Gender Affirming Surgery – Early Recovery

The early days of recovery in Montreal are in some ways the easiest but with plenty of hard moments sprinkled in.  I had my surgery on Monday so I would be in the hospital section of the center until Wednesday morning. This section has 24hr care with multiple nurses. They are constantly in to make sure that you are doing well and taking your vitals.

Day 0

That first day after surgery was a bit of a blur. I got back to the room mid-afternoon with Cathy by my side and a huge smile on my face.  We mostly talked but I also remember playing some crazy eights to pass the time. I would have definitely snuck a nap or two in there too.  They don’t want you eating too much that first day because typically nausea follows anaesthesia. “Dinner” consisted of a couple of crackers, digestible cookies, and a chunk of cheese. After having the few snacks, the nurses come in and help you out of bed to see if you can stand on your own for a second.  The point is to get your body up and the blood flowing through your legs but dizziness is common. I had no issues there, but getting in and out of bed was a challenge.  At 8pm, visiting hours were over and Cathy had to leave. It continued to rain all day and I think the peak of it hit when she had to go back to where we had parked.  She was just drenched and sent me a picture, still smiling though :).

After Cathy left, I spoke with my roommate who had also just been through the operation a couple hours before me. We learned a lot about each other in that short time. It was great to have someone to share the experience with when your family has to leave for the night. It didn’t take long though before I was out for the night.  The nurses are constantly giving you medication every few hours during the day (Tylenol, anti-inflammatories, antibiotics, laxatives, etc) and the last was at 930pm so I’m thinking that’s when I fell asleep.

Day 1

The nurses are back in the room bright and early at 6am to start the whole process over again. I think I slept OK that first night but there was probably a little help from the extra pain killers I needed.

That first morning, all I could think about was eating. Breakfast was provided a little after 7am and then we had to do the next round of exercise.  They removed the leg compresses that were on since the operation, then tied up my IV and catheter because we were going to try and walk.  It wasn’t that far, but it still took a while. The hardest part was trying to keep looking forward while making sure you are not tripping on anything. As soon as you lowered your head, the world got a little dizzy. Slowly, I made it around the nurse’s station and back to bed. That was a big milestone as they need to make sure that you can be mobile and to reduce the chance of blood clots. And the good news was that the leg compresses could stay off,  that was 1 of 3 attachments removed that are tying me down to the bed.

Cathy arrived at 9am and the majority of the day was about resting and making sure that I’m healing up.  Cathy and I started a new world on Civ6 and then we watched a few episodes of Ted Lasso to pass the time.  It may seem like nothing, but having the support of someone, especially a loved one, makes the time fly by and prevents the brain from spiralling.

After lunch, the next phase in mobility was required. Two laps around the nurse’s station.  When I first stood up and started, I had no concerns but right as I was finishing my first lap I started to feel a little dizzy.  I dismissed it and said I could keep going.  That was a mistake. About 20 steps later I realized that the dizziness was much stronger than I thought. I had this harsh realization that I needed to get back to my bed quick.  Cathy helped me back as she had been by my side the whole time.  As we went through the doorway into the room, I noticed some blackness creeping in on corners of my eyes, but I fought it and quickly made it back to the bed.  I can’t remember if I have ever felt so weak and dizzy like that.  I recovered well though and everything felt normal shortly after. It still felt like a setback even though the nurses reassured me that it was normal.

After supper, I needed to try again. Without hesitation I got up after they arranged all of my connections and started working my way around the nurse’s station.  Things were much better this time. So much so that instead of the required 3 laps, I wanted to keep going and do a 4^th lap – make up for the one I missed at lunch :). My accomplishment of being able to walk allowed one more connection to be removed; the IV. Now I was just down to the catheter.

The worst part of the day is when Cathy has to leave. When she is there I know that she will make sure that I’m taken care of. I complain about her fussing over me and doing things for me, but in reality, it really makes me feel special and loved.  It’s not that I wasn’t taken care of, she just remembers to ask the things that need asking without hesitation. It’s like a security blanket knowing that if something is not right, she will make sure that it’s taken care of.

Day 2

Day 2 is moving day. This is the day that you leave the hospital side and move over to the recovery house called Asclépiade.  You leave the comforts of 24hr care where the nurses are constantly watching your status and are available to get you anything at any time.  The benefit though is more freedom as you need to care for yourself a bit more (with guidance) and you get to move more as you are not tied down to a hospital bed.

With the freedom comes the loss of the catheter bag.  The catheter itself stays in place until later in the recovery, but they switch from a bag collecting everything, to having a valve where you can control when the bladder empties. One of the staff from Asclépiade comes over to get you and you need to walk a few minutes to get to your new room. I said a quick few goodbyes to the nurses that had helped those first few days and moved on to phase 2 of the recovery.