The start of my Recovery...........

Here I am now at 4 weeks post-op and actually feeling quite chipper today! I really have not felt much up to adding anything to my blog for quite a while since it means sitting for a length of time. I will be quite honest....as a another post-op woman on the forum has said..."it ain't no walk in the park" this recovery thing,...& I thought of that many a day in the last few weeks. This has all been a very humbling experience. It has taken most of my mental & physical strength to deal with the ups & downs of it all. One day I feel pretty good & the next day I don't feel so good....The pain has, for the most part, been fairly tolerable and I now am only taking one pain med, percoset, as I need to. I have never been a pill taker so I tend to make a nasty face every time I must take more pills... My goal is to be off the heavy stuff sometime next month. But for now I do what I must do to control the aches & pains. I mean, hey, it's major surgery here, so my body has to heal. I try and be a good patient and rest whenever I feel fatigued. Friends & family say how fast I am recovering so I try to stay positive. My appetite has been fairly good yet I crave certain foods at times. Today I am craving Mallow Mars... I do think I'll have my husband check for them on his next shopping day!
My men have come thru with shining colors! If I decide to stay in bed for dinner, they deliver my food to me. The boys are making their beds,most days. Something they never did before. The older of my 2 sons is vacuuming when I ask him! My loving husband has taken the most on by grocery shopping, cooking,cleaning & doing laundry. I cried the other day when he put my sneakers on & tied them so I could go out for a walk....pain meds make you emotional! Everything I worried about with the home & my family seems to have all worked out. I'm so proud of them! Why did I worry?
My friends....well I cannot even tell you how much they have helped me to get thru the hard part of this recovery. Friends have called me just about every day to take my boys to the movies,to their houses to play etc. People have brought me flowers & brought us food.....It has been so amazing....I am so thankful to everyone.
You can never have enough friends.....................Lynne------ more later.....

One of the many Lighthouse's in a Thousand Islands, N.Y. State....

Ok...I'm back and maybe can sit for 5 minutes.....

wow! is all I can say! The last few days I got hit with major rib-removal numbness/tightness! I can't really describe it except you feel like your one side is sticking way out like a big tin can...very weird..... so that knocked me out each evening even with full pain meds dose! I am also no longer a morning person! I can manage to get up to get a cup of coffee & toast & then time to get back in bed!
In fact my computer time will now end cause my lower back is killin' me....more later!
My mom is here with me. I feel like I have an FBI. agent assinged to me...she watches me like a hawk....boys went early to my good girlfriend's house for the full day. My husband took them early this morning before work so it should be peaceful here all day...I need that................more later.....Ly

Feelin' somewhat like myself again......

I seem to be bouncing back at a nice pace.....
Kessler is a fine facility & the nurses are great people.....I even snuck a Briar's Rootbeer from their staff fridge to go with dinner & the kid working the snackbar let me take it for free(I got no money on me!) Seems the good stuff like that is for the nurses & Dr.s, staff, I guess....but I was desperate....told him I had massive back surgery & got his sympathy........then raced out with my wheelchair..............yea, I zip around in my wheelchair all day when they don't chase after me for P.T... They actually search the place for ya if you are'nt in class by 5 min.s of...........geeez!!!
Oh by the way in case my back craps out on me(though just had pain meds), as far as height goes, I'm a giant.... seems I gained at least 2 inches...although to add to it, I've been on my back a lot so ya know the gravity thing & all...seems to be I'm 5'6" or 5'7"..On check out from the hospital with my Dr. I asked him as I stood face to face with him how tall he was..he said 5'9".I asked him do ya think I'm 5'9" & he said "maybe!"
One assistant/nurse came in & he said he needed to make me more comfortable since I looked so uncomfortable...he said someone so tall as me should'nt be dragging her feet over the bed rail! I love this man! Plus he was damned cute! Which brings me to the P.T. personnel of HSS hospital in great NYC... They were all great looking people & exceptionally nice. Two of the guys(about 25) brought me into the bathroom on my first ever after surgery walk & they, I thought would leave me there for privacy issues....no way, they hung out while...I was too drugged to care & they were too gorgeous...Plus the bathroom also had a million dollar view overlooking the East River & it was Sat or Sun(don't remember) & the boaters were passing by one after another......so I waved & cheered....

I'M BACK>>>>>>>>>>>>>!

Hi all,
I'm here at Kessler Rehab & just came out of P.T.! all is moving ahead, small steps of course! I want to thank you all for the sweet thoughs & prayers! All was a success & I can tell ya I'm much taller with no hump on my back... Noticed today in P.T. that I can lay on the gym mat on my back....never could before.....weird feeling & made me tear up....
I am 10 minutes from home so my men have visited me everday... Hugged my boys so tight & yes, cried again which upset them till they knew it was good tears!
My doctors were fabulous as I anticipated!
Had a great view of the East River(NYC) but unfortunately was'nt up to much or in the mood for viewing it.....too bad..... need pain meds so I will scout out my nurse who says I chase her when I need my 'stuff'..........more very soon.....Lynnie

Small Steps

Remarkably, Lynne has been on her feet several times over the past few days. In fact, she was able to cover a good amount of the floor in her hospital wing today with minimal assistance. It's hard to imagine given that one week ago she was heavily medicated and recovering in the PAC unit following surgery. As of now, she's awake, alert and making daily progress toward recovery. There's still a long road ahead but it's encouraging to witness improvement each day. We're now awaiting word on her release, which may occur as early as this weekend.

As you might have guessed, she doesn't currently have internet access, although if she did, she'd be able to update this blog on her own (another remarkable thought considering her condition just a week ago). In any case, I wanted to provide this update on her behalf.

Sincere thanks for all the kind messages in response to my earlier posting. I'm guessing that the next post will come Lynne herself.

Kindest regards,

Bill

An Update

Just a quick update on behalf of Lynne, from her husband....

All is well after a long day in the OR on Tuesday (as anticipated). She came out of surgery at about 7:30 on Tuesday evening and the doctor assured me that all went well. She's currently in recovery and all signs are very good. She's anticipating about a ten-day stay in the hospital.

I'll try to provide another update in the coming days. But for right now, a cold Heineken beckons!