Well…I’m alive!

One week ago today, I was having surgery.  It’s hard to believe that I am already one week post-op, but the calendar doesn’t lie.

The Surgery

Your prayers for peace lifted me.  I only broke down and cried twice — once when we went in for registration and the reality loomed over my head, and the other when the nurse handed me the gorgeous hospital gown and told me to drop my drawers.  Your prayers for the surgeons went well.  There were no complications during surgery.  They did not have to make a large incision.

The Recovery Room

They kept me in recovery longer than normal because my heart rate was too high and they couldn’t figure out why.  In my drugged out state I tried to tell them — PANIC ATTACK.  I was nauseous from either the morphine or the anesthesia.  Even in a drugged state, my body went into panic attack mode when nausea hit.  Fortunately I don’t remember much of this time….just me begging for phenergan and the nurse telling me to take deep breaths.  I’d like to deep six this memory.

The Hospital Recovery

The first and second days are a blur.  If you called me, I’m sure I spoke to you, but I have no memory of it.  I do know that I refused to take any more morphine.  The strongest painkiller I took once I got back to my room was Tylenol.  I’d rather have the pain than nausea.  And strangely enough, there really wasn’t much pain.

Home Again

After two nights and a full day, the doctor let me go home.  The ride home hurt.  I didn’t realize the tollway had that many bumps!  Walking from the driveway to my bedroom is the first time it hit me how fatigued I was.  Halfway to my bedroom I realized my legs might not make it.  But every day since brings me a little more energy.  Now I have progressed to sitting in the recliner all day rather than in bed.  My mother has been an angel — finding things I might eat, doing laundry, ferrying my daughter places — went home yesterday, and my fantastic husband has been doing a great job filling in the role of Mr. Mom.  As I write this, he’s washing up the breakfast dishes and preparing lunch — this after spending the morning working from home.  As for me…I managed to take a shower AND shave my legs.  A monumental achievement, if I do say so myself, although it left me feeling so exhausted that I am finished for the day.  As far as my pain level goes…I will never again have that horrid period pain!  My low back pain is already improved.  I’ve noticed an absence of pain whenever I have to pee — and that’s one pain I never really registered as pain until it was gone.  I’ve had some neck pain I associate with fibromyalgia, but — and this is awesome — I have NOT have that “hit by a bus” feeling, even after surgery!

I’ve read some great books and watched lots of movies:

The Tourist.  I adored this movie and MUST watch it again.  I need to try to figure out exactly when Angelina Jolie’s character knew who Johnny Depp’s character was and compare it to when I first suspected who he was.  Sometimes I need another run-through to catch all the clues.  I won’t say more about it.  But I will watch it again!

Mr. Mom.  I watched this oldie but goodie this morning and laughed my head off when Mr. Mom made a grilled cheese sandwich with an iron and dried socks in the microwave.  Not that I’ve ever done that before.

Princess Bride.  My parents had never seen this movie before, and yesterday I watched it again…this time with fresh eyes as I shared in their laughter.  Hands down, the best movie ever made.  True Love.

Can You Keep a Secret?  This jewel by Sophie Kinsella kept me in stitches.  As I read the first few pages, I chuckled because I could have written it myself.  There is a plane scene in the opening pages that could have been modeled after me.  Let’s just say that I totally related to the character’s neurosis about flying!

The Litigators.  John Grisham’s latest kept me enthralled from start to finish.  I think Grisham did a good job illustrating the difference between frivolous lawsuits and valid ones while lobbing grenades at Big Pharma.  Not sure it was a good thing to read just before beginning a new medication, though.

Prayer Requests

I’ve lost a ton of weight.  Well, not exactly a ton, but you get what I mean.  I’m lower than I’ve been in years, to the point where my clothes hang off my frame, and I’m struggling to regain an appetite.  I’ve been praying that God will restore my appetite and will give me peace from digestive issues.  One thing I found out from my endoscopy is that I supposedly have an H Pylori infection which will require a long course of antibiotics.  Since antibiotics make me anxious, and anxiety makes me lose my appetite, I’m holding off on treating the infection until I get some meat on my bones.  I’m also hoping against hope and praying fervently that the mega doses of antibiotics I received via IV in the hospital were enough to knock the H Pylori out of my system so maybe I won’t have to endure more.

But you know what?  The Lord has brought me this far.  He knows right where I am and cares for all aspects of my life, just as He cares for yours.  Jesus tells us explicitly not to worry bout what we will eat or drink.  So it’s high time I take that command to heart.  I had a dream last night about getting back into church volunteerism.  I’m actually excited to see what new service the Lord may call me to as I continue to get back to health and peace.

But now…it’s time for a nap.