When I got home from the hospital, I was wiped out. Even though there’s truly no place like home, I caught myself missing the hospital bed just a tiny bit, mainly the magic button that changed positions like I was royalty.
I tried lounging on the couch and then the bed, but nothing felt quite right. Ended up taking a painkiller because between the surgery, the car ride, and waddling around the house like a confused duck, my belly was definitely letting me know it had been through something.
I didn’t set any big goals for Day One. My only mission: drink water and move around the house enough to feel semi-human. No outdoor walk today, because those stairs were giving “ouch” energy. I also did the adult thing and followed my medication schedule with the dedication of someone diffusing a bomb.
By evening, I came up with a genius idea: turn my bed into a pillow fortress. It worked! My upper body was nicely propped up, sides supported, and it felt like I was sleeping in a very ambitious marshmallow. I passed out quickly and the sleep was decent.
The next morning, I popped up like a toaster. Already feeling better! On the pain scale of 1 to 10, it was barely a 1 or 2. During the surgery, they pumped carbon dioxide into my abdomen (which is, by the way, not as glamorous as it sounds), which made things pretty uncomfortable. But by now, even that had eased up a lot.
Then came the blood thinner injection. I’ll be honest, just the idea of it made my soul flinch. So I graciously handed that task over to my partner for the next 10 days. Could I have done it myself? Sure. Did I want to? Absolutely not. I’m a proud member of the “look away and hum a happy tune” club when it comes to needles. Not that my husband would love the needles, but let’s be honest, he really didn’t have much of a choice.
Took a shower, swapped out my bandages, and once again followed the post-op guide like it was a sacred scroll. The hospital had mentioned that the surgeon would check in by phone the next day, and like clockwork, he called. Asked how my night went, how I was feeling, if I had a fever, and so on. I had no complaints, but it was really nice to feel looked after.
I decided, no matter what, I was going to get some fresh air. So out I went. My energy was low, not gonna lie, and I took a break on pretty much every bench I saw. Still, I managed to walk about two kilometres, which felt like winning the Olympics of post-op movement. Plus, I kept pacing around the house to get those step counts up.
Here’s what I ate on Day 3 post-surgery:
Breakfast: 30 g (15 g Greek yoghurt, a bit of baby puree, and Protifar)
Snack: 40 g (Greek yoghurt, banana, blueberries, Protifar). Couldn’t finish it tho.
Lunch: 20 g (Greek yoghurt, banana, blueberries, Protifar)
Snack: 40 g (tuna, boiled potato, cottage cheese, avocado, Protifar)
Dinner: 20 g (tuna, boiled potato, cottage cheese, avocado, Protifar)
Everything went through the Nutribullet blender like a champ. And I drank 900 ml of water over the course of the day, so I think all in all, I did pretty well.
How was your first day at home?
