I was sent home on Monday straight from the ICU, which is a rare feat! That whole day was a lot. I had to meet with a series of specialists to sign off on discharging me. I had to go to a class to give an overview on what to expect, to do, and to avoid for when I return home. We got home, got more prescriptions filled, started the new routines of checking blood pressure, weighing myself, a daily shower to specifically clean the incision.
It was a long day and I could feel the limit of my energy and capability.
This is my third full day at home now and I'm slipping into a routine. The purpose of the next six weeks is to safely build my endurance without straining my healing body. I'm supposed to go on two walks a day each a minute longer than the walks from the day previous. Eventually, it is supposed to be that I can go for a sixty-minute walk with no breaks by the time I get to cardio rehab in mid-December. At that point, they will be then pushing me to build strength and endurance so I will be able to return to my pre-operation capabilities.
At the moment, I feel good for the most part. I have energy to last the day and the pain is minimal and only managed by Tylenol. I am eating with my usual appetite. I feel pretty good because my caretaker Adriane is usually nearby and I've been visited by a friend every day or two. I think that aspect alone has been huge. I liven up when I get to catch up with people.
My range of motion in my arms and legs is much better than I thought it would be and that has been nice to not worry about how I move. I have to be careful with how I move my right arm a little bit, but otherwise, I am pretty capable.
Like the last post talked about, sleep is my biggest challenge. I've been trying to figure out what is the best way to be comfortable, but usually every hour, a streak of pain goes across my back and will force me to move and tend to it. I don't think I've gotten much sleep and whatever I have had is on that first level of light sleep. Fortunately, my energy levels are such that I can still enjoy the daytime and not feel groggy and out of it.
The other smaller challenge is that I am restricted in how much liquid I am allowed to drink each day. Only a 1.5L per day. That is not a lot. Especially for me who normally drinks a lot of milk, juice, and water and less food in general. I have to portion out my small cup of liquid every 3 hours and I DO NOT LIKE!
I have a doctor's appointment next week to take out the last suture from where the chest tube went into my chest (guh!) and then it seems like the next major milestone will be the cardio rehab in six weeks.
Food has been coming in and it has been great! We are making our way through it and are set up for this first stretch. There are gaps in the sheet if you want to send me some food, too. Food for Dave Post Surgery Signup Sheet - Google Sheets
I am still keeping up the GoFundMe. As I have said before I will be okay, but there are always unexpected expenses and if people want to help that way, I won't turn it down: https://gofund.me/c91bd8dfd
Anyway, that is the update for now, thank you all for the kind words of support as well as the pragmatic gifts of support. It all helps. Thank you.
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