Modest

[thisnewday]

I had modest goals, going into surgery. (1) Wake up from anesthesia. (2) Not be paralyzed from the waist down. (3) No new nerve damage requiring Depends, penile implants, etc. Mission accomplished.

Everything else would be gravy. A good outcome. An exceeding of expectations. (C'mon, stay with me on this.) Something for which to do the "Snoopy Dance for Joy," once able.

When I was in the hospital, post-op, I mumbled to myself about how that mattress pad must be bunching up under my back no matter how carefully I smoothed it before lying down. Then I got home and had the same sensation lying on my back with no pad. Oops, must be generalized swelling of tissue and/or sub/q hematoma.

Yesterday, started noticing swelling at surgical site, not felt before. Aha! Generalized swelling is now down enough that I notice what remains around site! Progress.

Then tonight, the feeling of having a more normal, stable back. And not feeling like a Parkinson's patient, a half hour before and after my next dose of Hydrocodone. You know, that leaning forward to overcome inertia, followed by the shuffling walk.

The feeling of getting close to being able to say, one week post-op, that all this was worth it...

Comments

[halfmoon-mollie.livejournal.com]

I'm glad to know you are doing well! I think back surgery would be the second scariest, the first scariest being eye surgery.

Keep up the good work!

[olbuksings.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Lynn. And I agree with your ranking.

In the meantime, enjoyed reading about your travels.

Love the picture with the lake behind you!

Know what you mean about L and the lingering sadness. (There's a little beagle who sometimes runs ahead of me in Allen Park.)

May they all rest. May we all find peace...

[swamp-rose.livejournal.com]

Very glad that you are (to a certain extent) up and at 'em!!! Heard a lot about hydrocodone - is it as good as its reputation??

And to write interestingly - let alone coherently - while on meds ... major kudos to you!

He's baaaaack ... with his back!!

Good - un!

[olbuksings.livejournal.com]

I guess I'd say that it's as good and bad as its reputation. According to my wife, orthopedics has a reputation for super-medicating their patients and, when her unit started getting ortho patients, she of the twenty-five years experience asked her supervisor on several occasions, "OMG, can we really do that?" And, yeah, they could.

My first bottle of 100 is labelled for 1-2 tabs every four hours. I know I'm probably one of the luckier ones, in terms of pain level, but since the surgery I've limited myself to 1 tab every four hours. I'm guessing the trick will be to maintain that throughout the rehab period which will begin on Wednesday.

And yeah, you got it exactly right. In the post-op fog, I accidentally overlapped one of my doses and found myself barely able to function. Because I wanted OUT of there, I was careful not to do that again. Even so, if I'd made public my first entry after getting back home, you'd be saying, "Yer a idiot..."

Anyway, it's mostly good to be back and most certainly good to hear from friends like you and Lynn.