I just ordered a second abdominal binder so I have two decent ones to swap out regularly. The one I’ve had on hand for years wasn’t comfortable for 24 hours at a stretch, and I have to wear one continuously for at least a month.
I came home with a serious abdominal binder installed across my belly and abdomen. They gave me an additional one at the hospital but it’s enormously long; it could go around me twice, so it’s useless.
My backup binder — which I’ve had for years — isn’t as easy to get on and off, with tubes still sticking out of me, and it just plain wasn’t working as well. It got uncomfortable and pinch-y across the sutured areas, so staying asleep all night while wearing it (every other day while my hospital issued one is washed and hung up to dry on a coat hanger) wasn’t working at all well.
So, this morning I ordered a second abdominal binder with good ratings that looks and appears to be the same style and size as the one I got at the hospital. It will be here in two days and I’m tempted to keep the one on I put back on this morning until then. If I don’t get any leakage on it from the incision areas, I should be able to do that. It’s freshly washed and it feels sooooo much more comfortable than the one I was in overnight. (The one from last night isn’t so much a surgical binder as it is an elastic- reinforced belly-control girdle-like underwear. It serves a purpose, but not nearly as comfortably!)
If I have to wear a binder, I need it to be comfortable. This one is.
In Other News…
Yesterday I walked about 10 steps, some of it along my street in this neighborhood.
When I got back, I spotted Charli sleeping in some weeds next to the house, so I took a picture…
Camo Charli, enjoying the sunshine…
And here’s a photo of a pretty tree down the road from where I live…
As you can see, it was gorgeous outside at the time. The weather here has been spotty the past several days, with intermittent sunshine and rain showers, so getting in the required walking hasn’t always been easy. I’ve managed it the whole time, and my INR level is back within range (just barely), so the risk of post-surgery blood clots is slim, but I’m still advised to walk as much as I can, so I do.
I’ve taken some video of Bobby, the new outdoor cat who wandered in a week ago, but no stills yet. I’ll see if I can get a few today so I can share them with you.
Bobby has decided I’m trustworthy now, so he allows petting and brief moments of being picked up. He’s definitely a male but I can’t tell for sure if he’s neutered or if he just has tiny gonads. (He’s too old to have tiny gonads, I believe. He’s at least six months old, probably closer to eight.) I’ll keep an eye on him to make sure he is neutered. If he ever decides he wants to come indoors, I can’t have him spraying in here. (He has shown none of that behavior outdoors, so my hope is that he is already neutered. But if he is, why is he hanging around here and not going home to his original owners? He acted starved when he first arrived. Perhaps he was dumped/abandoned.)
That’s all I have for now. I hope you’re enjoying your day!
