I have well and truly turned a corner this week as my gaping hole is finally healing! I knew the nurses would have a solution to the problem, and the lovely one I saw on Thursday said I should try this sticky mesh (no idea what the correct medical term is...) which acts as a barrier between my open wound and my dressing. It. Is. Amazing. Finally my dressings magically don't stick, the wound is drying up while I have it covered and it's starting to shrink in size, which is literally the best of both worlds. It's not fully healed yet by any stretch of the imagination, but it's loads better than last week, doesn't hurt any more and I can actually get on with my life rather than hiding indoors bra-less and praying for a miracle. YES.
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My only other major update this week is exercise related. I'm still not cleared for proper exercise so I've upped my power walks to 45 minutes 6 times a week, and readjusted my step goals on my Fitbit app. Ridiculously, I'm now more generally active (average steps per week) than I was prior to my op, and the days when I deliberately make myself stop and have a break leave me knackered, bored and desperate to put on my trainers and snazzy new thermal leggings (what a revelation - frozen legs are now a thing of the past) and head outside. Who am I?!
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The one thing that worries me now is my lack of flexibility. I discussed this a few weeks ago with my physio as I've been concerned that everything is healing too tightly, so to speak. While I know I've largely got my posture and hunchback under control, I'm still worried about everything else going back to how it's always been when I now have the potential to be so much better. As such, I'm tempted to give yoga the benefit of the doubt and have another stab at it over the next few weeks. I can't do anything that pushes my abs too much, but I think a session of gentle stretching each day will do my recently sewn-up muscles a massive favour. I had a rather violent sneezing outburst at the weekend and it feels like I've pulled something, but I sneakily stretched it out yesterday and felt so much better for it. Plus, I'd still love to be able to touch my toes and actually get my feet flat when trying to do a downward dog.
If anyone has any stretching / yoga recommendations then I'm all ears. As long as they're doable at home and are free then I'm willing to give them a go. I think it's time to start pushing myself a little more and seeing what these new abs can do. Who knows, maybe 2017 is the year that I actually come to terms with the fact that I have less skin that last year and that's a good thing?! A little positivity and body confidence can't be a bad thing!
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