First of all – I’M WALKING!!! (it’s not that I had fully stopped walking pre surgery, but I was constantly falling when I did and I had the slowest, most awkward/painful gait…distances I was able to walk were VERY short).
The past few days have flown by so fast. Most days involve waking up to my first scheduled medication delivery around 8am, and then breakfast is delivered around 8:30. Breakfast has mostly been a subpar gluten free bun with a slice of ham and so Sasha or Katie has been bringing me alternative options instead. Morning vital checks happen shortly after that and then visits from doctors start. Some days it’s just one doctor, other days is 2-3. Unfortunately I never know when they’re coming, so I always have to be ready with any questions I have which can be a bit stressful. They’re all working as a team to figure out the best way to manage my pain while also getting me moving as much as possible. Late morning usually involves some hygiene (unfortunately I haven’t had a true shower yet but apparently there’s going to be a way to do that before the staples holding my incision shut come out…likely in the next few days). At some point in the afternoon I get another vital check, and usually a visit from a nursing assistant just to see how I’m going. I’m starting to build relationships with the staff which is fun. Everyone is intrigued by my story, and one nursing assistant even started tearing up when I told her about my community back home who fundraised to help make this surgery possible.
I get a few doses of meds throughout the day, a late lunch around 2pm (I can’t say I’ve gotten used to Spanish time which involves much later eating), snack around 5, and dinner around 8. Then I get my night meds and final vitals check around 10. Somewhere in here I practice moving my legs and walking, as well as nap. I’ve started being able to nap a bit less and watch a bit of TV/catch up with happenings back home (aka scroll instagram 😂) between all of this which has been really nice. Although I’m still pretty exhausted.
Here’s a link to videos of how far I’ve come with my walking: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/kilvli0ag08zycz7arv0l/AEje-BWCG14pbKBxooTNHS4?rlkey=pmzxnorrs9umtuih2jpj3iycy&st=r3r350df&dl=0. I included a photo of my cervical incision (we keep forgetting to take one of my lumbar incision when the bandage is off…it’s not nearly as cool – haha…the photo is labelled so don’t click on it if you get squeamish.
A few other highlights:
– the blood drain that collected all the puss and blood from my incisions has been removed (yuckkkk)
– my urinary catheter has been removed and I’m going to the bathroom on my own now that I can get out of bed
– The jugular vein IV that has been dangling from my neck has been removed which means I am no longer needing my 24/7 ketamine pain drip…this also means I no longer need that IV pump with me everywhere I go
– my breathing has improved quite a bit since pre-surgery!! I don’t think I’m going to need supplemental oxygen when we’re home (which I was previously doing 3ish times per day).
– we’re talking about discharge, likely early-mid next week!! We will still be in Barcelona for a while before I’m cleared to fly home, I’m thinking that we’ll be back mid-November
Lowlights:
– pain continues to be a struggle, I haven’t gone through a day or night yet without needing to take rescue pain meds…but I’m heading to bed now and I’ve got high hopes that I may sleep through the night without them. If not, that’s ok too…I still just can’t believe the progress I’m making
I’m off to bed now. Thank you thank you thank you to everyone who helped make this trip possible.
