I can’t comfortably sleep on my side, but I have no great problems with that – I have had another good night of sleep.
I saw a short video message online today from Biff Byford, the lead singer of Saxon, one of my favourite bands. He’d had to have emergency heart surgery a few weeks ago and he’s just started posting videos about his recovery and the changes to the Saxon tour and his solo album etc. One of the first things he notes about his recovery was the day he could sleep on his side. He said it sounded trivial but it’s actually more significant than it sounds. It was interesting and comforting to hear he felt the same as me – though it’s probably a bigger deal to him, he’s a big guy, which I expect puts more pressure on the diaphragm when you’re flat, and they probably had to cut multiple ribs to get access to his heart for the operation.
Getting out of bed with a broken rib.
After nearly a week, I have worked out how to get up and out of bed more comfortably. It might not work for you, but here’s how I do it. From a lying flat position, I bring my elbows up to near shoulder level, with the arms flat on the bed but bent at the elbow, forearms parallel to the body. Then I move my elbows towards each other behind my back, which raises my upper body without having to contract my stomach muscles. Then I can swing my legs over the side of the bed and use my hands to push my upper body more upright and then onto my feet. Bingo.