Two weeks out from surgery, and, all things considered, I feel pretty good. Well, yes, every cough is still painful, but not as bad at all as last week. My appetite is back in full force and I am getting outside for short walks, 10 minutes or so, when the weather cooperates. Of course the walking is VERY slow and a 10 minute walk only covers to the park behind our house and back, but still, not too bad. All the rotten symptoms from last week, the hot flashes, sleepless nights, etc... are mostly gone now. |
I had a visiting nurse stop by to check over everything a few days ago. This is part of the recovery service with my insurance and the doctors. It actually went well enough that we could cancel a follow-up visit to the surgeon's office. Good news that I didn't have to bum a ride from somebody to go downtown for that.
I am getting about 4 hours of sleep at a time each night now before having to make a bathroom run. My back had started aching from the docs opening up the rib cage, and it made sleeping hard since I am normally a very restless sleeper. The thing that has made the biggest difference is a big foam wedge to elevate my back and head a bit at night. It seems to alleviate some of the pressure from my lower back so I can get some better sleep. I'm not sure how long I will need to use it, but it definitely is working for now.
My walking is also getting stronger. While still very slow and steady, I have noticed the past couple of days that I am able to speed up at least a little. Getting outside is a wonderful break from being cooped up in the house all day. And the weather here in Denver has cooperated beautifully with temperatures in the 50's. Pretty good for mid December.