Tummy has been tucked

Day 1. On Monday the 18/10/2010 I arrived at St John of God hospital, Subiaco at 6.30am to start the mammoth journey of a tummy tuck. Dr Allen came and saw me about 7am and proceeded to draw all over my tummy and to try and give me a running commentary on what was going to happen. I say 'try' as I was in no frame of mind to hear all the details I just wanted to get it underway and not think about anything else other than to hope I woke up (general anaesthetics scare me). I waived bye to Andy and was wheeled into theatre about 8am, after the leg socks were put on.
I woke up to see a sea of faces and then drifted off again only to hear c'mon Dianne wake up. I remember thinking 'just leave me alone' and I became more irritated the more I kept getting disturbed. Every now and then I could hear Andy talk and what sounded like different medical staff talking shop around me but I was having a real problem waking up enough to concentrate or even care, a bit like when you are super tired and someone wants to wake you.
I remember seeing 3pm on the clock and waking long enough to see loads of people in my room (about 7 or 8) and I remember hearing someone say give her more of............. something in the form of drugs.
I woke up enough to focus about 4pm and felt like I had been run over and I felt really tight in my tummy but completely bearable just a bit of a weird feeling. I looked down to see my tummy completely bandaged but I was distinctly aware it was FLAT! Andy was talking to me and staff were talking to me and I remember smiling and thinking the world was a lovely place to wake up too then drifting off again. All night there were staff in my room and the obligatory medical checks were done.
By early the next morning I was having wakeful moment and it was then that the nurse told me I had had a reaction to the morphine and it was depressing my breathing making me breath only sporadically with as little as two breaths being taken per minute and up to 6. This only happened while I slept but it was enough to need a staff member to stay with me until I was wakeful enough to be left. I was pumped full of an opiate modifier to help get the morphine out of my system. At that time all I could think was 'man that ain't a bad way to go' lol but looking back now I think 'thank you God I never went to Thailand for this op'. Just imagine being in a foreign country with no way of getting home quickly and possibly having a language barrier! Suddenly saving a few $'s didn't really seem that important.
Day 2 I was more wakeful throughout the day. Eating and drinking normally with a catheter in and drains coming out of each side of me. The catheter hurt and I was most keen to get that out. Dr Allen came and saw me and said I would have it out the next day and I couldn't wait! Andy bought Caleb in to see me (our 14 year old). He had only been there for 20minutes when he put his head on my bed and said he felt really sick. Andy took him home and for the next 24 hours every member of my family (they were staying with my eldest son and his wife and daughter) vomited and had stomach pain including some diarrhea. Oh yes the timing was perfect!!! I started praying profusely that I wouldn't get it and and God answered as I still haven't had it.
My other focus was doing number 2's. I desperately wanted to be able to go easily given that any sort of bearing down or tummy muscle exercise was to be avoided so each meal for me consisted of as much fibre, fruit and veg as I could but having no fill in my band meant either behave or gain weight and after the money time and effort involved it was not an option to gain weight so I was and still am not allowing anything high in sugar or fat past my lips.
Day 3 The catheter is taken out and not a moment too soon. Wow was that thing awful. So now I wait to find out that my bladder is working again ok.I was painfully aware of course that to go to the loo now meant I had to walk there and that was causing me to break out in a sweat. Finally after what I thought was enough water and with the help of the nurse I was helped up and I tentatively shuffled to the toilet. It hurt and stung a bit (walking that is) but it was bearable and probably no worse that the cesar that I had years ago. To my utter delight I went for a pee. Now just if number 2's would happen I would feel like the world couldn't be a better place lol. I also was able to have my first shower. This was a mission. I got all I needed then shuffled to the en suite. There was a chair in the shower cubicle and I sat down after getting the shower temp right. It felt blissful. I reached up to take the hand held shower off its post and miscalculated how forceful the water was. The thing jumped out of my hand and snaked around the bathroom and then shot out the door which was open and lay on my bedroom floor spraying water at the ceiling. What a mess and how hard was it to move fast enough and retrieve the thing. What felt like hours later I had cleaned up, dried off and dressed and shuffled back to be exhausted but quietly content that I was definitely on the mend.
Day 4 Finally the break of dawn and day four was here. I looked forward to that time each day cos I knew I was a day closer to going home but I have to say that I was desperately enjoying the quiet time, the menu being delivered and what were really lovely meals. No phones, no visitors (apart from Andy who bought in some of the best takeaway cappuccino's I have ever had) and just generally being waited on hand and foot. I had a tv to watch and I just felt safe. Dr Allen came and saw me daily and reassured me that everything was now fine (after the morphine scare). Day 4 was also to be the big reveal day where my bandages would be taken off and I could see my tummy for the first time. Wow was I looking forward to this day starting! At about 2pm Dr Allen arrived with a nurse and I braced myself for the unwrap. Scared and not daring to believe that it was going to be 'that fabulous' but hoping upon hope that there would be a difference. As Dr Allen undid the compression bandage (Velcro on) there was silence as Andy and I gawked at my tummy. It was magnificent. So, so magnificent. I couldn't stop smiling all afternoon especially as I had my first fart indicating that maybe everything there was starting to burble back into shape. I shuffled off to the loo late on day 4 and another prayer was answered.
Dr Allen asked the nurse to take out my right side drain as in 24 hours it had only accumulated 10mls so this could now be removed. My toes curled as she snipped the stitch holding it into place and slowly proceeded to pull a foot of pipe out of me. It was definitely not a nice feeling but again it was manageable and with the panadol and trimodal I was taking I think the edge had been taken off my nerve system and I got through. Dr Allen said I may be going home tomorrow which was exciting but also a bit sad. No more meals delivered to me :( but other than that it was a perfect day!!!!
Day 5 This was a Friday and I thought it would be home day. Dr Allen came in saw that i had drained 30mls into the drain container and said he wanted to discharge me tomorrow and it would be with or without the drain being taken out. I didn't mind and relaxed for the rest of the day. I was now able to walk a lap of the ward and this helped me to go toilet daily. I weighed myself and I was 8kg lighter than when I was admitted on Monday. Not a bad loss. It cost $1000.00 per kilo and was worth every cent lol.
Even though I could walk easier than I had been after just a few minutes the skin felt tighter and tighter and I was still quite bent over. It still felt like a huge marathon to just do a small slow lap of the ward. Never the less I felt like i was slowly very slowly getting back to normal.
To be continued with photos. Stay tuned xx