A few days ago I had my two weeks post-op visit with Dr. Stoneback. An appointment to remove stitches from the two smaller incisions, address the terrible rash on the large incision, and generally review the surgery and prognosis. Boy, was it eye-opening and is causing me to recalibrate expectations! If you missed the post describing the actual surgery in detail, please read it here. It will help this post make more sense.
Good News
1. I got the stitches removed from the two smaller incisions.
2. Dr. Stoneback is ok with me using the handcycle and also upper body weights provided everything I do is seated and I am not having to reach down to pick things up. I can do a lot with this.
This might not look like much but when I crank up the resistance it is work!
The Not So Good News
1. My misshapen abdomen may not ever change. He says this was such a massive surgery and they had to open me up so wide, it may not recover, and that giant, irritating stitch in the vertical muscular incision might not ever dissolve. I’ll spare you images of this but imagine going from 6-pack abs to two lumps that stick out in different directions, one above the navel and one below, and then a portion that is completely tacked down the the muscle layer beneath the skin. All in a single afternoon!
I am convinced that I can do a lot of work on this myself and get it close to, if not totally, normal. Patience.
2. He had to remove a LOT of diseased bone and never actually found healthy bone. He was as aggressive as possible but had to stop so he could have something to work with for the hardware. If this doesn’t work (I didn’t ask about this, he shared all of this on his own which is telling) then the next step would be to remove everything leaving an enormous gap. He does this with male cancer patients, for example, when chemo or radiation has killed the bone. Imagine everything in the red square getting removed. That is how far he would have had to go to get to healthy bone, so that is what he would have to remove. It would not be replaced with anything.
I can’t quite comprehend how this works and how a person functions normally afterwards. Where do the muscles that attach to those bones go and how do they work? This seems like a pretty crucial part of human structure.
In any case, we are hoping that we never get to this stage, but given my luck over the last 6 years, especially with this part of my body, the gravity of this news is felt. While my energy is going towards healing and happy bones, I can’t help but acknowledge the presence of this possibility.
Two Weeks Post-Op
Otherwise, I’m carrying on, spending most of my time at home holding down the furniture. My family is being helpful and we are finding new rhythms together. Getting out and about in a car is somewhat of a project so I’m only going if I really need to or just need a change of scenery. Not the most fun time in life but it is an investment in avoiding what I showed you above, so it is worth it!
I do manage to keep things fun, however! (I am allowed to hug my knees and stand on that leg to transfer so this is a totally fine move.)
If you have landed on this page from an external link, please go HERE to read from the beginning. Otherwise, click on the next title below to continue.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.