11 Months Down..

Eleven Months Down…

It's now eleven months since I had the first operation followed by the second one a few days later.  For those following progress, this is just an update.

Life has returned to normal regarding work, back full time at work and home.  Life is busy; every weekend is filled with something to do.  Having been through what I have, and how much we take our lives for granted, our bodies that constantly have to take the wear and tear of each day I want to make the most of my life and not sit back waiting for it to happen.  I am also conscious now that having taken for granted good health and relying on my body not to let me down doesn’t just happen, it does require some help in the form of a better diet and more exercise. 

With regard to the surgery:  Well, the rib pain is easing and some days feel better than others.  I don't take any pain killers for them now as I feel the body has had enough to cope with.  The nerve damage is still evident in the fact I can't feel the tummy area, again, I think this is down to the removal of the chest drains but I can live with that.

The left leg is getting stronger and the right leg, despite being the best one on leaving hospital is still nerve damaged with altered sensation and tends to go into spasms when I get tired.  I find that moving about a bit and massage does tend to make it feel better.  I have reduced the Pregabalin which I take for the nerve damage from 300 mg a day to 75 mg with the ideal of dropping back to 25 mg in time.  Sadly the medication did contribute to weight gain which I subsequently read about and it is a very common side effect of it.  Therefore, reducing the medication and losing some weight surely has to be a "win win" situation?!

We have just also returned from a short break at Center Parcs.  I went in the pool each day (didn't do the rapids though!) but was able to do everything else as normal; I played Badminton without being able to run for the shuttlecock (still haven’t mastered the art of running!) and we walked and cycled everywhere.  I was nervous about getting on a bike but I needn’t have worried, despite a few wobbles, it was easy enough to get back in the saddle! 

I have even noticed that all of a sudden, the limp is less prominent than it was before, and I put that down to extra walking and cycling.