I'm free!!!

Okay, so I was awoken this morning at 3:42 by an alarm telling me the pain pump was low and that we were down to the wire in terms of doses left. So I stayed up, figuring it would just go off again when it was ready to be taken apart.

Which happened about 7:20 AM.

Anyway, the bandage came off, the little wire came out with the bandage and no real tugging on my part, which is nice. Last time I tugged just a bit. This time, I was dealing with more of a biohazard situation; there had been bleeding and fluid leakage from the solution, and it was a bit of a mess, plus I had the wire, and it was all attached to an IV bag that had to be cut off from the pump, then tossed into the trash.  Then the box had extra batteries you removed, you took everything out of it, turned off the pump, put its pouch in a plastic bag, and then chucked it into a box, placed two stickers and voilà, you have a postage-paid return box ready to go.

I am so glad to be free. Not only do I not have to worry about:

1. walking away from the pouch.
2. trying to get to the bathroom in time and get my pants down.
3. making sure the cat doesn't play with it.
4. making sure a dog doesn't chomp it.
5. rolling over it while getting into bed.
6. having it fall over while placing it down.
7. having it move while biking.
8. or, just randomly anything that will jerk that wire, it is a relief.

Plus, as a bonus, I can now take a shower!!! I just have to make sure I put cling wrap around my incision. Yep. It's generally waterproof but just needs a bit of help. The pump...that was not waterproof. I so feel like I need a shower. Even that stuff you disinfect with, that you shower with every day for five days, then wipe down twice before surgery? It makes you feel tacky, like tacky to the skin. Not clean. I want to feel clean.

Finally

Got the first session of the day down. Called the ROMTech rep. Apparently they are open from 8 AM-9 PM. Making a mental note about that. 🙂 They don't do the straps anymore because people were stepping out of the pedals without getting out of them and getting hurt. I can't say anything--it's something I might do. He suggested wearing something with a heavier tread, so I did and it was better. Not perfect, I had to stop a couple of times, but much better. The main thing is I finished, and I increased twice. I did have to resist the urge to pedal with my knees out rather than up. I've done that for years. It hurts and it's bad for them, and the whole point is to get height in angle anyway. So I'm trying to watch my form while making sure the machine doesn't slide forward. I need to brace it with something about a foot long.

Also, I am itching where my nerve catheter was and trying so hard to resist scratching. I'm hoping it'll settle down once I get a shower. Roommate's not up yet so that's for later. One productive thing I did manage to do earlier today was water all the plants. IT was going on three weeks and they hadn't been watered by surgery day, and I was worried some might die. One was very peaked--it's a peperomia that acts a canary in a coal mine. Anyway, I got everyone taken care of.

I think I will rest a little now and listen to some music, maybe make a list for the day. I do better with lists, but I'm a bit tired. That machine takes '12' minutes' but it's really something like 45, and then about another half-hour or 45 minutes of plotzing. Then it's time for the next one, it seems.

Frustration

It's been really dreary outside, and I've been listening to Ella Fitzgerald on Pandora, so I haven't done much more than my regular PT exercises, taken my meds (well, I'm working on that right now), dealt with the pump (only because it was necessary) and ate a banana. I'm ready to crawl back into bed. I have not done the ROMTech after the frustration of last night. I did not finish my fourth session or attempt my fifth one...instead I need to see if they're open on Sundays and they can help as my feet keep falling out of the pedals whenever we increase the pedal radius. I kept hitting the stop button but it would reset the session and I would lose my progress instead of starting back up so I know I'm doing something wrong. Unfortunately there is nothing on the machine or the website that is the same as the setup instructions given by the rep, just a specifications document on the machine and a brochure for why you have your doctor prescribe it. I may just Google it for YouTube or such rather than rely on the company, but really, not all of us process auditorily well. Why not just give a stupid information sheet, either on paper or online? Have they never heard of a FAQ? But I do want the acetaminophen to kick in before I start that, so maybe 10?