I'm an Outpatient {DAY 3}

DAY THREE- Friday, Jan. 6th

• Morning

Yay, my pain level was under a Level 5, so I got to leave the hospital! I felt so free once all of the IVs and monitors were removed. However, because of all of the meds, I was feeling very dazed and out of it. I was also pretty puny and weak, but focused on staying positive and getting better.

Once you're discharged you head right to Dr. Piper's office for a checkup and CT Scan to ensure that everything looks as it should. Hooray, he said my scan looked great!

Lisa removed the ear plugs (placed in during surgery) and steri-strips from my ears. It felt good to have the hydrogen peroxide bubbling and cleaning out my ears! Then, I got my first look at them. It's hard to believe that they were cut open and peeled back for 2.5 hours each just two days before.

There was very little visible swelling or bruising. Dr. Piper is quite the skilled artist. Next up, was removing the gauze patch and steri-strips from my stomach. Once Lisa inspected the incision site to be sure it wasn't red, swollen or hot, I was good to go.

FYI- The ear stitched are dissolvable, but the stomach stitches have to be removed before you go home. Lisa will give you extra steri-strips to place on the stomach stitches if any of them start to unravel as the incision heals. I had a 2 inch area of dark bruising right above my pubic bone, from where the fat was removed. It went away after about a week. 

• Afternoon 

From Dr. Piper's office I headed to Physical Therapy at Edward White Hospital Rehabilitation Institute. After an hour of heat packs, a little massage, TENS and Ultrasound therapy, I got to head back the hotel. I was EXHAUSTED.

For a girl who showers at least once, and a lot of times twice a day, I was really ready for my first shower* since before surgery.

*TIPS FOR SHOWERING + GETTING READY

• Be sure you don't get the water too hot, because you will be feeling light headed. 

• At times when the water is dripping on your face, it gets into your nose and mouth making it hard to breathe. Don't panic. Just use your fingers to pull your cheeks to the sides and take a deep breath. Try and keep your face out of the stream of water as much as possible. When you rinse your face, do it when you're breathing out.

• Don't bend over, this makes you dizzy and you don't want to slip and fall. I found squatting was best.

• I washed my incision sites with gentle Johnson's Head-to-Toe Baby Wash and used Dial Liquid Antibacterial Soap on the rest of my body to prevent any infections.

• Q-tips will become your new favorite item. I constantly used them for swabbing out my nose and ears.

• Don't try to wrap your wet hair in a regular bath towel. This will cause a lot of pain to your ears. For my hair I used Turbie Twist Hair Towels. They are super light weight and didn't touch my ears.


• Before I left for the hospital, I placed everything I would need for showering, and getting ready afterwards, in the shower and on the bathroom counter. This makes it much easier when you're exhausted and not feeling well.

• I also laid out outfits in neat stacks for office visits, walks/lounging, and sleeping, so no one would have to think about one more thing. This really helps when you're felling puny and your brain is foggy!

Next up, an hour Nap (Dr. P only lets you nap one hour a day), using my wrap around Facial Heating Pad for 20 min. (you'll do this 4-5 times per day), and Syringing down crushed meds with Ensure, juice, ginger ale, water and Gatorade (you're supposed to drink 2 liters of fluids a day and consume 1600-1800 calories with 50% being nutritional supplements, 25% being water and 25% of any other beverage). It's hard to get all of this in when you're banded closed, because the syringe doesn't hold very much fluid. Just do your very best!

Then we went for a Walk along the bay (Dr. P wants you up and walking as much as possible). Walking promotes healing and helps to reduce nausea. I also strongly believe it is good for your mental health, especially when sweet little friends come to wish you well...

The nice thing about the St. Pete Bay Walk is that there are lots of benches, so you can sit if you feel tired. Being outside along the water in the beautiful, sunny Florida weather really lifted my spirits! I was very thankful that Jay and my Mom were with me every step of the way.

TIPS- When you're walking, always carry a bottle of water and little pack of pocket kleenex with you. Thick foamy saliva keeps building up in your mouth, so you'll need to spit into the kleenex or blow your nose to make it easier to breathe. You'll also need the kleenex for when you dribble when you drink. You'll be very thirsty.

I strongly believe that staying positive and focusing on getting better, not that you don't feel good, makes a huge difference in how you recover. Get outside and walk, walk, walk! Keep the faith and hope, because it is all worth it!