep coming down over the next few months. The final results of my surgery will slowly be revealed. And I will gain my strength back. I want to climb mountains this summer!
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| All ready for my outing! |
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| Wearing my new SIZE LARGE jacket and feeling very happy. |
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| My home wear....batsuit, undies (batsuit has an open crotch) and a tank top. Just warning you if you come for a visit, this is your show! ahahhaha |
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| Bowl o' drains! See ya later, suckers! Thanks for doing your job so well! |
3 comments:
Nothing like what you have had, but I am a couple of weeks from the one year anniversary of a cancer removal on my face, and I think based on my experience that your expectations for the scars is probably very accurate. I have a scar, but it is probably only really something I notice anymore.
you look so great! and what an ordeal you have gone through- i admire your incredible tenacity in keeping to your diet and then to going through the operation. when the pain is long gone and forgotten you'll look and feel even better.
You're amazing - but I seem to have said that before... I'm simply running out of superlatives for one of the gutsiest ladies I've ever had the pleasure of knowing.
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