No makeup, my gown looks like it has a clown collar.. but I don’t care.

I am feeling fantastic 🙂

As I mentioned earlier, there have been some very rough patches due to pain medication alterations and today the issue all morning was fairly severe abdominal pain.  The laxatives finally worked though and I feel a lot better now this evening. I did feel overwhelmed today and cried for about 10 minutes. That feels like it was kind of the turning point though. I even told my mom I think I needed a good cry. As far as the big changes to my body, I am happy with what I can see so far. I would still most definitely do it all again despite the bad moments of pain and the discomfort from bowel issues. The stomach issues showed up even though I was taking medication to prevent them. It’s in the past now though!

The turn around today was kind of amazing. I went on two walks on my own in addition to the scheduled physical therapy time. I was able to shower, hence the reemergence of my curls. It doesn’t look as nice because it air dried while I laid in bed. That did not stop the nursing staff from showering me with hair compliments though. They are all great here. At times they are very busy, but I can feel how much they do care.

One of the nurses commented to me in the hallway with a smile.. “my, you are tall.” I later thought with a giggle.. “yeah, but I lost a few inches last week!” -Ari