POST OP - DAY 1

Dave is better today thank goodness!!!  He slept fairly well as long as he stayed on his back, but habits are hard to break.  Every time he tried to roll over, there would be a very sudden reminder that all was not well down south.

A little background ... Dave avoids medication at all costs, or almost all. He was on pain meds for only about 24 hours after his lympadenectomy in Houston a year ago.  He is on no prescription meds, and won't take daily vitamins or an aspirin.  BEFORE his surgery yesterday, he considered not filling the prescription for the pain meds we knew he would get, as after all, he has some left over from last year, and really he won't need them.  ahem  cough cough

He can take a pain pill once every six hours and he had one at 4 AM.  When he woke up at 7:30 (still drowsy) he asked if it was time to take a pill.  I think those 2.5 hours until 10 AM were some of the longest he's endured.  I don't want to exaggerate, he was not in terrible pain, but there was enough that I caught him checking the clock, or asking what time it is, quite often.

Molly knows how Dave is, and she called this morning to emphasize that he needs to take the medication on schedule so the pain doesn't get ahead of him.  For once, this was not a problem!

Dave got up, made his oatmeal, and feels pretty good when he's standing up.  He shaved, and he got dressed, needing help only to get things over his feet (pants and socks) as that requires a lot of bending and stretching. He was advised by the doctor's office to get and wear tightly fitting underwear for the next two weeks, so he has some new underwear.  I managed to talk him into letting me take a picture.  Of course that was about an hour after he took his happy pill.  I thought if I'm going to blab about all his intimate experiences, I may as well post a picture, too.

You can see the walker on the left side of the picture.  It's been in the attic for 4 years, except for when I had my toe surgery a month ago.  Back it went after about a week, but I pulled it out for Dave this morning.  He doesn't need it to walk, but he's learning how to use it to get in and out of chairs.  Mr. Mechanical Engineer likes to figure out how things work, including the human body.  Or at least his.  He was trying different turns, using different muscle groups, etc. etc. and has hit on what works - for now.  His incision is on his right side, and if he keeps his right foot off the ground (when getting in and out of chairs) then he is forced to use his left side, and that causes the least amount of pain.  Eureka!

There's not much else to report.  I imagine we'll have a quiet week.  I'm going out to do some yard work, as I haven't been able to do any since my toe surgery.  Today is the first time in almost 5 weeks I've been able to wear a shoe!  Dave is resting comfortably in his fairly new recliner.  I had started looking for one last year when Dave's chemo started, and it took me until April to find one I could live with.  It's had a lot of good use in the last 6 months.

I will update on Thursday, after Dave's appointment with his oncologist.  Until then, please assume Dave is getting better every day.  He's eating healthy delicious meals made by loving hands and getting all your good wishes, prayers and jokes.  And oh by the way, it hurts him to laugh, so he specifically asked that PH not come over.  You know who you are.