Recovering at home: Day 2

I’m back at home now and slowly trying to adjust to the new ‘me’. Yesterday I felt very bloated and unable to consume enough volume of liquid to provide sufficient calories for energy. Consequently, I felt quite tired and drowsy. I only managed to consume about 365 calories in total. According to the literature I have, this ‘bloated’ feeling can last a few days. I’ve been drinking shakes, ‘yoothies’ (liquidised yoghurt, berries and ice), orange juice, Weight Watchers soup and tea.

I spent most of the day sitting in a chair and occasionally getting up to prepare drinks in the kitchen. I felt very light-headed all day and my temperature was all over the place. Although the thermometer told me my temperature was normal and stable, one minute I was burning hot and the next I was shivering with cold! My head and upper chest were very red too (even when I was cold).

I had quite a lot of difficulty trying to get comfortable in bed Sunday night. It took about an hour of moving pillows, sitting up, lying down, moving the bedding again and so on. By the end of it I was in tears, partly through frustration and partly because all of the sitting up and lying down again had made my wounds quite sore. Still, with my husband’s help and patience we got there in the end. Once I’d got comfortable I managed to get a good night’s sleep.