Day 40: Final Post-Op

My last post-op!  My doctor cut off the stitch that was hanging out of the end of my incision; she had already spotted it at my initial post-op, and it clearly wasn’t going to go away on its own.  She said everything looked good, pointed out the hard ridge near the incision and said that [...]

Day 36

Day 36 of my post-op recovery from a laparotomy/abdominal myomectomy: Oh great, not only has my recovery stalled for the past week and a half, but now I’ve regressed three weeks.  Remember how I found I could cough without searing pain on Day 19?  Well, that searing pain is back with a vengeance.  Augh, I [...]

Day 31

Day 31 of my post-op recovery from a laparotomy/abdominal myomectomy: I can’t believe I’m at the one-month mark. I sure don’t feel like I’m where I should be at this point. At times, my abdomen still contracts and makes me walk hunched over. Shouldn’t those kind of tantrums be over by now? My energy and [...]

Day 25

Day 25 of my post-op recovery from a laparotomy/abdominal myomectomy: When my sister saw me today, she remarked wow, my walking was much better, much faster. (She hasn’t seen me since Day 10.) Pleased, I said, yep, I’m walking just fine now. She watched me carefully and said, “Yeah, you’re *almost* at normal speed now.” [...]

Day 24

Day 24 of my post-op recovery from a laparotomy/abdominal myomectomy: Cleaning is harder than it looks. Now that my parents have been gone a week, and my sister is visiting me tomorrow, I decided to try sweeping the floor,and wiping down and scrubbing the kitchen counters and sink. I gave up just now, with a [...]

Day 23

Day 23 of my post-op recovery from a laparotomy/abdominal myomectomy: Revelation: Wow, can I just say how incredibly enjoyable it is to take a walk outside when you are comfortably mobile and generally pain-free??? It’s no longer a duty or chore; it’s pleasant and relaxing!

Day 22: Drug-Free

Day 22 of my post-op recovery from a laparotomy/abdominal myomectomy: Drug-free, finally! Or rather, Advil-free. I’m still going nuts with my recent eczema flare-up and am trying all kinds of stuff to cope with it. So where am I just after the 3-week mark? Walked relatively normally starting with today’s excursion; no longer felt like [...]

Day 21

Day 21 of my post-op recovery from a laparotomy/abdominal myomectomy: Lately, I’ve been getting little twitches in my abdomen. As if it’s trying to heal… and relearn new nerve connections. Haha, that’s the sappy interpretation. Time to go to sleep.

Day 19: I Can Cough!

Day 19 of my post-op recovery from a laparotomy/abdominal myomectomy: Upon coughing in the wee hours of the morning, I braced myself for that familiar, awful, burning pain… but was stunned to find there was merely tolerable pain! Hallelujah!!! * * * Took another walk to the library this afternoon. Well, at least I meant [...]

Day 18

Day 18 of my post-op recovery from a laparotomy/abdominal myomectomy: Given how extremely easy yesterday’s walk was, I decided that today’s destination would be the local library, 1 mile away. The walk there went just fine, and I was happy to see my walking speed continue to inch up. The walk back was a little [...]