Recovering In My Hospital Room--First Weekend

Today
It's now Tuesday and I've been home in Elk Grove for three nights. Today I've done three 15 minute walks and will do one more with Sean when he gets home. I'm in very little pain and gaining mobility every day. I walk up and down the stairs frequently and talk on the phone easily. Showering is relatively easy as is dressing myself. Below are some memories of my early recovery in my room at Stanford.

Saturday November 7
After the elevator difficulty, things smoothed out a lot. I knew the elevator story would freak people out so I kept it to myself for a few days. I don't remember a lot about Saturday evening but I a saw a lot of friends and family. My mother arrived that afternoon and my friend Howard brought her to my room. I remember visiting with both of them. Howard mentioned that Stanford, hosting Oregon that day, was currently upsetting the highly ranked Ducks. My father, my stepmother and my uncle were actually at the game. Later in the day, they visited as well.

For that evening and night, my pain relief medications were limited to Vicodin and Percocet. I remember having some kind of low salt dinner and not eating very much of it. I still felt bloating pressure so burping and farting were still important. I think I went for a very short walk in the hall (maybe 40 feet) while supporting myself on the portable IV roller. I think most of my visitors went out for dinner while Meg stayed with me. They are pretty easy going about having one quiet visitor stay past regular hours which end at 8:00. I didn't sleep very well that night, aware of pain in my chest. Still it felt much better than the night in the ICU.

Sunday November 8
This day went much better. At Meg's urging my pain medications were changed and I started feeling better. The preferred approach is to use lots of medication so that you feel well enough to walk around. Walking is the key to recovery. The change in medication helped me feel better and I was able to do three short walks. Each walk was a "around the triangle" shape of the hallway. This would take me about 4 minutes going very slowly. I was able to use the urinal relatively easily. I don't remember the meals, but I still wasn't very hungry. I would tend to eat fruit and small bits of other offerings. Although more mobile and feeling better, it was still very difficult for me to take deep breaths. I was on oxygen at night. I saw my mother and Howard that day. Meg was there much of the day and stayed with me into the evening.