Operation Phoenix Week 1

Make sure to read part 1 here, or this won't make sense. 

DAY 0

(the night of the surgery)

It all seemed fine. I mean, I guess it did. After waking up in recovery I was pretty foggy for the rest of the day. I remember Christine being there. I know she was hanging out into the late evening. I remember all of the staff coming into the room and doing all their specific tasks. Vitals, giving me meds, telling me I suck. You know....the regular stuff. Honestly, no clue on any names or even faces on this night. The reason is because my focus was elsewhere. My shoulders. I swear to everything that is Holy that it was pushing being unbearable. One of those pains you can't get away from. Let me describe it. 

Ever have someone grab you by the shoulders and squeeze? From the front it hurts. If they are behind you it hurts worse. Well, now imagine the Hulk clamping his bits down as hard as he possibly could right on top of your shoulders and just hanging out there. That is the pain I remember. It was during this time that I asked for them to drill my shoulders and let the air out. I also was regretting everything up to this point. Charlie horse style cramps in the shoulders that can't be worked out.....because it is simply pressure on the inside of my body from the gas they used during the surgery. Awful. 

DAY 1

(the day I went home)

When I woke up the shoulder pain was still the worst part. I had the morning to myself and was basically up and moving every couple of hours through the night. I would walk a slow and boring loop around the floor I was on. Then I would lay back down and just breathe deep trying to get away from the shoulder pain. Honestly the worst part by far. The day was quiet and Megan arrived to bring me home. They got my IV out and I was able to get dressed. They wheeled me down to the car and we were on our way home. Being just off the of US-131 on Wealthy makes it nice. We were out of there and home pretty quickly. When I got home I laid right back down and was out for the count. Just fully exhausted from absolutely nothing. The rest of the night was pretty quiet. Chris got home and kept an eye on me. The only thing that happened was I stressed one of the incisions and it bled a bit. Otherwise, pain the shoulders was getting a bit better and I was home.  

DAY 2

(first full day home)

Honestly, a lot of sleep. Trying to get fluids down. Trying to get meds into my system to aid with the lingering shoulder spasms and pain. Letting up some, but still fairly awful. I didn't do much. I alternated sleep with playing on my phone and watching tv. Not much stands out other than pacing around the hose to get my movement in every hour. Movement is key. 

DAY 3

(more meds and fluids)

Up and around every hour, slinking through the house like the Grinch on Christmas Eve, I made my endless laps. I tried to drink my water and my protein shakes. I know I wasn't getting enough down. One time it felt like a pill got stuck and thankfully I was at the sink. Let me tell you, the regurgitation action after stomach surgery isn't highly recommended. Took me a legit 10 minutes to recover after that. I am learning how to drink small sips, and let the air come back up. Feels weird, but making progress. Pretty tired overall. 

DAY 4

(the dehydration is real)

Today was my first venture out of the house. Meg too me to my appointment for a fluid infusion. I got called back and the put me in a chair. Now I was kind of nervous, because was nowhere near being hydrated. The vampire came in with her bag of tricks and got a solid start. She had to draw blood first, then pump the fluids in. The problem was....after the draw my vein shut her down. So I had to prepare for poke #2. Did she get it.....nope. Vein didn't cooperate. She was apologizing, but I know it was 100% my fault. Also, 200% the reason I was in this office to begin with. She tried tourniquets on both upper and lower arms, both hands and blood pressure cuffs that cut off circulation to my fingers. Nothing was coming to the surface. She wrapped my arms in blankets and felt around trying to find the biggest blood transporter she could find, and was struggling. 

The refreshments.

Eventually she settled into my elbow region where she described her target as "deep". That can't be good. She dove in and got it to work. The problem was that when she taped it the IV blew threw my deflated vein and the fluid was going into my subcutaneous material. Basically, just dripping into some space inside my skin. Not really helpful. It was time for reinforcements. 

Another vampire sauntered out of her coffin and started prodding around again. She was focused on my hands. I still had a prevalent bruise from my surgery IV and I told her that might be her best target. It just wouldn't come to the surface. She then targeted my other hand. "little poke" were her words as I felt another needle pierce my skin. Within a few seconds of swinging the needle like a sword under my skin she apologized for missing. At this point, I put my chair back and just focused on breathing. 

