Off to a Good Start

Inspirational song: Breathe (Faith Hill)

At the end of my second night back home, and healing is still progressing nicely. I'm still moving carefully, because I am not stupid. But I am moving, which is key. I slept late, but once I was awake, I got out of bed and stayed out. I was in my favorite chair most of the day, getting up to walk every hour or two, as instructed. I'm not lifting heavy things, not even a half gallon carton of cream for my coffee. I am clean, for the first time since Friday morning, and that improved my attitude immensely. I had to ask the Mr to fill a plastic dish tub with warm water and set it on the bathroom counter to accomplish that cleaning. I would be allowed to sit in a shallow bath, but I can't imagine getting back out of the bath when even standing up off the toilet is tricky right now. I couldn't fill the bathroom sink, because it was just too far down to lean over to rinse out my washcloth. These things will get easier, but for now I am just doing the best I can with creative solutions.

I don't have any research to back up my hunch, but I'm wondering whether the supplemental oxygen I was on for the first day and night wasn't the biggest boost to how much easier this recovery seems compared to other ones. I am not capable of breathing deeply in general, and with a cut up chest, it's even harder. My O2 saturation since I have been home has been kind of crappy (hard to keep it over 90-91). The first night has to have helped me.

Sensation is starting to return. I'm wearing a ton of gauze and tape, and the elastic and velcro bits of the binder bra are digging in my skin a little. To make it all more fun, things are starting to itch. I can't scratch anything, but that doesn't mean I don't want to.

Dinner was a pleasant surprise. We had vegetables from the garden roasting, when the Ks next door texted to announce they were bringing over some shredded pork made on the smoker we gave them as a wedding gift. Normally we eat at their house, because she is allergic to cats. She's fascinated by cats (as they were by her), so I hope the visit here doesn't leave her itchy and struggling to breathe. Harvey wanted to be her friend so much, and not just because she had a plateful of pig.