Overall my recovery seems to be proceeding normally. Though I’m still confined to the house, neither allowed to take outside walks or to drive, I will be able to drive short distances as of Friday.
In some ways, this may be the hardest part of recovery for me because now that I’m feeling relatively well and have managed to sleep at least four or five hours straight the last two nights, I want to get on with my life, want to get back to the things I’m used to doing. Of course, I don’t want to jeapordize my long-term health or risk re-injury, so, for the most part, I’m trying to be a good patient.
If you wonder why I’m so impatient, here’s a list of my recovery from surgery with landmark days:
Thursday: prostate removed.
Friday: catheter replaced because of blockage.
Saturday: first walk around nurses’ station
Sunday: first bowel movement; first sold food.
Monday: sent home, exhausted climbing stairs to bedroom
Tuesday: climbed stairs several times throughout the day
Wednesday: blockage removed in emergency room
Thursday: filled bird feeder.
Friday: first drain removed.
Saturday: most of day spent napping
Sunday: more sleeping. but with longer computer breaks
Monday: brought in garbage can; helped cook dinner.
Tuesday, final drain removed.
Wednesday: paid bills and walked up steep hill to mailbox, and back obviously
It’s all too obvious that I’m not getting much done and, certainly, nothing exciting has taken place so far, isn’t it?
I’m not even allowed to exercise yet so that I can do more than this, not that I really feel like doing too much exercise.
Perhaps most frustrating of all is that it’s difficult to sit or lie down without taking pain killers. As a result, I haven’t had much luck trying to read or even write yet.
It’s most comfortable just to stand, which may explain why I spend a considerable part of the day just plain pacing back and forth.
P.S. This really isn’t meant so much as a complaint, which I’m sure it is, as a factual statement of where I’m at at this point in my healing. Anyone considering this kind of surgery should probably plan accordingly, as I seem the norm rather than the exception.