Stage 2 Complete

 Morning! Just got myself up and made some instant oatmeal, mixed my Miralax in with my orange juice, and am steeping some tea. Today is two days post-op, so all of this feels like a huge accomplishment. I knew stage 2 would be different from stage 1, but I don't think I could have fully predicted how different I would feel. Stage 1 was really hard even when it was going well.

I had surgery on October 5th, at the University of Michigan hospital in Ann Arbor. My surgery time was originally 11:30 but I got a call the afternoon before that they had to move things around and I was now scheduled for 9:00 AM, which was much better. The morning of surgery I woke up before my alarm, took all of my jewelry off, and took a shower with the antimicrobial Dial soap. I had to get to the hospital at 7:00 AM, then hung out in the waiting area for about 1.5 hours. Once I was called back to pre-op things moved quickly! I gave a urine sample (haven't had a hysterectomy so they still have to do a pregnancy test), gowned up, and then Dr. Hadj-Moussa was there to go over everything with me. I can sing her praises all day - she is calm, confident, easy to talk to, straightforward, and honest. She discussed the procedure, possible complications, and got my consent to take some intra-operative pictures (I was glad she asked; there aren't many pictures available for what this stage looks like). After she was done the anesthesiology team all came in and did their thing, I got my IV hooked up in my forearm, and then waited to be wheeled to the OR. I turned down the Versed (sedative/anti-anxiety medication) because I wasn't feeling any anxiety and didn't want my body to have to process more than it needed to after surgery - plus I love seeing the inside of the OR and getting to remember all of that. 

We wheeled off to the OR and then they had me transfer from the bed to the operating table. Everyone gives their names and roles (including me!) and they started giving me oxygen through a mask. Anesthesia got right to work and sent the anesthetic into my IV - I remember them saying that it was going in and then that's it. 

Waking up in the PACU was a breeze, luckily. I haven't had a hard time coming out of anesthesia before so I was glad this trend continued. I immediately had to pee and was hungry, so my nurse grabbed me a urinal and I peed in that - slightly awkward to do, but the first time I did well. I drank a bunch of water and ate some goldfish. The only thing that felt weird at the time was my throat, which was super dry and croaky. Swelling had started a little but hadn't made it very far yet. After an hour or so (still very groggy at this point) my fiancee came back and helped me get dressed. This was the big moment - when I had stage 1 I passed out several times upon standing, so my first time upright was a contentious moment. Luckily I was fine, and got my clothes on without much struggle. I got plopped in a wheelchair, the nurse took my IV out, and we were sent on our way to the pharmacy for my prescriptions.

Let me just say - it was SO GOOD to not have to stay in the hospital after this stage. We got back to the AirBnB and I was immediately able to get comfortable on the couch and start watching Netflix. My pain is minimal, mostly some soreness, tightness, and occasional incision pain. I've been taking 500 mg Tylenol and 400 mg Ibuprofen on an overlapping rotating schedule and that has been plenty. Ice is also hugely helpful. My dick has swelled up a ton since surgery, more so than my balls haha. It's pretty uncomfortable and makes peeing awkward.

Today is two days post-op so I get to take a shower! I'm very excited about that. Still haven't had a bowel movement so I'm trying to wait patiently for that, I don't want to do any excessive pushing of course. I had some blood in my urine this morning - I believe it's just from the swelling in my shaft and potentially from an incision that's right below it that is still bleeding slightly on and off because of the pressure. My pee starts off a little pink but then clears out, so I don't believe there's a bigger issue going on but it's something I'm keeping an eye on and will message my team about if it continues. 

Overall I feel incredibly excited about how things are looking. My scrotum is a little further between my legs than I would prefer, but I think a lot of that is also due to swelling from my mons and dick that are pushing it down. I definitely can't walk normally or really close my legs because of where my balls are, and I'm hoping that as swelling goes down and things loosen up that they will sit just a little bit in front of my legs rather than in between. Regardless, my scrotum looks amazing and getting to feel my testicles in my sack is incredible. 

Alright, all for now! Going to get back to icing and tv watching. Tomorrow afternoon we begin our 12 hour trip back home, which we're doing over two days. I'm not wildly excited about it but I think it will be just fine - I'm pretty comfortable sitting in a reclined position.