Mishaps, bed sores and recovery

My surgery and recovery were interesting, to say the least!

It is true, a repeat c-section is easier and the recovery is faster. But it is still painful and not any fun at all!

The first mishap occured during my surgery and it was something I never expected would happen! I had just seen Cameron for the first time and had even been able to hold him in my semi-paralized, barely concious state. One of the doctors came around the drape and immediately started apologizing to me. She had dropped a cauterizing tool on me while cauterizing something internally. The hot tool fell right on my belly and left a third degree burn! Thank goodness for spinal blocks, I didn't feel a thing! The burn is no bigger than an eraser on top of a pencil and it never bothered me at all. I was given a prescription for Lidocane cream to help with the pain but I only used it a few times - the nerve endings in that area are still too numb for me to even know that the burn is there. I was, however, very impressed with how quickly I was told about the mishap. There were complications during my first c-section (at another hospital) but I was never told about them and only found out when I requested my medical records. So this doctor's openess and up front honesty about the mistake made me very happy.

On to the bed sores! I was anxious to get out of bed and get moving around. The first time you get out of bed after a c-section is torture to say the least and I wanted to get it over with. My nurse, however, wanted me to take it slow. It wasn't until mid day on Tuesday that I finally was allowed to get up and move around. My poor tushie was getting so sore from sitting on it in that hospital bed. Only when they finally allowed me to shower did I figure out why my poor behind was so sore! I must have been sitting in such a way that the skin was getting pinched because I had bed sores after only a day and a half. There isn't much that they do for them - they added gauze for some extra cushion and I just had to let them heal on their own. They are better now tho.

On the third day, I noticed a bright red, angry rash on my stomach. It was a perfect square from hip to hip and from the base of my tummy to the top of it. It itched like there was no tomorrow! At first, the Dr.'s thought I was allergic to those super sexy hospital granny panties that they give you after having a baby - but I questioned why the rash was only on the front and not all the way around. We soon realized that the perfect square was the same size as the adhesive drape used during surgery. I was having an allergic reaction to the adhesive on the drape! Of course, it kept getting worse because it is difficult to get that adhesive off your skin, especially when your tummy is sore and you don't want to scrub too hard! They gave me cortizone to put on it - but I found that plain old moisturizing lotion helped the most. It is still a bit red in spots as I keep finding patches of that adhesive!

On to the recovery!

I am on day 9 post surgery and I'm feeling pretty good. By the end of the day, I am pretty tired and sore. I do feel much better now than I did at this same point with Madison. It is easier the second time around. I am still maintaining a pretty strict pain med routine - alternating Ibuprofin and Tylenol every three hours with Oxycodone as needed. I find I only need the oxycodone at the end of the day. I probably don't even really "need" it so much as my doctors have told me to stay ahead of the pain and take it if I feel any discomfort. I made the mistake a few days ago of getting too cavalier about how great I'm feeling and I didn't take meds as I should - and I paid the price! So now I make sure to just take them on schedule and throw in the oxycodone if I feel any pain at all.

Now, if I could just figure out how to get the swelling in my feet and legs to go down! I am still experiencing the most unbelievable water retention! My feet and ankles are so huge, I still can't wear shoes. I think if I could get a good night's sleep in my bed, with my feet up instead of sleeping half hunched over in a rocking chair, I might make some progress with the water!

There were a few moments throughout the whole ordeal where I said to myself "never again." Of course, when I see little Cameron and feel his soft cheeks as he snuggles into my neck I tell myself it was all worth it!