I am going to grab one of my more lucid moments to check in with you all. It is now almost 56 hours post surgery. The pain is definitely more intense than I thought it would be and the inability to get around easily is frustrating at best.

All of that being said I refuse to get caught up in negative emotions around this. These physical symptoms will not last. I have been repeating over and over in my head the mantra that “Pain is Temporary”. I am going through this process step-by-step, moment to-moment and day-by-day.

This experience is also acting as a valuable tool to remind me that it is okay to ask for help when I need it. That asking for help is not a sign of weakness but rather a sign of acceptance of my situation and an acknowledgement that I am only human.

So many of my friends and family have offered their assistance over the last few days and this has touched me so much emotionally. I am hoping that every single one of them know that I would offer the same to them if the roles were reversed.

The ability to listen to my body is being constantly tested right now. I’m napping close to 3-4 hour stretches at a time and admittedly have fallen asleep on a few friends who have stopped in to visit.

For those of you who are curious about the details I checked in to the Jubilee at 6:30 am Monday morning, was on the table by 8 am and the operation was finished and I was in post-op recovery by 12:30 pm. Recovery was my home until 5:30 pm and then I was finally released to come home and start healing.

Dr. Gray feels everything went well during the procedure and for that I am truly grateful. There are 2 drains stitched into my body and two incision sites (hip to hip around the pelvic region and around my new belly button). The drains should be coming out today as long as  there are no complications.

I have decided to approach the rest of my recovery in the same way that I approach my fitness. No looking at how far I have left to go but rather marveling in how far I have come. It will simply require a re-evaluation of how that is measured. My biggest gain yesterday was going from having to depend on my friend Brenda’s arm to get up off the couch to being able to do it myself.  As I have said before it is how you show up to moments like this that matter most. My choice is to show up strong, healthy and able to take on anything that comes my way during this time.

Wherever you are, whatever you’re doing I hope that you’re taking the time to listen to your body, accepting the help that other people are offering you and that you can view the pain in your life as temporary because it is.

Love D.