Happy Day; Painful Day

I went back to work today. To be honest, I was soooo worried. I knew that I couldn't make it the whole day. Heck, I could barely make it to the mailbox and back without needing a two hour nap. Shane woke me up at 5:00 this morning when he left for work to wish me a good day and give me a kiss. I dozed off and on after he left worrying myself to death. I wanted to do a good job at work. I didn't want to appear weak or like I didn't want to be there. I finally got up and dressed the best that I could. I got to work at 9AM, and Mrs. Marcy saw that I was having a little trouble getting around, so she told me I would only be working until lunch for the first couple of days until my body could get adjusted and my strength could build up.  It was an answer to my prayers! The thing is, I took half of a pain pill before going to work, and I felt great! I got things accomplished this morning, and was really happy being at work. Everything timed out perfectly, because the pain medication had worn off when it was time for me to leave, and my back was really hurting.
When I left at lunch, I had 7 missed calls, 2 text messages, and 3 voicemails from my sweet Shane. He worries about me so much. He had been trying to get in touch with me to make sure I was doing ok and wasn't having any problems. He had already devised a plan to come get me if he had to. I'm telling you, I am one blessed lady. He is precious.
I was also great seeing my work friends today! I have met some sweet ladies through working at RHM and was glad to get to reunite with them today. Everyone had positive, encouraging things to say, and I was genuinely happy to see them!Oh, and I love my Mrs. Jan! She never has anything negative to say. (Unless we're having one of our complaint sessions hehe) She brightens the whole room with her personality, and she has had nothing but positive things to say about my choice to have this procedure done. Ms. Jan has really helped me feel good about myself, and I love her for that! She is so beautiful herself--inside and out!

Now, the bad part...I got off work and called the doctors office. I told them that I was off early and that I had only drained 6cc per drain in the past 12 hours. They told me that I could go ahead and come in to have my drains removed! Yay!....NOT! No one told me how painful it would be. As I explained in a previous blog entry, there were two drains sewn into two small incisions. Both were right below my tummy tuck incision and right above my vagina. Shane was not able to drive me today, because he was still at work. When I told the nurse I was driving myself she said, "I really wish someone could drive you, because you'll need some pain medication before hand. But if you really want to go ahead and come today, that's fine." So, anyway, back to the removal. The nurse unstitched the drains and then explained to me that it would hurt when she pulled the drains out; especially since I wasn't able to take any pain meds. She told me to take a deep breath and hold it, and she would remove the drain on the count of three. When she pulled the first drain out, I could feel my skin that had grown to the drain tearing away from it. It hurt. Bad. I cried and almost fainted. I got so pale that she waited about five minutes before removing the second drain. When I say that the drain removal was painful, I mean painful as in the most painful part of the whole tummy tuck experience. More painful than the IV needles. More painful than the sore muscles. More painful than my back aches. It was horrible. I couldn't believe in all of the things I had read online that no one had mentioned how painful it would be. So, I'm telling you all now: IT WILL HURT WHEN YOU HAVE YOUR DRAINS REMOVED! If you haven't taken the time to "share" an entry from my blog, please share this one. I want people to be aware that there is no anesthsia or sedative for drain removal and people should be prepared for this part of the healing process.

I also had my belly button stitches removed. That whole region is still numb, so I didn't feel that at all. Overall, the doc said everything is looking great. The swelling is going down. The left side is already looking so amazing, and the right side is still a little puffy but getting there.

The military ball is in two weeks. I'm so excited to go try on dresses this weekend! This whole procedure has been so very challenging, and even though I have about lost my mind at times, I wouldn't change a thing. I am so proud, and today was a huge milestone!