paper cut burning over top of it. At one point, my pain score on a scale
of 1 to 10 was 15.
• Physical therapy, thy name is torture. It'll hurt, they said, but it'll
end up being your best friend. Make that "frenemy." Five exercises,
twice a day? I was exhausted just from the walk down the hall to the
torture chamber.
• All these years of putting tourniquets on my patients, I had no idea
that it would hurt in those areas after surgery, even if it's only on for
an hour.
• Taking a shower was interesting. Modesty went out the window,
especially since my mother and daughter were helping to keep me
upright. The whole production seemed strangely off-balance: They
were fully clothed and getting soaked, while I was the only naked per-
son in the room.
I'll be back
More than 2 months after surgery, I'm still always tired. It's PT 3 days
a week, and I'm progressing. Not fast enough, in my opinion, but
improving. The need for pain meds has dwindled down to almost
nothing, unless I'm joining in the fun and games of PT. As soon as I
master an exercise there, they increase the reps or the time, or put me
on a harder machine. I'm using a cane now, which disgusts my ego. At
least when I was on a walker, I didn't care what my hair looked like,
whether I had makeup on or if I was wearing sweats 3 sizes too big
for me. I'm saying I'll be back in the OR in 3 months, but seeing as
how surgical nursing means the ability to work without limitations,
my surgeon says 4 to 5 months might be a more realistic goal. Those
surgeons, they always have to be right, don't they?
OSM
Send your get-well wishes to pwatkins12@comcast.net.
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