It went surprisingly well the first night. I actually only woke up in time to take my meds, which was very convenient. I have a four pillow set-up to keep my head propped up that is working. Since there is an incredible amount of stress in my neck and shoulders, I put the heating pad on for a few minutes and that was enough to keep my muscles relaxed enough without interfering with the ice. Using the chin strap from the CPAP to keep the ice packs in place is not working really well because it isn’t long enough. The set-up from the hospital will end up ripping out what hair I do have left. I have an idea for a velcro strap that would work really well but I don’t have the materials for it.
Another thing I noticed in my progress was that I am starting to have that itching/healing sensation in my chin area. I am assuming that that is a good thing. The swelling doesn’t look like it has increased or decreased. There are stitches on my face from where they had to grip my head (after all, I do believe there was a saw involved in this somewhere, but some things you just don’t ask about, if you know what I mean).
My brain is running about a thousand miles a second. This is such an incredibly different experience from the hysterectomy. No hormones involved here! But my breathing is so much more free, I have a good feeling about the long-term positive outcome of the surgery. The first twelve hours, though, really make you wonder why you are doing this.
Ciao ciao a presto!
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