After Surgery

There has been a pretty big gap in posting on here while Tim has been recovering and I have been taking care of him and things around the house. I'm sorry. Making sure that he was taking painkillers, that he was getting enough to eat and enough sleep, remembering to take short walks, and all of the other worries that go along with caring for someone after surgery have somewhat consumed my thoughts recently.

The last time I posted, he had been moved into a recovery room. The next day, Friday the 15th, Tim was discharged. Can you believe it?!? That was WAY earlier than we were expecting. 

Tim's first time walking with the physical therapist after surgery.

I thought there must have been a mistake when the recovery unit nurse told us that she was prepping his discharge papers and waiting for his neurosurgeon to stop by and approve everything, but later that day we were packing stuff up and heading home. 

Tim said the car ride home was awful. If you have a small car or one that doesn't have the smoothest ride, you might consider looking alternatives. Tim's dad was kind enough to drive him home and although the ride was more comfortable than it would have been in my tiny car, he still struggled with the effort of getting into the car and bending his head over to get in the front seat. 

The following days were a bit of a blur. Tim and I slept in four-hour chunks, my alarm going off each time to wake me up so I could check his pain level, make sure he drank some water, and give him meds. To be honest, I don't remember a lot about those first few days at home because I was so anxious and exhausted. The first night was the worst. I knew he was in a lot of pain and he was also running a low fever. Thankfully it passed and his pain got better day by day. 

Friends and family members stopped by to drop off food, but sadly Tim didn't have much of an appetite for several days. I pinned sheets over all of the windows because his light sensitivity was so bad. In a way, it was really like taking care of an infant. All he did was sleep, eat/drink a bit, and use the bathroom!

When Tim woke up on Saturday afternoon I was initially alarmed to see that his eyes and face were swollen, but the surgeon had warned us that this would likely happen. 

The swelling three days after surgery.

Things got better and better. Slowly we tapered him off of the opioids and he was only using Tylenol to manage the pain. He was eating real food and was walking around the house on his own!!! Tim has come a long way in a short amount of time and I still can't quite believe that it hasn't even been a full month since his surgery.

As always, let us know if you have any questions or thoughts in the comments below!