I'm Back!

            Hello, all!  I’m home and ready to continue this journey from the other side now, the after-surgery phase.  I feel good overall; really sore and tired, but that is to be expected.  I can’t complain otherwise. :-)

            Wednesday was a long day, but I don’t remember most of it.  LOL  I checked in and was in the short stay unit until around 9:45.  Here, they put in the IV, checked vitals, gave me the breathing practice instructions for after surgery to avoid pneumonia, and a few other business type things.  Then, I went to the anesthetist to get ready to “go under.”  It was pretty quick after that, lol.  They started the med, and the last thing I remember is hearing the operating team yell out the names of the instruments to be used so that they could record them for the inventory.  I woke up in recovery, and was there for quite a while.  Apparently, I was having trouble waking up and there was not a bed ready for me.  Also, I had a catheter, IV drip, and pulse ox.I went to my room around 4:45 p.m.  My parents visited for a while, and Glenn was able to see me before he left for a meeting.  He came back to tuck me in, and then went home to get some rest himself.  I went to sleep soon after, but the night was very restless and painful.  Every two hours someone is in the room to take your temperature, blood pressure, etc.  The greatest problem was my back.  It hurt fiercely because of my arthritis and being on my back at a 45 degree angle.  At one point I was in tears, but they were the kinds of tears that just happen and cannot be controlled.  At any rate, I took the pain meds whenever possible to try and get through the night.  I knew that I had made the right decision, though, and that this was just part of the journey. 

            Thursday morning Dr. Z. came to visit, told me things went well, and that I was going to be disconnected from everything later in the day.  Also, he said that as long as the day went well, I would go home Friday.  That was great news!  I got cleaned up in the bathroom, which was a challenge with all of the wires and cords hanging everywhere, but I did it.  Then, I had my breakfast of diluted grape juice, decaf tea, and protein jello.  I didn’t finish much of the jello, but “munched” on it throughout the day.   The wires came off, and then I visited with my brother before lunch.  My parents visited while I ate my lunch of diluted cranberry juice, and chicken broth, and after they left, I took a nap.  My in-laws came to visit in the afternoon, and then I had my dinner of beef broth, diluted apple juice, and decaf tea.  In between, I went for several walks up and down the hallway.  My sister-in-law and nephew stopped by for a few minutes, and Glenn came in the evening to watch part of the football game and give me a back rub (He’s so awesome).  Then, it was bed time.  I had begged and begged throughout the day for a heating pad, so I got one.  It helped tremendously and I actually got some sleep. 

            Friday was a long day and began with the same breakfast.  A student nurse was going to help me with a shower, but I told her that I wanted to wait until I got home.  Dr. Z. removed the wound drainage bag, gave me a few instructions, told me that he’d see me on the 10^th, and left to complete my discharge paperwork.  Amanda (student nurse) took my vitals, gave me an IV drip antibiotic (under supervision of her instructor), and then removed my IV.  She was great, and I wish her the best of luck! Then, it was just a matter of waiting for paperwork to go through and having my hubby help me out with my stuff.  He met the escort and me at the front door, and we were homeward bound! 

            Glenn was fabulous, as always.  He set up the desk we bought Tuesday night and got me a new chair so that I would be able to get back to work when ready.  He bought the groceries, got my meds, and did a few other things around the house, too.  I took a nap, showered, and then visited with friends who stopped by to see me.  It was a nice, relaxing return home.  I do have to sleep on the couch, though, because being flat is too painful.  I can use pillows as props while on the couch.  I will have to wait a few more days before I can sleep in my own bed.              

            Today has been pretty relaxing as well.  I woke up and had jello for breakfast.  I tried some broth twice, but it just makes me queasy.  Throughout the day, I’ve had a few popsicles, about four sips of decaf, two bottles of water with Propel mix, and about four sips of a water, ultra skim, and Breakfast Essentials mix.  With the last one, I couldn’t tell if I was uncomfortable because of the milk, gas, or being too full, so I stopped drinking it.  That is one of the things that I will learn as time goes on, according to Dr. Z.; everyone is different so I will have to learn to judge that full feeling for myself as the days pass.  If I do eat or drink too much, it will come up or I will dump -- neither of which would be fun. 

            And, that is pretty much the extent of the last few days.  As I said, I feel pretty good considering everything, and am trying to save the pain medication for the night time so that I can get restful sleep.  I am so excited and ready to move forward in my journey, but I know that I will have to move through the next few months slowly and getting used to my new way of life.  There will be struggles, I am sure, but they will be nothing that I can’t handle.  Tomorrow I hope to tackle some of the PhD class work that I need to complete for this week and last week, and rediscover my loves for reading and cross-stitching.  Wish me luck! 

            Thank you for such wonderful love and support; I am truly blessed to have such great friends and family.  This journey is more rewarding because I am sharing it with all of you. 

             The picture below is of my incisions, just to warn readers.  It is not graphic by any means, but I wanted to prepare folks for what they will see.  I know that people are curious as to what the incisions look like and how big they are, so I am sharing this picture for those people.  We are curious by nature, and if no one is willing to share, then we will never satisfy curiosities. :-) 

My five incision marks; the one with the padding is where the drainage bag was attached.  Dr. Z. removed that on Friday morning before he discharged me.  They are starting to bruise a bit, and the edges have some shirt fuzz, but otherwise the sutures look good. Of course, I am bloated as hell from the gas that they used to puff me up, but that will go away in a few days.  :-)