Okay so 2 weeks ago at this very moment I was dying in a hotel bed with a catheter and an IV, the most bloated abdomen I have ever had and the worst constipation I can imagine existing. I can’t believe how fast this has gone by so far!
My decision to keep so busy (as my body has allowed, thank the gods) has been the best way to deal with this whole healing thing, at least up until now. Visiting a hot place during this time has been the smartest thing I could have done. Not only has the opportunity to get sweaty marching up hills every day in 30 degree heat made me SO happy, but the weather has also helped my mood, which I can almost guarantee would be down the toilet right now if I were sitting at home in the rain or overcast, not being able to run. If you have this operation and you are able to, I would strongly recommend taking some sort of vacation to distract yourself and boost the mood!
So yesterday was a very active day for me. In the morning I did an almost 8km walk and the first half was all uphill. Very sweaty and very hot, getting my HR into the aerobic zone for I’d say at least 25 minutes. In the late afternoon, we did a steep power walk up this viewpoint hill called Cerro de la Z. It’s less than a mile up, but very steep and really got the HR going again in that blistering heat, into the threshold zone! Great view, too!
After that we walked a couple more kilometres for some beverages downtown. In total it was a 12km day on my feet. I felt pretty tired by the end of the day, but not unusually tired for walking that much in one day!
Today we got up earlier than I have so far this vacation to go do a popular tourist climb. Speaking of sleep, I actually can’t believe how late I have been sleeping in since having the surgery. This is great because I’ve stayed as active as I’ve been able, but I guess I’ve also been resting more, and generally I’m not a great sleeper! So yay for healing. So yeah, today we headed to the famous “hike” where a wicked dude named Enrique guides whoever shows up to the top of Mount (LOL) Solmar, with like fifteen dogs. I laugh because I would not consider this a mountain in any way, more like a large crumbling rock formation, but it was a very steep and technical 15-ish minute hike up with INSANE views. The way down was much more challenging for me, and I’m thankful that my brother-in-law carried my water because I needed both hands to help myself down without having to hop or jump, and to not slip. It was pretty crumbly in spots, and as I’ve said before, super thankful for upper-body strength! I do want to mention that I do NOT feel like this activity was beyond what I should have done today – it was just important to have hands free on the way down. Me and my family were the first three hikers behind Enrique and other tourists were still coming down from the top when we were back down at the gate saying good-bye. I wasn’t a hard-up post-surgical slow poke.
After the most delicious brunch, we came home and then my sister and I went for a 5km walk, stopping at a couple stores and playa el Medano. I’m leaving tomorrow and we had to go back to the ocean.
Honestly, I am feeling pretty normal. My incisions will be referred to as just scars in a couple more days. Aside from the minor tightness I feel in my abdomen a couple of inches lateral to the belly-button on both sides, and in the inguinal regions, I often forget that I am recovering. I’m a tiny bit nervous about going home and feeling that anti-climax that comes with a vacation ending, combined with the no-running-allowed thing, AND very likely some shit weather, but I’ll have my treadmill cave and small dumbbells and ankle weights!
One thing that has crossed my mind that I haven’t talked about yet is if sex will be scary at first when it’s allowed again, and also if it will be different? Will report back, LOL.
Two weeks down, four more to go…
JK
JammieKomadina 