Surgery Tuesday, home following Monday

[bgaard9]

Oliver is home, goes from feeling great to feeling crummy in a flash.  Then after a rest he is back to feeling great.  I wish I could get him to read this forum a little bit.  I think he realizes that this will not be a steady improvement and he may experience good times and not so good times.

He gets mad at the world for his situation. He is very disappointed he was between girlfriends during this ordeal.  He is worried because Organic Chemistry II is not offered in the fall so he will have a year off between Orgo I and Orgo II.  It mystifies him that he cannot remember going to the hospital on Tuesday morning.  He was really wanting to get out of the house this afternoon so he rode with me to gas up the car and I think the activity of a large gas station with cars coming and going and pedestrians walking into the store overwhelmed him.  It sure reduced his confidence level, he went from being mad at his mom because she didn't want him to go "out " with friends this afternoon to feeling like he needed to concentrate on healing and resting. 

I just wanted to type an update and give anybody a chance to chime in with suggestions for how to help him deal with boredom, and being 21 and in this unusual situation.

Thanks Charles

[kmr1969]

Glad to hear that Oliver is home.  I'm sure it is boring and frustrating for a 21 year to feel totally wiped out and have mom and dad monitoring his every move.  My only advice to him would be to take it slow and steady now or pay the price later with a longer recovery.  I had an experience similar to his gas station encounter.  I walked to a Burger King about a week after my surgery in LA.  All of the traffic, sights, and sounds completely overwhelmed me and I was beat for the rest of the day.

Those first few weeks are not a lot of fun.  The best thing he can do is walk outside on uneven terrain.  This should help him with his balance and to start building up his endurance.  Hopefully, being outside will help his state of mind as well.

Hope things progress for him, but it does take effort and patience.  A good dose of humor doesn't hurt either.

Ken