Three days after surgery update

When I went home from the hospital on Monday, I had a compression bandage wrapped around my torso. It was pretty tight, and this kind of bandage is important both to protect the site and also to prevent fluid buildup, bruising, etc. Kind of like wearing a medical corset around the house all the time. That said, it made me feel like the surgical sites were well protected. 

My energy the day of surgery was surprisingly good, though I was a little out of it. The next day I felt very alert, and there was soreness but it wasn't terrible. I have pain medication to take if I need it, and I've been taking it a bit, but not too much. I also have a muscle relaxant that I take four times a day to prevent spasms in the surgery area muscles. My range of motion is limited, but I'm not feeling a lot of pain when I move my arms. Certain movements with my right arm do result in nerve pain, which makes sense, since that's the side where they took out some lymph nodes. Nerve pain is to be expected, and it's a very weird feeling.

I have three surgical drains that I have to manage, and this entails stripping the lines of tubing to make sure no clots of bits of tissue clog them up, and then emptying them into a measuring cup and recording the amount of liquid. It's actually very straightforward. I will have the drains for at least 2 weeks. The nurse has already told me that this surgeon will not take them out early, so that's helpful in setting expectations. 

If I leave the house, I have a belt that has two pouches for the drains that I can wear under my clothes. I went to Target last night and felt fairly normal. I walk around the house, I have gone out to run errands a couple of times, but I can't drive yet and I wouldn't want to do anything without someone around. 

The smallest cat in the house is getting a lot of good lap time. I had thought I might sleep in the recliner, but I have managed to sleep well in my own bed with a higher pillow stack than usual. Getting up in the middle of the night involves a lot of core strength, and luckily, that is part of what PT and OT prepared me for, so if anyone wants advice on going through this, one of my top tips is "get into physical and occupational therapy as soon as you can." I felt very prepared for surgery and recovery, thanks to all of the things they had me do to get ready. 

Today, I got to take off the compression bandage and see the site underneath. It looks good! I was expecting a mess, and it's just flat with some bruising. I think it'll look great when it heals. I'm very happy with how things are going (though I am ready to be done with the drains).