Well it’s been a little over two months now and things by and large have been fairly smooth on the recovery front. There’s been a couple of non surgical bumps along the way, some physical, some emotional. The first time I went out to do something other than walk to the local shops I had a fall which shook me up and knocked my mobility back a couple of weeks. I also lost a wonderful friend to cancer a few weeks back, a couple of weeks before the third anniversary to losing dad in similar circumstances. that aside, I’ve come through things ok, considering I’m aware of just how big an impact surgery and recovery can have on mental health. I won’t lie, I have had the odd time where it’s been time to dilate and had a bit of that “I’m getting tired of this” mentality, but I know it’s a temporary thing. As time goes on I’ll have to do this less and it’ll help.
A couple of weeks ago I had my post op check up and my surgeon has been happy with how things are progressing. Aside from having to come home with a catheter for a week the only other complication I’ve had is granulation. It’s very common with wound healing for patches of skin to get over-active and heal in such ways you end up with little flaps here and there.
I had one which was interfering with the last part of my surgical would to heal (the area in the middle of the fourchette). Thankfully there’s a fairly simple remedy for this: Silver nitrate. It basically chemically burns off the offending skin. It does sting a fair bit, but it settles down fairly quickly. I’ve still some healing to do and I think I’ll need another appointment to deal with some of the less annoying granulation, but apart from that the only other thing is I’m now down to dilating twice a day. This is a big thing because it means I don’t have to split my days up any more and planning things so I’m home by early afternoon to do the midday one. It’s also an hour reclaimed from dilating, clean up and maintenance. As I said earlier on, this helps from a mental health aspect. I’m less tired as well because I’m spending less energy on this, so lately I’ve been able to go out and do more than just trips to the shops. Oh I still get tired quickly, but it’s not as bad now.
Of course, I’m still getting used to a lot of things. I don’t really have pain any more, aside from random nerves healing up and causing twinges, and I’m steadily gaining sensation in most places now. Meanwhile the swelling is still going down and things look subtly different each day. it took a good seven weeks before I could finally sit up properly and not have too much pressure put on stuff because of the swelling.
Like a lot of other things transition related, I have that big feeling of feeling so much happier about things the way they are now, compared to beforehand. No need to worry about tucking, being mindful of clothing because I don’t want things to show up. I can just wear what the hell I want and not care, and I feel a lot lighter for it.
The only slight cloud on the horizon is I’m getting near to the point where I’ll have to go back to work. Given I do a fairly physical job I am worried about how I’m going to get through the day as I know my energy levels aren’t anywhere near there yet. Hopefully we’ll get a return to work plan sorted out this week that’ll have this in mind.
Oh, before I go, shout out to my Uncle Jim and Auntie Mary Jane for 25 happy years of being married to one another, and here’s to many more for you (as I know my aunt reads my ramblings on here 😀 ).
Chrissy's Space 