Twelve days post-surgery, this is my second day home. Generally I feel ecstatically happy and well. Specifically I feel sore and with limited energy.
Yesterday – my first day home – was a little rough. Even though I just sat in the car for seven hours, that and the excitement of being home wore me out. I lay for a while with ice between my legs – something I hadn't done since leaving the hospital.
Still, I was able to drive myself around on several errands. (I live in a small town. I don't think I'd be ready to drive in a city.) I can bend enough to put sox on easily, although picking up something off the floor can take some maneuvering. I can usually find a comfortable sitting position if the seat is at all padded. I've put a folded small towel on the few seats that are hard surfaces. I had some visitors, but I'm not up to going out to meet people away from my home yet. I have a lunch date today and will go if I feel up to it, taking my folded hand towel.
(The nurse who gave me the Vaginas 101 lecture said not to sit on the donut after the packing was removed because it would force the center stuff down. I'd just paid big bucks for a vagina. I don't want it prolapsed.)
The worst of the bruising is gone and a fair amount of the swelling has reduced. I find myself walking like an old woman but expect to do better as my energy returns. Several people have assured me that I still have some of the effects of the anesthetic in my system. That seems odd to me but would explain part of how I feel.
Learning to pee has been interesting. The sensations are different, and sometimes I can't tell if I have to go or not. And sometimes I have a little trouble getting started – relaxing the right muscles – but I've never gone inadvertently. I am starting to develop a stream.
I've found dilation to be fairly easy and not at all messy. I have some limited pain sometimes, but mainly once I get my little friend started properly and relax the right muscles, it goes pretty well. I lost about a quarter inch of depth by not dilating on the trip home, but I'm not concerned. Tomorrow I "graduate" to the next size dilator.
I usually take one or two over-the-counter ibuprofens just before bed but nothing during the day.
I took a whole mess of things to Trinidad I didn't need. I'll post a list of what I needed and didn't need sometime in the next few days.
I have been amazed at how fast the recovery goes. Two days post-op I was ready for someone to just shoot me. A day later I was happily walking up and down the halls. A few days later I was slowly exploring Trinidad. I think that now, however, the pace will slow as the last bits heal and strengthen.
This has been a wonderful adventure, full of pain and hope. So far I have found it impossible to describe what it means to me. Suffice it to say: I get to be a girl for the rest of my life! *giggle*
- Kate
Edit: Screwed up the title. It'll take a while to get back into the swing.
