Recovery ... Week 5

This week started with another follow-up appointment with the surgeon. He feels he sees some healing in my ruptured incision, and I should just keep doing what I'm doing with the wound cream and bandages. My surgical drain was not ready to come out, and they injected a solution in to it for the 4th time, in an attempt to slow the fluid. Overall the fluid amounts have decreased a small amount ... but it appears that it's not due to a slowdown in the production of fluid, but rather the fluid can now escape through the ruptured incision. There are times I struggle to keep bandages and clothes in the wound area dry. Especially overnight.

Tuesday night I started symptoms of what I thought might be allergies, as TJ had started with the same symptoms the night before, and he and I are pretty sensitive to this time of year when the corn and soybean crops in the area start dying off. Unfortunately, by Wednesday morning I knew I had a full blown summer cold ... and I'll just say that continuous sneezing and coughing are not great when you have an open incision in your abdomen. This too shall pass, I guess ... but recovery would have been easier without it!

So as I look toward week 6 of recovery, I'm hopeful that maybe ... just maybe ... that drain can come out on Tuesday when I see the surgeon again. Although realistically I know that the fluid output levels right now would not allow it to come out. I've had some burning sensations in the area where the drain tube departs my hip, and the Dr says it is probably irritating a nerve. I'm not sure what week 6 holds for me in the area of work ... but I know that I am very blessed with an employer that puts zero pressure on me to return before I'm physically ready. Some things can be done from home in today's automated office world, and so I have been able to do some light work from home. Life is flying by, and I'm ready to jump back in the fray as soon as I'm able!