Day 7 - I smiled

10:45am - I smiled this morning. I saw myself in the mirror and smiled. Up until that moment, I was really indifferent to the surgery.

So, this morning, Julie came in to take the drains out. She said it wouldn't hurt...that bad...and that she was really good at it. She placed the necessary items on my bed as I pulled the mesh underwear down. She undid the tape and then cut the sutures holding them in place. With one swooping motion, she pulled them out of my groin one at a time. They hurt a bit, but the pain quickly subsided. She had me hold gauze on the site for a few minutes, but then things were nice. No more drains. Julie also brought in my meds which included starting my hormones again. It's been 3 1/2 weeks since I stopped....it's definitely nice to have them again.

As Christa and Julie made my bed, they said it was really nice out. So, I went out to the patio area for a few minutes before I noticed my mom and Amber walk by. We did a couple of laps and now I'm back in my room. I've had a few rumblings this morning...strong enough that I sat on the toilet for about 15 minutes each. Unfortunately, I still haven't had to go. It's sorta depressing. I'd really like to get that first one out of the way.

I've also stopped pain killers. I thought I might have to take one after the drains were pulled, but I'm pain killer free since last night at 5pm. The pain killers definitely help with sleeping, but it's also nice not having to take them. In the end, I think I ended up taking a total of 4 the day after surgery, and 2 yesterday. Not too bad for this wuss.

11:30pm - I've finally gone...a few times. The first two weren't much and I basically sat there for quite a while until stuff came out. After dinner, I did a few more laps and had a little prune juice. Since then, I've gone three times. All three and the two "rumblings" were soft - very soft. It's definitely different getting used to the way things are. I no longer have to tuck when sitting down on the toilet. That will probably take a while to get used to. It will be nice when I can also pee again. I still have to either plug into the foley bag or drain into the the toilet. And I can't just sit there to empty it. Nope. The hose is kinda taped to my stomach and it doesn't have much range.

Speaking of hoses, I was thinking back to the last things I did with Junior. As they were rushing me thru check-in, I thought for sure that they would request a urine sample. They didn't, so before I loaded up onto the gurney, I asked to use the restroom. So, to give it a fair and honorable sendoff, I stood in front of the toilet and urinated. That, I thought, would be the last time. Guess I still have a few more days left of standing up...until the catheter comes out.

OK, that makes 4 times tonight. Perhaps I shouldn't have had the prune juice.

Speaking of crap, the insurance company for the car of the person who rear ended me called to tell me that the policy on the car had been cancelled and was not valid. Great.