This Tummy Tuck Surgery

is not for wimps. I'm just sayin'. I'm glad I'm taking another week off work to drive down to Oregon (ignore that part) and veg on Kim's couch. It's Saturday, and the thought of going to work on Monday makes me want to cry. Ouch!!

It's not that I'm in so much pain - I'm really not. I'm very uncomfortable. My belly is swollen. There's a lot of bruising from my mid-section to my upper thighs. You may think wearing a crotchless compression garment for six weeks is sexy: I assure you it is not.

This morning my belly swelling is lopsided, which probably just means I slept funny. But of course you have to run through all the frightening possibilities. Thankfully, since it doesn't hurt or look especially awful, it only took me a moment to dismiss my fears.

So, I'm not yet two weeks out and already I feel very much like it was worth it. That's gonna be one tiny belly when this is all said and done! But it's not something to enter into lightly either! Wow, my belly is rock hard, and not in a muscular way. So very many incisions, too. :)

I'm allowed to get out of the brace every day for a shower and even long enough to wash and dry the garment. Yesterday I did exactly that, but I was pretty pokey about getting back into it, I'll admit. Well, after a few hours, my body was SCREAMING for the comfort and confinement of the compression garment. Even though as I was putting that sucker on - no small act of patience in itself - my body was also whining about not wanting to wear it.

Luckily (?) I've endured similar before. In late 2004 I had a spinal fusion and had to wear a soft back brace similar to this for months (without the fun of the crotchless bodysuit aspect, luckily).

I give up the suit on either Christmas Eve or Christmas morning, depending on my interpretation of six weeks. :) Either way, it will be a very happy day!

Oh, speaking of Christmas: oops. I was so excited about the timing of the Veteran's Day and Thanksgiving holidays to minimize my time off work. So excited about the minimal impact on my cycling since I'd be laid up during the bad weather.

I forgot what a hole this would shoot in the Christmas season. Normally this weekend I'd get the tree and decorations up. (I bought a fake tree after the divorce, which I will tolerate one more year - I miss the real trees!)

Hauling in decorations will be tough. Shopping will be a grind. Generally, I just want to lay in bed right now. (I miss my bike terribly, though!)

This all sounds whiney-hiney, it's not. :) This is just the first weekend the kids have been home and I'm beat. It's been my first opportunity to realize how tough the surgery is and how much longer of a recovery I have ahead! It will continue to get easier, though, and honestly, I will just scale back the Christmas festivities to match my ability level (and especially my older two are getting really super helpful in so many regards!)

In other happy news, my 13yo daughter had me plot out a mile-long route from our house on the odometer. This morning she was up and at 'em early and walked it once and ran it once. Proud of my baby.

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