Night One and the Ladies Room
We closed our last journal entry with me post-op, settled at home in my recliner, a little after 6pm, the day of surgery. I am feeling no pain though tired and ready for a nap. My ever-watchful husband has my polar ice unit all set up and running, the icy cold wrap, wrapped around my hip. I nap on and off for an hour or two, under a few blankets, small pillows tucked around me.
Night One
After the Chick-fil-A frozen diet lemonade, coffee, and lots of water, I need to use my ladies room. This turned out to be quite an ordeal!
First – carefully remove blankets and pillows from around me.
Second – turn off polar ice unit and unhook hose from ice wrap, which is somehow now intertwined with hip brace. Be careful - freezing cold water drips on your bare leg if you don’t hold the hose upright 😬
Slowly put down recliner footrest and get my balance. Yes, this takes a few moments 😆
Try to get up from recliner with all the surgical bandaging, large hip brace wrapped around my waist and running down my hip and thigh, wrapping around my leg above my knee, polar ice wrap around my hip, feeling a little out of it from the anesthesia and pain meds, and only able to use one leg. Friends, this is much harder than you’d imagine. I think it should qualify for an agility course for sure 😂
Never you fear though, my faithful husband carefully completed all tasks and gingerly pulled me up out of the recliner, placing my crutches under my arms. Now all I had to do was walk, right? Oh boy 🤨
I had practiced with my crutches before the day of surgery; however, I did not practice with my hip brace on. Yikes! You must learn to hold the crutch on the surgery side out from your hip a bit or your hand and arm will scrape the gears on the brace and cut your arm. 😞
Wow, did I ever feel heavy with all that stuff on me! I turtle-stepped the relatively short trek to my lady’s room. By the time I finally got there, I realized the benefit of not having to pull away clothing to “go.” The time and careful maneuvering of pulling panties and/or sleep pants down over the surgical bandaging and under the hip
brace is frustratingly considerable when in a hurry.
I highly recommend getting an elevated toilet seat. 😊
Graphic info here – though important. After several trips of going through the above steps, we decided it was time for a makeshift bedpan. My husband grabbed an empty collagen powder can, pulled me up from the recliner, as I swallowed my pride and used it as he held me and the can. Let me tell you, my husband is a rock star! 🌟
I spent the first night in the recliner. I slept on and off throughout the night with no pain. They had given me a nerve block in the operating room that would last 12-24 hours. It was doing its job well.
At day’s end I’m ready for sound sleep,
For you, God, have put my life back together.
Psalm 4:8
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for the technology that is making me well and strong again. Please help me continue to heal, and with as little pain as possible. I pray for those going through this type of surgery, or illness of some kind. I lift them up to you, Lord, for your divine intervention, wisdom, and healing. Please guide their physicians in diagnosis and treatment plans and heal them well.
Thank you, Lord, we love you,
Amen.
Now we rest. Our bodies, our minds, our spirits. Rest well, dear friends 💜
Stay tuned for Entry Seven - Week One!
Love and blessings,
Mindy 💗
As always, please leave me a comment below, or a contact message as I would love to pray for you, and try to answer any questions you have. 💓