The day started out hopeful. The drains had slowed, and it looked like it would be time to remove them. The top two drains had closed up beautifully. I went in ready to have the bottom two removed and be sent on my way.
First drain came out, and everything looked great. No sign of infection, and not a lot of fluid coming out. Good news. Second drain came out, and that fool was not here for any of this. None. The incision looked great but there was a lot of fluid. A LOT. So, my amazing nurse spent an inordinate amount of time squeezing out the excess fluid so I wouldn’t end up with a seroma.
While my bruises are healing beautifully, they are still there and my legs are remarkably swollen and tender. Also, the numbness in my legs is subsiding. On the upside, that means the nerves that were traumatized during surgery are back to firing normally. On the downside, I’m losing some of my built-in pain relief. So, imagine the worst bruise you’ve ever had and then imagine someone kneading and pushing with all her might…for almost an hour. GOOD. TIMES. She kept asking if I was ok, and I kept lying and saying that I was when in fact this has been by far the most painful part of the surgery and recovery.
I’m no stranger to seromas. I had one develop after a previous surgery that didn’t require a drain. The fluid built up behind the incision, got infected, the pressure ripped the incision, and the flood gates opened. I headed to get checked out, and the after hours doctor said, we never use a drain for this procedure. The body typically just absorbs the fluid. I’ve never seen anyone need a drain for this. Sir, clearly we have never met.
I sat there naively psyching myself up for some kind of cartoonishly large needle to be poked into my stomach to extract the excess fluid. I. WISH. Instead, my mom and a nurse held me down while the dr squeezed with all his might and I screamed and cried in pain. To his credit, he got it all out and the incision didn’t get infected. However, that evening is seared into my memory, and I absolutely refuse to go through that again. I made it through the appointment this morning and was sent home with supplies in case I needed to change the dressing before my final check-in the following day.
Raise your hand if you’re surprised I needed to change the bandages? By the time the evening rolled around, the 4th drain incision was still leaking. So, I did what the nurse did…I squeezed and squeezed until it felt like that fluid was out. I’m not gonna lie, it was painful and I wanted to give up on it. For a good hour, I sat on the bed with my swollen leg propped up on a chair while I got out as much fluid as possible and tried my best not to cry or pass out. Many, many, many, many gauze pads and bandages later, I emerged victorious. Shout out to my incredible brother for being in the trenches with me today (and every day). That sight was not an easy one to witness, and he took a lot of emotional shrapnel. Despite that, he continues to be kind, loving, supportive, and my number one fan.
I checked the incision again at 4:00 am and decided to change the bandage. This time I did it solo, and I’m happy to report it’s looking like the drain incision is cooperating. I have an appointment in 5 hours to get one final check before I (hopefully) hop on a plane and head home!!
The LipeDiva 