Frustration..

People are often surprised at some of the basic things I’ve found difficult after each surgery, so I thought I’d list some for you.

For this op and the last reconstruction, the restriction of movement is definitely top of the list as far as frustration goes – one wrong move and my chest is burning with nerve pain as I try to hold back tears that seem to come from nowhere. It really stops me in my tracks.

Some of the other things are so simple they’re kinda funny;

• holding the phone up to my ear for more than a few minutes – amazing how quickly my (big strong) muscles tire,
• grabbing something from the fridge/pantry (& even soap/shampoo in the shower) – the essentials all have to be at waist-shoulder height (needless to say any chocolate etc. has been safely stored where I can’t reach it!),
• showering – making sure soap gets to all the right places can be tricky (ohh – & shampooing my hair resembles some sort of contortion act as a bring my head down to hand-height!),
• drying myself – getting a towel around my back (especially if it’s already wet and heavy) – not easy,
• sitting up straight for long periods of time – after a while the blood pumping to my chest region (particularly around the new scars) really starts to hurt in a way similar to one of those throbbing headaches,
• getting in to & out of the car – pushing and pulling of any nature, especially your full body weight, is out of the question.
• getting in to & out of bed – same as above, blood rushes and no twisting around or pushing/pulling to prop yourself up or help in any way,
• cutting up dinner – steak (no matter how tender) is off the menu for a while!
• lifting a full kettle of water – when anyone drops in for a cuppa it’s not BYO, but pour-your-own,
• this only applies to the first fortnight after surgery, but those compression stockings are bloody hard to get on at the best of times, let alone when you can’t reach forward very far and are a bit weak. Not having to wear these will mean I can have a bit of independence back, but for now I have to ask for help before and after (& okay sometimes during) every shower. Uurgh.
• Clothing – it has to button up down the front, or be something (like pants/a singlet top) that I can step into.

In short – when Dr D says ‘you should be right with everything straight in front of you’, he’s right.

It’s still early and I know from past experience that these things become less of an issue with each day. Thank goodness! ‘Patience & Tolerance!’