However, there are still things that I can't do, such as bend down to pick my cats' bowls up in order to feed them. I'm doing what I was advised to and taking it as easy as possibly can in order to heal up fully.
As with any operation, the healing process takes time, but here's how it went for the first week:
Leaving the hospital
The whole drive home, I was worrying about how I was actually going to get into our house as we have really steep stairs to get in our front door. We also have crazily steep stairs to get to the top two floors of our house. In fact, they are so steep that when my back is bad I have to crawl up them because we don't have a banister. I pretty much fit a few hours of worrying into a 10-minute journey.
Without my husband practically lifting me into the house, I don't think I would have made it. I wanted to avoid the stairs to our bedroom so soon so decided to sit up in his armchair. I couldn't sit back properly without pulling my stomach so I ended up having to pile up numerous cushions in order to get comfortable.
I could just about get in and out of the chair throughout the day, but I found it easiest with help. Seriously, I don't think I could have made it through the first few days without my husband. I didn't want to stay sat down all day though, as I was told that getting up and moving was important for recovery so I made sure I at least walked to the kitchen every hour, even if standing up tired me out.
Getting up the stairs
The next day, I still felt like I needed my husband's help up and down the stairs but it was more a confidence thing as I'm pretty clumsy. Toward the afternoon, I felt better about going up and down on my own, although I still needed to go very slowly.
It wasn't until around Thursday (6 days in) that I was able to walk up and down the stairs normally with only a small amount of pulling on my stomach. I still can't run up them or carry anything up the stairs, but it has made it a lot easier getting around, especially as I can no get in and out of the house.
Going to bed
As the week wore on, I found I needed fewer cushions each night to be comfortable. However, I still needed a cushion for my stomach in order to lie on my side. It took around 3 nights for me to be able to comfortable lie on left side without it being painful. I was also able to get up out of bed on my own the next day, which the husband was happy about as it meant he got a lie in.
Eating and drinking
Not only are they too binding for someone who usually only wears dresses and skirts, but during a week of warm weather, they made my legs just too damn hot. The heat during the day and night left my legs feeling itchy - something I couldn't sort out as I couldn't bend properly - and if the socks creased or folded funny, they left me in pain.
The best moment of the week was Friday morning when the socks came off for good!
Medications and dressings
The injections didn't hurt - apart from the one that he did at the wrong angle and I thought I'd been stabbed - but they did bruise. My last injection was exactly a week since my operation and my stomach is still a patchwork of bruises and puncture marks. We were given a sharps bin for the used needles, which we just need to take to a pharmacy now they are dine with.
I only had to change my dressings once as I was given waterproof ones so I could shower. There was nothing too stressful about this as by the time I had to change them, only one incision was still painful to touch - this is the one with the port to my band stitched in. The dressings only needed to stay on until Friday - a week since the op - and its amazing how good the wounds look already - even if they are bruised still.
All in all, the week has been okay. I haven't felt sick, I haven't needed to take as many painkillers as I was told to and I'm now able to walk around freely (within reason). I still get tired quite easily, can't bend over properly or lift heavy things (even a six pint bottle of milk is a bit much) but I can see that by the end of week two, I should be much more myself.