Kathy's Posts

I made it home on the long train ride. So happy and grateful to be home. It's now two weeks post surgery. In the hospital I had no pain with the non narcotic stuff they gave me. I never used any of the other. I had a lot of "effects" from the anesthesia, breathing tube and heart lung machine that slowly resolved. I'm now on Tylenol primarily because I have a prickly, numb sensation across my chest. I continue to have chills (no fever) which is an anesthesia thing. I walk well. I'm at my pre-surgery weight and will have to add some calories to keep it there I think. I eat grazing mostly. Sleep is sometimes good and sometimes not. Next week I see my PCP doctor. Here are the things I found helped me the most in the hospital. Pillows. I brought blow up travel pillows for lumbar support, larger wedges and other. Heating pad. My body began to ache from not moving. Asking for a heating pad made a huge difference. Aromatherapy. The Cleveland Clinic had aromatherapy sticks which also helped. Clothes. Be sure to bring oversized clothes. I'm a very small woman and I'm now wearing XL men tshirts, and loose pants with elastic waist. Sweatshirt or sweater. I was always cold so I wore hoodies backwards. Having my daughters with me was priceless. I lost my voice and no one could understand me but them. Be sure to bring with you antibacterial soap or no frag. soap if you will need to transition to a hotel before going home. I wish I could have had a bench for the first one. That's all the hints/suggestions I have. Now that I'm home I'm trying to get to the backyard each day to be in the light. Looking forward to getting off some of the restrictions. Gotta keep moving! Hope this helps someone. Thanks for the support!

This is Kathy. I'm back at the hotel and will take a long train ride starting early tomorrow morning. So looking forward to being home. I'm doing OK. This is recovery, so I'm making some progress each day. Biggest issues now is body aches from not moving around, weakness and incission swelling. I'll write soon with what I learned and what helped me. I am overwhelmed with all the love and support. Thanks to all.