Yesterday we had to be at the outpatient surgery center by 7am. We had to wait over two hours till they wheeled me back to the OR. The surgery took about an hour, as expected, and the surgeon was very happy with the result. The donor site was my right thigh again, 3rd donation from that same area. It’s wrapped in an ace bandage till Monday, and I’ll leave the dressing underneath it in place as it dries. Normally this is the area with the most pain – feels like the worst brush burn ever. However, I have no feeling at the surface from the middle of knee on up due to the lymph node dissection years ago. The surgeon said he took a very thin slice of skin and I guess that’s why it’s pain-free so far. What an unexpected blessing!
The wound/skin graft is painful and I’m keeping it tolerable with alternating Tylenol and Motrin every 3 hours while I continue my normal pain meds. When I woke up in recovery, the wound had the bolster dressing and nothing else on it – just a yellow dressing stapled around the wound! We were concerned with potential bumps or scrapes, especially getting in/out of the car and getting dressed/undressed, so the surgeon added an ABD and ace bandage for protection. I took the ace off this morning and taped the ABD in place. I must keep my leg elevated and still till the bolster removal on Friday. I’m on an antibiotic, Keflex, for a few weeks as added insurance that nothing interferes with the graft taking hold.
This morning I have a few windows open to enjoy the fresh air until it gets too warm. The birds at the feeders are entertaining me, as well as our resident chipmunk and squirrels. Murphy the cat is keeping me company till Bill gets home from work.
I made a healthy organic butternut squash soup with onions, carrots, and apples the night before surgery so I’d have lunch ready for the week. There was a lot of chopping and slicing involved, so I was very thankful for Bill’s offer of help! He took over the cutting board and went to town! The cinnamon makes it taste like Fall, and the cayenne gives it a bit of a kick. Yum! Tomorrow we’ll try juicing with our new (used) Breville juicer!
Even though I don’t feel like reading or watching TV, I guess that’s what I have to keep me entertained this week. I might try doing cross stitch or painting more rocks for the Cancer Institute’s walkway. I can do upper body exercises and figure out a seated yoga routine to do daily. Lots of possibilities to keep me seated and my leg elevated!
Onward to a successful graft healing!!