Good morning, loves.
I’m blaming the fact that it still looks like nighttime outside for J and I sleeping through our alarms this morning. That or the fact that it’s back to work today for the first time in 16 days.
In case you didn’t notice–the blog got a little makeover yesterday. I have to say, I’m quite proud of myself! Thanks to Lauren’s help (she explained where exactly to get started and then nudged me in the right direction here and there) I was able to do it by myself! I never thought I’d be able to say that. I guess 2014 really is starting off well with me trying new things and all.
I’m sure if you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, you know that my operation went well! For those of you just joining us, I had my gall bladder removed (after much drama the last 6 months) on the 19th. The surgery itself was very quick and they were booting me out of the hospital just over an hour after being under the knife. Talk about wham, bam thank you ma’am! J and I spent the rest of that day over at my parents’ house. He really needed to catch up on some sleep (we had to be at the hospital at 5:45AM, and we didn’t even arrive in Raleigh/to my parents’ house until 1:30AM). It was a quiet day and I actually felt pretty good. Day 2 was another story. Holy pain, batman. J had to help me with every little thing down to helping me adjust in the bed. I was painfully counting down the hours in between each pain med dose just hoping for the best. Luckily, as each day passed I started to feel better and better. I was able to enjoy a visit with my family on the 22nd and by Christmas I was downright almost feeling normal. Well, as normal as a Joey can feel.
And then things got stupid. I thought I could handle the mall on the 26th. Why someone didn’t beat me upside the head and remind me “Uh, Joey. You just had surgery 7 days ago,” I’ll never know. It went okay except I had to take breaks every few minutes. So if you were wandering around Crabtree Valley Mall that day, you probably found J and I sitting on one of the many benches people watching and laughing our heads off. That trip wasn’t a total waste though–I sunk my teeth into my first cheeseburger in 4 months!
On the 28th, J and I traveled the two hours to Washington, NC to spend Christmas with his grandparents and his family. While we were there, I kept complaining that my abdomen was so itchy. By the time we got home that evening, I could hardly stand how itchy I felt. Finally, I lifted my top and found a horrific rash surrounding and over top my incisions. I panicked and about near grabbed my bag to head to the hospital when I remembered I had the Dr.’s number. I called and apparently what was happening while not the norm, wasn’t anything to panic about. Unfortunately, there wasn’t anything beyond advising me to take Benadryl that they could do. Oh man, that was an itchy few days. Finally on the second night after watching me writhe on the couch–J ran and grabbed me some calamine lotion. I dabbed it over the parts of the reaction that weren’t over top my incision–it wasn’t 100% relief, but it was at least enough to help me sleep (I was hesitant to use any kind of topical cream with it being so near my incisions but a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do).
Post op on January 3rd went well. The doctor reassured me that even though my abdomen looks like a HOT FREAKING MESS right now, that this should not compromise my internal recovery. The infection and reaction was just topical. He had to do some work (I’ll spare you the gruesome details) but got everything cleaned up and sent me on my way. Lunch that day was my third cheeseburger since my operation. I have some catching up to do.
I am eating just fine. Everything and anything my little heart desires. In moderation, of course. Nothing hurts. Nothing hurts even a little bit. I keep waiting for it. On the 22nd, as I was sitting around the kitchen table with my family eating salami and cheese (the most adventurous I’d gotten at that point) and after a few servings, I was sitting pretty quiet for a few minutes. My SIL leaned over and asked if I was okay. “I can’t believe it doesn’t hurt,” is all I could mutter.
For the most part, aside from the fact that now my incisions are still healing, I feel pretty normal in my day to day. I still haven’t tried real pants yet (my belly button still appreciates leggings), but I barely leave the house anyway. I am reminded at times that I’m not 100% yet like you’ll see in the previous post. I still have to take it easy some, and I definitely get worn out very quickly. After doing some poking around online (wondering WHY I was feeling so overwhelmingly exhausted all of the time–and no, I’m not pregnant), I found that exhaustion is pretty common the first month or two after this operation.
So there you have it. The operation saga. I know this was a long and drawn out post–but I feel like this entire situation has gone on long enough that it deserved some kind of wrap up. I just can’t even believe it’s all over. You all have stuck by my side and offered me so much support, and I just want to say thank you. This is, thank God, the final post in this series. No more wondering. No cancer. No more complaining about not being able to eat. Sayonara, Gall Bladder. You’re not missed even a little bit!
So glad you are back in action and recovering from your surgery! YAY for Cheeseburgers! 🙂 Love your new clean design too!
I'm so glad you're feeling better! Did they give you a timeline for recovery?
Love your look and also loving the accent green happening with the social media buttons – very cute! And now I hope my gallbladder behaves for the rest of my life!
Loooove the new look here on the blog. I always see posts about how to do it yourself (going to check out Lauren's too!) and I think I can do it, but I'm so nervous I'm going to royally mess something up!
I'm beyond happy you're finally out of pain and recovering nicely. I was worried about you, girl!
I like the new look! I'm glad you can get back to eating the food you want to eat! I'm also glad it's all over and you're on your way to total recovery.