When you think about all that the body goes through in a surgery like mine, it's pretty amazing to realize how relatively soon I was able to do certain things. I, of course, was terribly frustrated with myself at the time for the things I couldn't do on my own, but looking back, I'm impressed! As I mentioned on Tuesday, I was able to sit in a chair and stand. I was on a liquid diet which was completely fine with me because I didn't want anything at all except water and ice. That night, I had a pseudo sponge bath which was beyond humiliating to me.
Wednesday morning the physical therapist came and we walked a short distance down the hallway. It was like learning to walk all over again! That afternoon they removed the pacer wires to my heart. That wasn't a favorite experience for sure! They also removed the catheter that afternoon. I remember after going to the restroom by myself that first time I stood in front of the mirror to wash my hands and caught a glimpse of my chest & the incision in the mirror. I know it may sound odd, but to that point I had not looked at it at all. I had been so focused on just dealing with what I knew I could handle that I had not even thought about looking down. It was like looking at someone else in the mirror. I looked mangled. My entire left forearm was still swollen and a solid bruise. My right arm was a near match. My wrists were covered with holes likely from blood gases. This is what Mom and Dad were looking at each time they saw me - it was horrible!
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