I see it's been a few days since I reported in.
Yesterday started out rough. Lack of sleep while trying to sleep inclined at 45 degrees without putting pressure on the back of my head, plus having an alarm go off every hour to spray the implants, had me groggy in the morning. I got fixed up as best I could and for the first time since surgery went downstairs for the breakfast buffet.
FacialTeam's driver picked me up at 10:45 to take me to HC Hospital for my first hair washing. A nurse sprayed the follicles, massaged the shampoo into them, and rinsed them off repeatedly, and it took a long time. So long that I ended up needing to use the bathroom, and I couldn't get her to understand what I wanted. "Bathroom," "Restroom," "Baños," urgent gestures, and crossed legs did nothing but get a smile and nod from her. When she finally finished I was in dire straits. I was about ready to just jump up from the table when she told me that the implant area was too red to continue the washing and that I needed to come back on Wednesday to finish up. I finally was able to get my message across and drain the sump. Yikes.
A short meeting with my wonderful coordinator, Isabel, and I was taken back to my hotel. I was still fatigued from the bad night, so I took a nap, then decided to take another walk down the boardwalk after another great dinner.
I was starting to feel the lack of company. Since Kendra left, there was nobody here to talk to. I did have some nice text conversations with friends and family, but it wasn't the same as having someone right here to have a talk with. A video chat with my BFF relieved some of the isolation, but I went to bed feeling kind of down.
Next morning the feeling continued, again exacerbated by lack of good sleep. After breakfast by myself the feeling of loneliness built until I had a mini-meltdown over it. I've never been good at breaking the ice and making new friends, and I didn't really see anyone who seemed receptive anyway. I took naps, stared at the walls, ate more (excellent) food, and took another walk, and dwelt on how lonely it was here in paradise.
As I walked into the restaurant for dinner, a woman sitting at a table alone looked up and smiled, and asked if I wanted to sit with her. No bandages or signs of work, so obviously not a FacialTeam patient. I was surprised at how friendly this ciswoman was to an utter stranger, but eagerly accepted the invitation.
And it turned out she actually was a patient who had just arrived from the UK. She had transitioned forty years ago and was here to get some work done. I couldn't see the need for it, but I completely understand how each of us sets our own standards and goals. She was intelligent, good company, and we hit it off immediately. I was so happy to have a friend to hang out with, and it turned out she was, too. We talked until they closed the restaurant, and retired for the night.
This morning I got up in a better mood, if still tired. I got a Facebook friend request from a lady who was a neighbor where I used to live (in the before-times), and she was really nice. Breakfast downstairs, then back to the room to get a hot bath. As I dried off, my new friend texted me that she was done with her meetings at FacialTeam and did I want to meet for lunch? Oh, heck yeah!
More good conversation, and she had to get back to FT for afternoon meetings. I had told her that I was thinking about walking to a Starbucks I'd found, and she asked if I could wait until she was done with the meetings. Of course! I wasted some time practicing my guitar until she texted me she was back at the hotel, and we met up and started walking.
It turned out to be further than we thought, but we eventually found it with the help of a nice gentleman who asked what we ladies were looking for. It was in the strangest shopping mall I've ever seen. Low ceilings, and instead of individual stores, there were just different areas of the huge floor set aside for each "store." One blended into the other like different departments in, say, a Walmart. But as far as I could tell, each was a different retailer.
After coffee and more good conversation, we started back to the hotel, stopping for groceries along the way. When we got back we went to our rooms to get cleaned up, then met downstairs for dinner. Jorge, our regular waiter, brought us more yummy food, and we talked and talked until my friend had to go to her room to get ready for her big day tomorrow. Her surgery starts in the early morning. I'll be over there at noon for my followup hair washing, and I'll check with our coordinator to see how she's doing then. There probably won't be much news at that point, since the procedures are predicted to take until about 7pm. I'll go back on Thursday to keep her company, if she's coherent enough to deal with it.
So here I am. Paradise feels a little more like its name now. My mood is better and I get a little more healed every hour. Things are looking up.
Stephanie
