On one of my trips back from the toilet I saw the physio on the ward and she was gobsmacked, I was now independently mobile and fully weight bearing. She came straight over so she could observe me get into bed and she said I was so good she was discharging me from Physio. We had a chat about me getting into my house and up the stairs and everyone was happy with the plan. This was whilst I was on HDU I forgot to add to last post.
Day 3 post op.
I had a really good sleep last night as the side room was very quiet and I was being checked every 4 hours I think.
Surgeon happy for me to be discharged. My leg drain was still getting fluid so not able to be removed prior to going home. I have an outpatient appointment anyway on Wednesday which will be 8 days post op and they will remove it then.
All that day I was resting, I needed barely any input from nurses. I started feeling nauseous because of the heat (whole areas AC had broken down) and the pain killers. So I was glad when my paperwork and meds were completed and my husband was able to pick me up, ended up being 8pm.
Someone from the ward wheeled me down to the main entrance. This was the 1st time I had sat apart from commode and toilet but it was much more comfortable than I had thought. I’m strictly not to sit upright for 1 week so I did lean back and to the side. I walked a few metres to the car and got in independently. The seat was reclined back as far as it would go. My husband forgot the pillow (doh!) but I didn’t need it. I imagine if there was a sharp brake then I would have liked it though. I hit out of the car and walked into house ok 2 steps. I tried to recline in the sofa for a rest but was uncomfortable so went upstairs. Stairs were fine, I went one leg at a time (good leg up first to go up, bad leg down first to go down).
I bought a wedge set and a v pillow for the bed and it’s really helped. I have to change positions regularly.
Day 4.
I slept the best but ended up sleeping past my pain killer time so was out of schedule all day.
Feel better each day.
Did some standing downstairs then sat reclined on armchair with pouffe and managed about ten mins before becoming uncomfortable before going back to bed.
Day 5 (today).
Set alarm for 6am so didn’t miss pain killers and then went back to sleep.
Had a shower and washed my hair, bit of help from husband as I didn’t want to over do it.
Ate dinner stood up.
First day I have bothered using my iPad but I don’t think I could concentrate on a book say.
Hope this was helpful.
Summary and few points I may have missed out:
I can only describe the feeling as brutal for the first 24/48 hours then making steady recovery each hour and day after. I did wonder if this reconstruction was all worth it a couple of times. Which I’m sure is totally normal.
It didn’t hit me for a good couple of hours post surgery, that, I DONT HAVE CANCER ANYMORE. I burst into tears and felt ecstatically happy. Which again I’m sure is totally normal.
Going to toilet is awkward and difficult but gets easier each time.
Looking in the mirror I don’t feel like I have lost part of myself. I only have a circular wound where my areola was, it’s very neat and no dressings. You can see the thigh flap and it feels warm and soft, took a bit to get used to but I gradually looked at it more and more and today looked at my whole self in the mirror and was pleasantly surprised.
My leg wound goes 3/4 around the top of my leg, again very neat, no dressing, and the shape looks good. It is slightly different to my other leg but the reason I picked a TUG was that I do have some inner thigh to spare. One surgeon said not enough tissue to use stomach and another surgeon said he could do it with 2 tummy flaps, hip to hip but I still prefer thing (I actually like my stomach). My BMI is 20, size 10, small B cup, 9ish stone.
I may need some fat transfer in the future if my breast ends up smaller than the other (this much preferable to having a flap from each leg for me).
Happy to answer any questions.