Greeting the sunrise
I was up to greet the sunrise this morning. We sat on my front porch steps, with my cat (Jack) even though I am certain both the sunrise and the cat had somewhere else to be.
Though in the normal course of my life, I do not see many sunrises, I have always enjoyed that part of the day. And I just clarify that by saying that we are talking about a Michigan summer sunrise here. Winter sunrises often happen late in the morning after most of us are at work so they aren't quite the same.
So I listened to the birds sing and watched the neighborhood wake up around me and even dozed a little bit while I sat there. I then took the opportunity to get a nice walk in before the sidewalk people were out. I did ten blocks this morning which I think is close to a mile. During the day I think I am a bit a scary sight, lumbering along with a half limp and glazed eyes. I imagine that parents pull their children inside when they see me or cross the street to avoid me. And this may happen for all I know, but I don't really worry so much. I'm out for a walk, not human interaction.
As I enter my first full day of this recuperation at home process, I too time to catalog everything involved in my rehabilitation.
There's my heart which is flush with fresh supplies of blood, but still reeling from exposure to the air, the surgery, and having been stopped for period of time during the surgery. I find that piece of knowledge odd as I can not imagine myself lying on the table, heart unbeating while they worked on me. Nor do I care to imagine those breathless moments when they restarted my heart as if they were jump starting an old Toyota (now does the ground wire go on first of last I can never remember). Anyway, my heart is recovering without much intervention from me. A walk or two each day plus these special socks which help the blood circulate is all it needs.
The lungs get kind of beat up all the way too. Being under anesthesia doesn't help and fluid build up during bed rest is almost a certainty. I have this little plastic device the I have to suck air through several times a day. It doesn't exercise my lungs, but it does make sure I keep taking deep breaths which is all the lungs really need. My lungs are doing fine at the moment, but not yet ready to receive cigar smoke again.
The digestive track is another matter. Now I'm going to spare any gory details, except to say the entire process beginning with the anesthesia works to slow down digestion. Not stop it, just slow it down. So when a meal normally could pursue it's course in 12-36 hours, it now takes closer to a week. The big downside to this is that I entirely lack an appetite which means I eat very little, and I have to believe that at some point a lack of nutrients is going to be a problem. They assure me that this problem will take care of it's self.
My thermostat caught me by surprise. In the last few days in particular my body has had a hell of a tough time regulating my body temperature. I've been hovering a couple degrees below 98.6 which isn't even the bad part. The bad part is that at any given moment I can be either sweltering or with the chills. External regulation just sets me up for a bad roller coaster ride. I'll be cold so I'll through a blanket on and three minutes later I'll be sweating, throwing the blanket off just brings the chills even worse. And a cup of coffee or tea will mess me up for hours. Once again, I am assure that this is normal and will work it's self out. I just hope that happen sooner rather than later.
My breastbone and ribs are also working on repairing themselves. Mostly this requires me to take it easy on this part of my body. Which sounds simple until one considers that anything we do with our arms pretty much affects the chest as well. Try getting out of bed with out using your arms sometime, it's not as easy as it seems, though I have almost mastered the process.
The incisions have so far been the easy part. They don't give me much pain or trouble. I clean them each day and leave them alone for the most part. The leg incisions to give me a bit of a limp, but that will pass with time.
Oh and too finish my catalog I have to mention all the other marks and scars on my body. The worst is my neck where three different tubes went in at one time. I hear this looked real nasty though I never did see it. The site is very tender and the muscles are sore, making it difficult and painful to turn my neck very far in either direction. The rest of the areas, including all kinds of patches of red, itchy skin where something was taped down, will be find with time.
At the completes my catalog. I'm not looking for sympathy, rather I would like to create a list of what to expect for anyone who should have the surgery done after me.
Jack
Though in the normal course of my life, I do not see many sunrises, I have always enjoyed that part of the day. And I just clarify that by saying that we are talking about a Michigan summer sunrise here. Winter sunrises often happen late in the morning after most of us are at work so they aren't quite the same.
So I listened to the birds sing and watched the neighborhood wake up around me and even dozed a little bit while I sat there. I then took the opportunity to get a nice walk in before the sidewalk people were out. I did ten blocks this morning which I think is close to a mile. During the day I think I am a bit a scary sight, lumbering along with a half limp and glazed eyes. I imagine that parents pull their children inside when they see me or cross the street to avoid me. And this may happen for all I know, but I don't really worry so much. I'm out for a walk, not human interaction.
As I enter my first full day of this recuperation at home process, I too time to catalog everything involved in my rehabilitation.
There's my heart which is flush with fresh supplies of blood, but still reeling from exposure to the air, the surgery, and having been stopped for period of time during the surgery. I find that piece of knowledge odd as I can not imagine myself lying on the table, heart unbeating while they worked on me. Nor do I care to imagine those breathless moments when they restarted my heart as if they were jump starting an old Toyota (now does the ground wire go on first of last I can never remember). Anyway, my heart is recovering without much intervention from me. A walk or two each day plus these special socks which help the blood circulate is all it needs.
The lungs get kind of beat up all the way too. Being under anesthesia doesn't help and fluid build up during bed rest is almost a certainty. I have this little plastic device the I have to suck air through several times a day. It doesn't exercise my lungs, but it does make sure I keep taking deep breaths which is all the lungs really need. My lungs are doing fine at the moment, but not yet ready to receive cigar smoke again.
The digestive track is another matter. Now I'm going to spare any gory details, except to say the entire process beginning with the anesthesia works to slow down digestion. Not stop it, just slow it down. So when a meal normally could pursue it's course in 12-36 hours, it now takes closer to a week. The big downside to this is that I entirely lack an appetite which means I eat very little, and I have to believe that at some point a lack of nutrients is going to be a problem. They assure me that this problem will take care of it's self.
My thermostat caught me by surprise. In the last few days in particular my body has had a hell of a tough time regulating my body temperature. I've been hovering a couple degrees below 98.6 which isn't even the bad part. The bad part is that at any given moment I can be either sweltering or with the chills. External regulation just sets me up for a bad roller coaster ride. I'll be cold so I'll through a blanket on and three minutes later I'll be sweating, throwing the blanket off just brings the chills even worse. And a cup of coffee or tea will mess me up for hours. Once again, I am assure that this is normal and will work it's self out. I just hope that happen sooner rather than later.
My breastbone and ribs are also working on repairing themselves. Mostly this requires me to take it easy on this part of my body. Which sounds simple until one considers that anything we do with our arms pretty much affects the chest as well. Try getting out of bed with out using your arms sometime, it's not as easy as it seems, though I have almost mastered the process.
The incisions have so far been the easy part. They don't give me much pain or trouble. I clean them each day and leave them alone for the most part. The leg incisions to give me a bit of a limp, but that will pass with time.
Oh and too finish my catalog I have to mention all the other marks and scars on my body. The worst is my neck where three different tubes went in at one time. I hear this looked real nasty though I never did see it. The site is very tender and the muscles are sore, making it difficult and painful to turn my neck very far in either direction. The rest of the areas, including all kinds of patches of red, itchy skin where something was taped down, will be find with time.
At the completes my catalog. I'm not looking for sympathy, rather I would like to create a list of what to expect for anyone who should have the surgery done after me.
Jack
posted by Jack Dragon at 8:48 AM
2 Comments:
Yeah, there are times when I imagine exactly what was done that I just creep out a bit. It's honestly a miracle that anyone can go through such a thing and survive. And once I've considered that, I realize the recovery process insn't so bad after all.
I am not an animal. *makes slurping sound* I am a human being.
;)
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