Healing is hard work

For reasons of modesty, I will not publish photos of my new nipples online, but here is a picture of me post-surgery; my eyelids were the donor sites for my nipples. I'm told that I look better than expected, but still, I feel pretty beaten up. I can not bed over, raise my arm (the left side, where there was encapsulation, hurts the most; the right side feels really good), and I have the overall feeling of blecchhhh that comes from anesthesia, inactivity, pain meds, and four incisions (maybe more; I haven't seen my breasts because they're confined in some kind of straightjacket thing).

For the past few hours I've been lying in bed listening to podcasts of This American Life, with ice bags on my face and sweet Mozart snuggled up under the covers with me. Tessa has popped in and out bringing me things, and Ryan brought me dinner in bed (thank you Ian and Tami for providing a delicious lasagna). It could certainly be worse.

However, healing is hard work.

I am hopeful that I will feel well enough for church tomorrow; there is a newcomer's meeting that I'd like to attend, and the sermon is on "mindfulness" which is a topic that greatly interests me.

I have learned that right now, I need two of the "one or two every four to six hours as needed" Percocets.

And back to bed for me. Thank you to everyone for your kind thoughts and calls. I'm not really up to talking on the phone right now but hopefully tomorrow...