My Surgery Diary – part 2
Thurs 21st May
I had a great night’s sleep and I didn't have any pain medication. After a check over with the nurse, a cup of tea, a biscuit and a brief snooze. Dr Kulhanek came to check on me at 7am. He changed the dressings and I got chance to have another peak at my tummy. I expected it to be much more swollen but to my surprise it wasn't too bad. Dr Kulhanek said that everything was healing very well and I asked him why I did not need the abdominal muscle repair. He said that the muscles were in great condition and that I have a very small waist. I asked how much fat he had actually removed from my hips and he said it was about 300g from each hip. That’s 1 and half pounds in total!! He said that I was fit and well enough to be discharged although I was able to stay in the hospital if my apartment wasn't available. The apartment turned out to not be ready but I was happy to have one more night in the clinic.
My roommate, Alexis, was also told she was free to go, much to her relief as she didn't enjoy being a patient. It was sad to say goodbye to her as we had had lots of chats and had helped each other along in our journeys and recoveries.
Having done much more walking around today I have found myself more able to straighten up which gave relief to an achy back.
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8 days post operation |
Pavel and Nad'a from cosmetic-plastic-surgery.info came to visit me which was lovely after many e-mails to and from Nad'a I was finally able to put a face to them. I think Pavel saw a much different Helen today as the Helen prior to surgery was very nervous, where as today I felt relaxed and happy and was chatting away about my experience.
My mum visited me this afternoon who returned me to human by washing and blow drying my hair!! I hated not being able to shower and wash my hair, so I felt like a new woman!!
Being the only patient in the clinic I had my own nurse. The staff have been wonderful which comes in stark contrast to that seen in many UK hospitals where it can be very rushed. The cleanliness is also excellent where I have seen my room mopped out 3 times per day. Many people have reservations about hygiene standards when coming to a foreign country but now having seen the standards I know that I would much prefer to have surgery abroad as it is much better.
Today I have struggled with my emotions a bit. I have found myself yearning for my children and a cuddle from my fiancé, I miss them intensely. I couldn't even glance at their pictures without my eyes filling with tears. I know the next day will be easier as I will be able to chat with them all at lengths in the apartment via a webcam.
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8 days post operation |
At the end of my 3rd day post op, I feel comfortable, relieved and happy. And I can't quite believe I have had the surgery that I have so longed for, for so long.
Fri 22nd May
After a great night’s sleep and not having the need for any pain medication during the night I was looking forward to getting to the apartment. I was really looking forward to getting out and breathing some fresh air and to see a different view. I was to leave the clinic in the afternoon hours. When Pavel arrived around 5p.m. I felt quite emotional to leave as I had felt so looked after by my nurse Milena. I took a photo of myself and her together before leaving the clinic. It was lovely breathing in the fresh air out of the clinic and I felt as though I was taking the first steps of my new life as the Helen I always wanted to be.
It was wonderful to step into the apartment, which although was smaller than the first time we had stayed in, was lovely and had everything we would need for a very comfortable stay. I logged onto the computer as soon as was possible so that I could see my children and Andrew on the webcam. At first sight of them it was very emotional to see their beaming little faces and to hear their voices; I unsuccessfully tried to hold back the tears!! It was hard to hear my eldest daughter asking me to come home when I knew I had over a week left in Prague.
After Andrew had put the kids to bed and I had unpacked my case I logged back on and had a lengthy chat with Andrew and swapped stories of what both our weeks were like. I felt as though I was half way closer to home being able to see them on the webcam.
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9 days post operation |
Today was the most physical day I had had since the surgery, even though not done much, I felt very tired and knew I would have no problems falling to sleep.
Sat 23rd May
Unfortunately we were woken at 5am by an extremely noisy toddler in the apartment next door, and after listening to a chair being pushed around the room for half an hour we resulted in shouting "shut up" which seemed to do the trick!! We dozed off for a few more hours after this. When I finally decided to get out of bed I found I didn't really feel pain but just felt stiffness around the lipo areas. The bruising is spreading around my back now and even down my bum!! There is strangely a significant amount of more bruising to my right side than my left and I think this could be due to the binder that has a tendency to bunch up on one side so I'm going to take extra care to check that it is straight.
We had a very lazy day today as my mum and I both felt very tired. Our main activities for the day were really just talking on the webcam, making food and sleeping!! I am actually very surprised at how tired I am as prior to the surgery I thought that due to my fitness that it wouldn't affect me too badly but it just shows what major surgery an abdominoplasty is. I had another "wow" moment today as I took my binder off stood up and so it was the first time I had seen it in the mirror. I could see that I had swollen up quite badly as my waist looked thicker and the usual arch in the bottom of my back when viewed from the side had gone. Even with the swelling I was still amazed by my new flat tummy. I am slightly anxious about the height of my scar which I intend to discuss with the surgeon at my next appointment. I have seen a lot of pictures where the scar is low but I know that everyone is different and it is all dependent upon their starting point. I think the swelling gives a misted view of where the scar and belly button will finally be as the swelling pulls the skin. I have been taking pictures so that I can monitor my progress and see the changes. I feel it is very important to have realistic expectations and remember that everyone is different and that the search of perfection could be endless as there will always be something that you feel unhappy with.
