It was about midnight last night when I realised that I hadn’t posted a blog post yesterday. I apologise, it just wasn’t feasible given the state of my to-do list and my wifi connection. I’m currently up in Rochester where I’m teaching and organizing for a blues dance event, but hopefully I’m enough on-top of my schedule that I won’t have any issues getting the next few posts out.

So today, aptly enough, I want to post about preparation and thinking ahead!

Despite a lot of my friends having had top surgery of various kinds, I still feel pretty physically in the dark about what my recovery process is going to look like. I know that I can’t take a shower for a week, that I shouldn’t try and lift my arms over my head, or carry anything over 10lbs… although I have a really poor guesstimate of what 10lbs actually looks like or feels like? I guess it’s slightly more than my cat, but less than one bag of cat food?

But for those of you thinking about top surgery I’ll share the things that I’ve done to try and get prepared:

I’ve booked a schedule of friends to come by and help me within things and keep me from going stir crazy. In fact for the first week people are going to be living in my house, because I have a couch and an accommodating roommate. I’m not the kind of human who asks for help very easily, but – and I know this sounds corny but it’s true – part of going for surgery is about being true to who I am at my core, not just who I can survive as, and I have a bunch of folks around me who love and care for me, and whom I can trust to ask for this kind of help.

On a more practical note, every time I’ve cooked a bulk meal for the last few weeks I’ve booked a bunch more than I needed and popped it in the freezer, so for the first few days life should just be a case of put-it-on-a-plate-and-re-heat-it. Similarly I’ve also got a bunch of sourdough starter risen and ready in the fridge so that I can bake two loaves of bread before I leave on Tuesday. Cooking is one of my favorite activities, so with any luck and the help of my friends I can get back to at least helping cook meals asap.

Another thing on the to-do list for Tuesday is to take down all the heavy things I need and put them on the floor. Specifically the cat food! I keep a step-ladder around the house anyway, so I should be able to get myself up to the level of things without too much of a hassle, but I don’t want to have to worry about day-to-day things if I can put them somewhere convenient.

….this is a great post for me today because it’s actually allowing me to construct my to-do list in real time. Another thing I realise I ought to do is set out all my zip-up or button up clothes (because I shouldn’t put anything on over my head), and all my lovely comfy pj pants. I should also crack my draws open so that they slide more easily.

What have I forgotten? I’m sure I’ll find out on Thursday. My Netflix subscription is all paid up, my kindle is loaded (right now I’m making my way through Robin Hobb’s Liveship Trader series), I need to buy my drugs and make sure the wonderful human who is coming with me on the day of surgery has enough snacks and entertainment to keep her feeling good about spending the day with an invalid. I don’t keep spreadsheets, because I’m just not that kind of human, but I feel like I’m prepared to a point that I shouldn’t have any major disasters! Yay!