Today the sun finally came out and it looked like spring outside. With the temperatures climbing and the sun shining, I really felt the need to get out of the house.
But of course, I haven't been allowed to shower since the surgery as I still have drains and surgical dressings that mustn't get wet. So only sponge baths for me... and those don't do the hair much good. Thus I decided that I needed to wash my hair big time and finally get that hospital smell out of it. It took some ingenuity, but thanks so one of those detachable shower heads with a hose I was able to bend over the tub and lather and rinse to my heart's delight -- without getting any of the dressings wet nor lifting my arms above my head. It felt so incredibly good to wash my hair that I cannot full describe it. If you're post-op, a mundane task can all of a sudden take on such meaning...
So after I got cleaned up, I got dressed and ready to go outside of the house for my second post-surgical trip. I really wanted to celebrate the occasion by having lunch with my mom at a local diner, then we needed to buy some clothes that accommodate my drains, and we also needed to shop for groceries. But before we could get there, I faced a problem: the drainage bulb is always in the way and very bulky to hide under clothes. I had previously used a kangaroo pouch, but that gets in the way, as well.
I had just emptied the drain and looked at it intently when I realized that when empty (it works through the suctioning power of the vacuum), it kinda sorta looks like a -- a falsie! So I decided to simply shove it inside the shelf bra of my cami. Lo and behold, it actually didn't look half bad! I pushed all the tubing inside, too, as I needed some more fullness on the inside. And voila! My own version of autologous boob reconstruction... The shape if this port-a-boob is a bit less natural than my silicone one, but under a patterned shirt (even a thin one!) it looked reasonably realistic. What a little ingenuity can do.
So my mom and I ventured out and enjoyed this gorgeous day. Lunch was lovely -- and I was ravenous. Clothes shopping was fun -- and we even browsed a while and got all kinds of stuff. I even had the energy to get everything on the long grocery list that had been accumulating all week!
At the grocery store I started getting really tired again. But after a four hour excursion, that's only fair. We went back home and I laid down for a while (thanks mom for unloading the car and putting away the groceries!). Now I'm still a little tired, but I'm feeling great overall. This "workout" should help me sleep tonight!
Overall I think I'm getting over the shock of waking up half flat-chested. I still cannot say that I'm particularly excited about it, but I'm making my peace with it and accepting my status for what it is: temporary.
I'm curious what my boob man Dr. K will have to say tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed that the drain will come out and that I'll perhaps even be ready for a bit of saline fill...
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