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11 days post operation |
Sun 24th May
A beautiful sunny day in Prague and I am dying to get out and see some sights. Dr Kulhanek had advised that I was to have complete rest and the first trip out could be Monday. I am a good patient and do exactly as I am told as I want my result to be the best it can be and the surgeon knows what is best.
I felt that the swelling maybe increasing today but felt well and after a lovely coffee and croissant breakfast my mum changed my dressings. I felt it was better my mum should do it so she could wash her hands thoroughly with anti-bacterial hand wash. I also brought with me a supply of anti bacterial hand gel as I was aware that my wound would be at risk of infection and if caught it could create bad scar tissue. By my mum doing the dressings it reduced the risks. It was great to have a few minutes out of the binder as it was getting rather hot!!
Today, again, was a day of rest and I spoke to Andrew and the girls. In the afternoon I received a text from one of the other competition winners, Clare, to say she was in her apartment and that I was welcome to go down for a coffee. From the moment we found out we were winners, we had exchanged many e-mails back and forth and I was looking forward to finally meeting her. After just a few minutes of meeting Clare she showed me her new boobs which were so pert and looked brilliant and I could see that she was really happy with them. I showed her the pictures of tummy which looked quite gruesome as my bruising is so dark at the moment, but she thought it looked good. We spent the next hour chatting about our surgery stories and about each other’s clinic and surgeons. We ended up chatting about all sorts, such as the Katie and Peter split to houses we had both renovated!! I could have sat there chatting all day long!!
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13 days post operation |
Getting back to my apartment was a tiring experience as I called the lift and it appeared to be stuck on another floor so I had to hike myself up 3 floors which were 6 flights of stairs!! When I first arrived at the apartments prior to surgery I ran from ground floor to the very top of the building without having to stop or being out of breath, but this time I could tell that I had to take it easy after feeling short of breath after climbing just the first floor!!
When I finally got back to my apartment I spent the rest of the day and evening resting. One thing that I have noticed today is the feeling of numbness across the whole of my stomach. A very strange feeling, it felt as though I was carrying a slab of concrete on the front of my body!! I presume this is due to the nerves being disturbed and will return later.
Mon 25th May
Today is my first day where I am allowed out and to take short walks. I have an appointment with my surgeon at the clinic at 2pm and Nad'a has arranged for a taxi to collect us at 1.30pm. We spend the morning slowly getting ready, putting on makeup and doing my hair which makes me feel like me again and I feel better with everyday. The stiffness is still there and maybe a bit of tenderness but I wouldn't say that I was in any pain.
The weather so far in Prague has been very hot and so the ride to the clinic was a hot and uncomfortable one and I felt the need to protect my tummy with every bump in the road!!
It was lovely to meet with Alexis at the front of the clinic who also had an appointment with Dr Kulhanek. She had been out sightseeing and so it was good to hear about her ventures and about how she was recovering.
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15 days post operation |
Dr Kulhanek seemed pleased with my progress so far and replaced the strips that covered my scar. The scar appears to be everything and neat and goes up slightly in the middle. I mentioned to the surgeon about my scar being slightly higher up than I expected and he explained that once I was laid on the operating table there just wasn't enough skin to enable him to make the incision any lower. He said the reason for the scar going up in the middle was so that he could cut away all of my old belly button. The side which is the most bruised has quite a large hard lump under and Dr Kulhanek explained it was a collection of fluid and blood under the skin and advised me to roll a bottle over it to flatten and disperse the lump. He said he would see me for my final appointment on Thursday at 9am. Before I left, Dr Kulhanek asked what I had been doing since I left the apartment and I said I had done exactly as I was told, to rest. I think he was testing to see if I had been out sightseeing!!
The nurse, Milena, who had looked after me on the ward, was there and she said that she would be up on the ward on Thursday so I wouldn't see her again. I felt quite emotional and thanked her for her kind and gentle care during in my stay.
We had an uncomfortable ride home where the driver would not allow any windows down and would not cool the air conditioning. I guess taxi drivers are the same all around the world...awkward!!
After resting in the apartment we decided to have an evening stroll. It was slightly cooler out, but still very warm. It was great to be out of the apartment, although a short slow stroll was all I could manage. We found Tesco, which was just 5 minutes from the apartment, so we did a small shop. Tesco’s was very busy and I felt very nervous that someone was going to knock into me and so we hurried around the store and got out as quick as possible!! I wished I had a sign on me saying.."move back, just had surgery!!". We took a slow walk back to the apartment and I was thankful of my fitness, I kept thinking about how people manage who are not fit prior to surgery.
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15 days post operation |
I had a lovely long chat with my children and my eldest daughter entertained me with some songs that she had learnt at school. I missed them sooooo much and longed for a cuddle with them and my fiancé.
