Day 24 post-op with surgeon, huge relief! - thigh lift, leg lift, and minor LBL revision

Time for the big update you've all been waiting patiently for! (Hey, I can pretend, right?)

My appointment with my surgeon about my complications was this morning at 9:30. He's SUPER busy this time of year, so I think I got taken back at 9:45? He spent about an hour with me. A clear sign of his awesomeness. He confirmed that these are indeed, to him, "minor" complications. I appreciated that he clarified with them being minor to him, but he knows they don't seem minor to me, the one experiencing them!

He checked everything out and I'm doing the right thing and yes I have separations but they're on the right track. Where my openings are I've got this whitish stuff. The whitish stuff is basically dead skin that's not viable. And it would go away on its own but he removed it which is called debridement.

This was super gross and involved tweezers and scissors and I started watching but had to no****ch. I chatted the entire time and that was a good distraction. The one spot at my right knee was the worst and hurt but I worked on deep breathing and made it through. I told Art (who drove me) that he was free to leave the room if he needed to but he stayed which was good for me. Lots of blood and definitely not fun.

So now that the dead skin is all cleared out I need to keep doing what I'm doing. (Nice to know we were indeed doing the right thing!!) He says I'll hit a point where things get a lot better sort of suddenly and then I'll have like the last 10% that will feel like it takes forever.

He recommends that I use medicinal honey (topical) instead of, or alternating with, silver gel. So I figure I can use the honey in conjunction with evening garmenting and I'll silver throughout the day when I need to reapply at my groin. (Since I've got quite the stockpile of silver gel that I would like to work through.) I can order the medicinal honey online, but the formula from the company has changed, so I just ordered one tube to check for allergy purposes. (Original formula is 100% honey, this new formula is 80% honey and 20% "gelling agents.") I'll get more once I verify it's okay. Sadly I guess this new formula can't just be used up in your tea like the original formula could be!

I've got a follow up scheduled for 12/20 just in case I need to check in before Christmas but he's happy for me to cancel if I want to. I figure I should be able to drive myself by then which would be really super.

So... yay!! My incision lines hurt right now, but not enough that I felt the need to take anything more than tylenol for the pain. I feel hugely relieved about all of this information and I'm glad he did the debridement since I know that will help with healing.

And now I'm working on getting my protein in since I didn't eat anything prior to the appointment and we got home around noon.

In other recovery news, I slept in bed again for a full night! w00t! I think it might be safe to call this a trend. Although I am definitely happy to get back into the chair in the morning. Sleeping with a bolster under my knees seems to alleviate my initial back pain issue. Current bolster is a rolled yoga mat but I have a "real" bolster arriving soon. Then I sleep with my big huge U-shaped pillow which keeps me from rolling around. Although I have done a teeny bit of side sleeping, or like 3/4 side sleeping, just to be able to shift positions. Art's bed is also proving to be better than Lance's bed for this surgery because it's lower - with Lance's bed I need a stool.

Every day is a little better in terms of mobility. Every car trip is a little easier in terms of getting in and out of the car. Today I feel a significant sense of hope and relief.

I was looking forward to an update. I have been following your progress. I am glad your doing well.

Thanks! I wouldn't say I'm doing "well," yet, but... I'm getting there. Which is what matters!