The good:
* I have wonderful friends and family members who have taken care of me, from my mom staying in the hospital almost 24/7 to visits from dear friends to all the help I've had since I've been home (currently my mom is out running errands while my amazing mother-in-law Denise is cleaning up some stuff around my house.)
*My doctor said my surgery went really well. He said that when he got in there, he could actually see that two of the bone grafts from my previous surgery had failed, and he was certain that this was the cause of my pain. In other words, he's pretty sure he fixed the problem, and I won't need a second surgery. He went ahead and added the stabilizing hardware, added the new bone grafts, and stitched me right up.
*I didn't have to spend any time in ICU, and on Wednesday I was allowed to start eating solid foods.
*I had some really amazing nurses in the hospital. Tina loved my pajamas and my socks and my stuffed animals and told me she was going to steal them. Karen and I had a nice conversation about John Stamos when she brought me my meds during a Full House marathon one afternoon. Chyrelle took great care of me, was really nice and called me "sweetie" and "baby" all the time, and she was always smiling. My first group of PT people were kind, funny, supportive and encouraging (the second group were a little hardcore.) And on my first trip out of my room, when I went to walk down the hall (the nurse's area was right outside my room), I noticed that one of the nurses that worked on my unit is actually one of my patrons from the library! She is so nice. I was about ten feet away from my room and I said "hey! I know you!" And she's like "well, sweetie, what are you doing here?" Even though she wasn't assigned to my room, she came to check on me and talk to my mom several times.
*While I was in the hospital, I had virtually no tummy troubles, and only one real anxiety issue (which was totally not my fault because I woke up in the middle of the night coughing, which hurt unimaginably, and I didn't know my mom was in the bathroom so I went from relatively fine to having a heart rate of 140 in like two seconds.)
*Since I've been home, I haven't had many problems with my anxiety either, which is great.
*I am able to spend a little time on the couch, but spend most of my time in bed, which is pretty comfortable.
*I'm enjoying all the time I get to spend with my mom. She usually comes over around the time Brandon goes to work, and takes a nap with me. Then we watch Lost and hang out until Brandon gets home. I'll be sad when she has to go back to work.
*My pain is usually pretty manageable. My stitches hurt, and my hips hurt, but my back usually doesn't hurt. I do ok with the other pain using an ice pack and two heating pads, and lots of pillows. I can get up and down by myself, I can walk around the house (not upstairs yet, though), and most of the time can get myself settled without any help. And I took a shower yesterday by myself without any help. I was very proud of that.
The not-so-good:
*My tummy has been acting up over the past few days because of some hospital issues, and I'm back to having my stupid allergies and stuff. If I sit up too long (really it's like reclining), my hips start to hurt, so I get adjusted and move to my side. But then I can't stay like that because my stomach gets upset.
*My stitches hurt like crap.
*My arms are covered in bruises, which is fine and pretty impressive, but I also have that tape gunk on my arms and I'm having trouble getting it off. Rubbing alcohol burns my arms. This is a pretty minor problem though, so it's cool .
*We were told that my incision would be four or five inches long, but my mom says it's about nine inches long. Eek.
*Bible study was supposed to be this Tuesday at my house, but we have decided to postpone it until next week. I am sad about this, but it will be ok.
*My pain is usually worse in the late afternoon/early evening. By that time of day, I have been sitting up more, so that makes me achy. Then there's the issue of my meds- I take pain pills every four hours and my muscle relaxers every 8 hours. I take both of them at 4 in the afternoon, so I'm extra achy, and I tend to get overwhelmed around this time. And then I end up crying. This is the main reason we're postponing Bible study, I think. It would take place during the time period when I am whiniest.
All in all, I think I'm doing pretty well. That's what everyone keeps telling me, anyway. It's funny- I've kept myself relatively calm over the past few months by telling myself that my surgery would not be a big deal. It wouldn't be like the original, life-changing surgery I had when I was 13. But it totally is. It's still major surgery. I need to learn to not be disappointed with myself so much when I'm not able to get stuff done on the timetable that I want to. I also need to learn that it's not a bad thing to ask for help. I feel guilty pretty much all the time (except I love having visitors, and I don't mind it when people make my favorite foods for me!)
Anyway...I guess that's all I have to say for this post. I actually started it about four hours ago, so I don't really remember my train of thought. My mom came home with lunch and confiscated the laptop while I ate, and then she kept it for a while. : )
Pre-op. This is before Ingrid the Incompetent came and put in my IV, when I was still smiling and trying to be in a good mood.
When they started bringing me solid food, I was so happy to find that the hospital exclusively serves my favorite bottled water, which is impossible to find anywhere anymore! I'm not really a bottled water snob, but my friend and I used to get this kind a lot in high school and it brought back good memories .
The flowers my coworkers and the Friends of the Library sent to me. I also got flowers from my dad and my grandparents- and lots of stuffed animals! : )
And I love that you are doing wonderfully! (And I will miss you when I go back to work, too. Maybe I'll take you with me.)
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