Tubal Ligation - Part 3 of 3 - The recovery

My surgery was on a Tuesday and I stayed at Shawn’s until Friday evening, even though I did try to leave. Brent was kind enough to take care of the kids on days I should have had them. I totally wouldn’t have been able to do it so I’m very glad for that.

Pain has gone from mostly generalized to highly localized. Just woke up and hope the meds kick in soon. I have a great nurse!

— Tiana Dargent (@tianadargent) December 12, 2012

I pretty much stayed in bed all day Wednesday. Shawn helped me take a shower and remove my bandages. My skin was finally back to being all one shade of pale with brown spots.

My nurse, hard at work.ow.ly/i/1ePWJ @hunsdale

— Tiana Dargent (@tianadargent) December 12, 2012

I did a bit of blogging and some reading. Shawn did homework and we took sporadic breaks to watch some funny shows on DVD.

I’ve been pretty much bed ridden all day but the service here is amazing.ow.ly/i/1eWvw

— Tiana Dargent (@tianadargent) December 13, 2012

I really couldn’t move very much. Standing was fine, sitting was fine, reclining was fine. All the points between those things were awful. I was taking two of my prescription pills every 6 hours and they worked well but the main side effect (other than silliness) is constipation which does NOTHING to help the bloated feeling of a post-op abdomen that has been filled with gas. But the pain was intense enough that I felt they were necessary.

In the evening, Shawn set up a chair and a mirror so I could sit and draw a self-portrait. It was the first time I had seen myself and it wasn’t pretty. I’ll post the hideously accurate drawing later…

On Thursday, Shawn had a day full of classes. I had made plans to go over to Jon’s to hang out and watch videos until Shawn was back home at 7pm.

I have made it to the corner café! Success! (Although I planned to make it to the bus stop to stay with a friend today)

— Tiana Dargent (@tianadargent) December 13, 2012

Jon biked to the cafe to meet me. I had breakfast, he had a coffee then he helped me get to a store to buy tylenol and advil so I could try to wean myself off the stronger meds. Then he walked me back to Shawns and did a bit of cleaning up. He washed dishes and I sat at the table to dry them. It was nice to feel productive. Being a lump was already starting to get old and I was gaining an intense appreciation for the difficulties of people with physical challenges. Anyway, this is what we were doing when Shawn came home for lunch. The three of us chatted for a while but I was feeling exhausted. Jon left for his meeting and Shawn helped me get to bed and hung out with me for a couple of hours until his next class.

After he left I kept myself busy. I did another self portrait and I liked it much more. I did a bit of paperwork and writing and I watched some episodes of Six Feet Under which I have recently gotten into.

Shawn got home in the evening and we ate and hung out. Later on Emily came over, soon followed by Shawn’s room mate, Kerry. We each had a glass of sparkling wine and we played Make and Break which I had fun with. I was tuckered/drunk/drugged and went to bed, leaving the rest to keep playing and chatting.

The next morning, Friday, I had hoped to meet Geneviève at The Bottom Line to do some life drawing. Once again, I couldn’t really make it out. Instead, she came over to Shawn’s and brought croissants! We played Make and Break again and Gen defeated my winning streak. Then she and Shawn and I all drew each other at the same time. It was pretty neat. I tried my best to hold still while drawing. Then Gen had to leave for her hair appointment.

I knew I wanted to finally try and make it home but that I would have to take my time. I had left my car in Orleans before the surgery so we planned to bus part of the way, stop to eat, and then keep going. We decided to make our pit-stop on Elgin which was a nice choice I think. We stopped in at Mags N Fags and at Perfect books, ate some sushi and noodles and bought fresh pasta to bring home. We took our time and we saw a huge dog outside wearing a hoodie.

Eventually we made it to my place and having made that trip marked the feeling of HEALED! to me. I still have a bit for soreness. If I twist or do any straining I feel a sharp pain. My incisions are now pretty much invisible but each still has a little lump beneath it.

All in all, it was a rough couple of days. Needing help got old after a couple of days and I was starting to be worried about becoming a burden (but was never treated as such). I was so well taken care of. I feel so fortunate and grateful for that. I’m really glad that I live in a place where this is a free birth control option and I didn’t need to jump through hoops to get it. And I’m also glad that as of yesterday’ the bloating has gone away enough for me to be able to wear pants!

Catch up on parts One and Two.

On this day:

In 2010 – classy (like Jim in a tuxedo)
In 2006 – a variety of meats and cheeses
In 2005 – links to insanity
In 2004 – “I wish I could get paid to stay home and be creative”