Reply To: My surgeries with Dr. Kang and Shouldice Hospital

[WilliamT]

As I head back home today, I thought I would add how the rest of my post-op time in Seoul progressed:

Days 1 and 2
More uncomfortable/painful than the day of surgery. Spent most of the time in bed. Could walk halfway down the hotel hallway before feeling the need to lie down again.

Day 3
Felt ready to get moving. Tried the hotel treadmill at 1km/hr, but found this a bit fast. Then tried walking outside, and eventually made it to a restaurant 1.5km away. Despite barely being able to cross intersections before the lights changed, I was pleased with the progress, until….I got stuck in a super painful position trying to get into bed. Getting in and out of bed is a definite challenge in the first few days, so I wish I had practiced a safe technique pre-op so that I was in the habit of being careful.
Total distance walked for the day was 5km

Day 4
After the previous night’s incident, I was feeling more pain with movement. Couldn’t walk for very long without sitting down.
Total distance walked was 3km

Day 5
Set out on a mission to see some tourist sites. It took 3 attempts before making it to the subway, however, once out and underway in the tourist areas, I managed to just keep walking for nearly 7 hours.
Total distance walked was 20km!!!

Day 6
Walking pace and stride were improving, and I was better able to handle all the subway staircases. There were frequent tugging/ripping pains, so I needed to sit down periodically (but could usually resume walking after 30-60 seconds of rest). I visited Dr Kang for a follow-up ultrasound, and everything looks good.
Total distance walked was 13km

Day 7
Similar to day 6 with improving pace of movement, but still the need for periodic breaks. Covered most of the remaining tourist sites that I wanted to see. Seoul is quite an impressive city, and am glad I had the time and strength to play tourist for these few days.
Total walking for the day is 13km

Day 8
Flying home! While I could have comfortably flown home 1-2 days prior, I was grateful to have the buffer, and it ended up giving me ample time to enjoy the city.