She continued her search for my missing veins and applied a blanket to my left hand. After a spell she dove in again. From my perspective it felt like she had it. She wasn't wiggling around and I figured she was getting tape around. After what felt like a minute (I am sure was less than 10 seconds) I couldn't help it and I asked "did that one work?". She paused, then apologized again that it collapsed on her. She thought she had it, but it was another miss. Fuck my life.

After a few minutes she came back in with a fresh tray of spears to stick into my body. She was very apologetic and nice. As I said before, I know this wasn't their fault. However, they were gonna get that IV in if they had to stick in my jugular. She checked my upper arms and poked around for another 10 minutes before landing on the inside of my wrist. While I wasn't super happy about this location, I willing let her attempt one last time. Finally, she found a willing participant. Now I could finally start my infusion. At this point, I was just done. Tired and feeling like garbage from being a pin cushion I was able to get the sweet life giving fluid into my carcass. 

The eventual landing spot.

I texted Megan because she had asked how it was going. It took 90 minutes to get the IV started. I had what would amount to another nearly 3 hours to get the fluids into my body. FINALLY it was time to head home. I watched the bag stop dripping and pressed the button to call them into the room. The original Vamp came in and said she was surprised it went that quick. I told her my body was a sponge from the lack of fluids I had. I headed out to the car and Meg got me home.

Meg told me I looked a million times better and that she could tell I was feeling better. Clearly dehydration isn't a joke. Even when I was trying my damndest to get the fluids in, it just wasn't working. But now I was back feeling pretty good with just a bit of minor shoulder pain. Unreal.

This was the room I was in. Note the snacks and beverages that are present there. Nice items to have for someone who cannot eat real food at this point in time. ;)

DAY 5

(the aftermath)

Who was keeping track of the pokes on Day 4? To recap, it was 6. I used to have a needle phobia. Thank the higher powers that I have been able to get over that, or I am sure I would have woken up in the ER yesterday. Whew. 

There are a few pics of the aftermath. Not too terrible other than looking like a heroine addict. 

Christine was up and heading to work on this morning. She was so shocked to see how much better I was moving and feeling in general. The recovery from dehydration was done. Now it was up to me to start forcing in the fluids. But I was feeling a million times better for sure.

I started with my protein shake. I would drink a little bit every hour in addition to my water. Every hour I was making sure to get both, and keep them down. Not forcing the issue, just making sure that I was getting in the fluids. I got nearly all of the protein and water I needed to get. This was a single day after I couldn't drink a single cup of water. The life giving fluids brought me back from the brink.

I was feeling so good that I even got on my bike. Its still on the indoor trainer and they want 15 minutes of good activity every day. This is on top of all of the other moving around I do wandering aimlessly through the house. So I geared up and headed to the basement.

I picked a flat short loop and pedaled away for 15 minutes. Not as easy as I hoped it would have been, but it felt really good to be back on a bike only 5 days after major surgery. Low cadence, low power, low heart rate, and low speed needed me a short distance. But it was an activity and it was literally the first pedal strokes toward my goal. 

Feeling better every day. 

DAY 6

(starting a routine)

I was determined to get my quotas today. I set my goals and charged towards them through the day. I was walking around the yard with Apollo. I was taking my laps inside. All the while I am reading a new book and working on the mental side of things.

In the evening I once again headed to the basement for another 15 minutes on the bike. Again, low cadence, low power, low heart rate, and no real pressure on the pedals. Just turning them around and around. 

Another day done as my one week out from surgery is rapidly approaching.

DAY 7

(it might get boring)

Sure, the routine might get boring. But as any house knows....the foundation is the boring part. While its the most important the Foundation is the part nobody sees. It goes under the ground and disappears when its apparent job is finished. But without it, the rest can't happen.

Now I am a week out from my surgery. I am reaching my protein and fluid goals. I am also hitting my movement milestones and almost ready for more. I know I need to trust the process, and I am doing my best.

This was first day that I walked into the kitchen and thought "I could use a snack". However, all fluids means only protein shakes, water (with the zero sugar flavoring), Gatorade Propel, sugar free popsicles and jello. Today I had a lello. Felt good to 'eat' something. lol. But I was able to suppress that feeling of wanting to eat something. 

The baby steps are part of the foundation. While not easy, its a necessity for me at the moment. I have a few more days until my 2nd week ends. I will send another update early next week. Until then, follow along while this phoenix rises from the ashes. 

I will get into some additional specifics and parameters on the next week overview.