Thanks, Sarah.  I concur on how nice everyone is here.  Yes, I move back to the residence tomorrow.  I haven't met Simon yet, looking forward to it.  Alexei is very nice also, and Darlene, and Marielle.  Looking forward to seeing everyone again.

I had a roommate yesterday, but she went over to the residence this morning.  Maybe someone new will come in around 7.

I would not think of turning down a pain med.  So far they have me on Tylenol 3.  That seems to be working pretty well.  Nothing much to complain about so far.

 

Congrats as well    You just made a whole buncha us secretly jealous!

Every time I hear about this I secretly get anxious and wish I was in the OR.

Awesome, I'm glad everything is going so well. You'll find the discomfort comes down a lot each time they pull something out of you: drain, packing, stent, catheter.

Oh, and get outside a bit if you can once you get to the residence. It was so nice to put on actual clothes and feel like a normal person for even just an hour or two each day. And unlike for me (it was February and snow-covered), the weather should be pretty awesome right now.

Sorry, I'm full of unsolicited advice/information. I was just there a couple weeks ago for my last checkup, so I guess it's sort of fresh in my mind again.

I'm glad to hear, it all went well, Colleen!

(however I prefer general anesthetic myself)

Quote from: Rita on September 13, 2012, 02:34:25 PM
Congrats as well    You just made a whole buncha us secretly jealous!

Every time I hear about this I secretly get anxious and wish I was in the OR.

This is me right now...

*opens a new window to check, double-check, and ruminate over how slooooow the surgery savings are increasing...*

Praying for a quick healing for you sis.

I do seem to be healing nicely. I was up and walking four times yesterday. No bruising to speak of. Just finished breakfast. Today I get the drain removed and move over to the residence. Hope to shave before I go.

A bit of drama removing the drain this morning. It didn't want to stop bleeding right away, so the nurse went to get a different bandage, leaving me to press on it for an uncomfortable 5 minutes. When she came back, the bleeding had stopped.

And... I just shaved!!  Nice to have a nice clean face. No more ice packs, no more drain, YAY!!

Quote from: Beth Andrea on September 13, 2012, 10:03:32 PM
This is me right now...

*opens a new window to check, double-check, and ruminate over how slooooow the surgery savings are increasing...*

Beth, given your avatar I am thinking we can sell magical pixie dust together.  I am no web designer but I can program and set up all the loops and hoops.

Well sell a little magic in every pouch, $1000 a pouch. To cure everything~  Well have SRS in no time!

Well, I'm at the residence now, and much to my surprise I have no roommate!  As today is Friday, and there are no surgeries till Monday, I guess I'll be mostly alone. Oh, we'll, there are some nice people here.

 Colleen hopfully you brought a couple of novels to read.
They sure help pass the time and are allot more entertaining than the boob tube (TV).
And I'm sure you will becoming home soon.
Hugs,
Jillieann

I'll be honest after the stress of life(outside of transition) a little peace, and quite for a weekend would be ever so quaint.

Quote from: Rita on September 14, 2012, 11:43:39 AM
Beth, given your avatar I am thinking we can sell magical pixie dust together.  I am no web designer but I can program and set up all the loops and hoops.

Well sell a little magic in every pouch, $1000 a pouch. To cure everything~  Well have SRS in no time!

I'm all out of pixie dust...

What I *do* have, though, is a never-ending supply of magical ink...I make a mark on my timecard with the ink in the morning and again in the evening, and every two weeks those marks magically change into money!    On those days I'm like, "OMG! It's a miracle!1!!" I'm going to have to ask my supevisor how they do that...but it's a steady source so I'll get there after a little time...

Colleen...wow! Sounds almost like shake-n-bake procedure for you. So glad there's no significant complications!

Well, up until about a half hour ago, my main entertainment has been the search for the elusive first bowel movement, however I'm happy to report the successful completion of THAT project!  Tomorrow the external dressing comes off, which will be a breath of sweet freedom, then Monday the stent is removed, and dilation begins. I'm told by then I may be asking for better pain meds...

Thanks for the update Colleen. Sound like everything is moving along as it should.
Keep the updates coming sis and I'll keep the healing prays going your way.
Hugs,
Jillieann

Sorry for the lack of posts the past couple of days, it's been quite busy, but also the WiFi has not been working except in the living room, so I've been severely hampered.  Basically, yesterday they removed the external dressing which was stitched in place, and while that was a relief, it increased the pressure of the stent inside, so by last evening I was in more pain than I had been.  Up till then, I'd only been taking Tylenol (not even extra strength) but by suppertime yesterday I was asking for the Oxy.  Another one at bedtime, and this morning, I needed 2.  I could barely eat breakfast.  Finally they removed the stent, and things have been a LOT better since then.  I've dilated three times today so far, and it's been no problem at all.  Tomorrow morning may be a different story, since the new vaj will have had overnight to contract, but I'm resolved to be patient, relax, and take my time.  I'm sure it won't be too bad.

Overall, I'm very pleased with the new hardware.  Quite a bit of swelling, but not much bruising.  Once the swelling goes down, I expect it to be quite lovely.  MUCH better than what was there before, at any rate.

Heh, I was doing 6-8 oxy a day for the first few. But I had a problematic interaction with my pain condition which made things interesting.

And I was purple from my knees to my belly button. It was rather dramatic. Luckily I look good in purple.

I'm glad it's been fairly reasonable for you. And, ya, having the stent finally out feels sooo much better. Now you just need to ditch the catheter and you'll be done!

When they pull the catheter - that stings. When I had my SRS in Montreal I had the Chopin Room, do they still have the rooms named after different composers?

That must have been a while ago, I see no indications of composers anywhere, but that would be a nice touch. Just got the catheter out, no big deal, and now I'm doing the first morning dilation. Again, no big deal. I'm on the #2 (Cookie Monster). Aside from now having to measure liquids in and out, life is good!