This picture is from our last dinner before my first surgery. We went to TGIFriday's, one of our favorite places. I like to get the Endless Lunch which gives refills of soup, salad, bread sticks, and a drink for $6.99 at lunch (Add $2 for dinner). It's great because Hubs and I share a drink (yes, we are THOSE people) and the kids like to share the bread sticks and my broccoli & cheese soup. We enjoyed our last dinner out by helping the kids color and complete their activity pages, sharing each other's food, laughing, and talking. I had to stop eating/drinking at midnight.
The picture below is Calah passed out on me after something startled her awake. I was glad to go get her for some extra cuddle time :)
Monday night, the hospital called to tell me that my surgery time had been moved from 9:30AM to 12:30PM, so that would be three extra hours of fasting from everything but my own saliva; I was not thrilled but I decided it was okay because it gave me some extra time at home with the family in the morning.
I had to be at the hospital at 11AM for pre-surgery prep. Around 9:30AM on Tuesday, the hospital called me to ask if they could reschedule my surgery to NEXT TUESDAY because the doctor had an emergency case come up. I am not a push-over by any means, but I AM a people pleaser, so normally, I may have rescheduled. Thankfully, I went with my first instinct and blurted out, "NO!" I couldn't believe the word had come from my mouth so fluidly, but I'm glad it did. Everything was already setup from work to kids to meals from our gracious friends to my mental preparation. I just wanted to get it over with, so she said, "Okay. Bye" and that was that. I almost cried - oh, who am I kidding?? I DID cry, but just for a minute, at the thought of having to wait for a whole extra seven days!
Hubs and I headed for the hospital around 10:50. We were in a room by 11:10 and then just waited. And waited. My stomach was turning flips even though I felt calm. Thankfully, I had Hubs there with me the whole time and after a while, our friend, who also happens to be our pastor, came to visit and pray with us. It was a great distraction. The nurse came in to tell me the doctor was running behind, so once it was all said and done, they wheeled me to "holding" around 2:00, I believe.
The anesthesiologist came in around 2:30 and gave me the nerve block. To do that, they rolled me on my side and he jabbed a needle into my nerve and tapped it several times to make sure he got the right spot. While he was doing that, the nurse was putting a sedative in my IV and within a minute, I was OUT.
I have no memory of anything until I was in the recovery room. The first thing I remember saying was, "What time is it?" and the nurse said, "You've asked me that four times". No memory of the first three times whatsoever! Needless to say, the anesthesia was effective! For the record, it was about 5:50 when I asked her for the fourth time. Shortly afterwards, Hubs came into recovery and we left the hospital around 8:30 but I was SO drowsy. And nauseous. And I had a headache.
My mom had already picked up the kids to take them for their first overnight (well, first for Calah and by extension, first for all three of them together). Hubs helped me crutch (I'm using this as a verb now) into the front door and straight to the end of the couch. He put me in the reclined position, stuck pillows under and around my legs, and hooked me up to the ice machine/cooler/pump. I slept for a couple hours and then woke up for close to an hour, then fell asleep again. Hubs made me a piece of peanut butter toast and gave me some water. But I ate maybe half of it because my throat was just raw.
My headache and nausea continued on through Thursday and I couldn't keep anything down except a few saltines Thursday afternoon. I napped on and off and was excited to see the kids on Wednesday when my mom brought them back but it was a little too much movement for me because I started feeling nauseous again after about 10 minutes of them being home. That night I tried to sleep in our bed because it felt comfortable to sit on it but I was WRONG. My lower back and my rear end were really sore from laying in the same spot all night. It was really hard to get out of bed Thursday morning. So I've been sleeping on the couch since and I seem to be getting better sleep that way. Until Thursday night, the only time I got up was to crutch myself to the bathroom and back to the couch. Sitting was surprisingly easy because our sink is very close to the toilet. One benefit of a small bathroom, I guess. Thursday night and Friday afternoon, I crutched around the house and picked up a little bit in the kitchen and bathroom. I folded some laundry from my seat on the couch, and Friday night, the whole family went to the VBS finale. It felt nice to finally get out of the house but once we got home, I knew it was time to get the ice pump back on.
Here are a few cute shots I've gotten this week.
Calah kissing her daddy without request.
Jo, at the VBS finale, sharing his sno-cone with his sister - so sweet!
Benji, the goofball, with his ladybug face paint and purple and green sno-cone
Me (and my hip brace) and Benji hanging out at the VBS finale
It has been a pretty rough start to recovery, but mainly because I'm the worst when it comes to just resting. Especially now that my headaches and nausea are gone. I forget that I can't walk and then I try to move and OUCH - I suddenly remember - God lets us experience pain to slow us down sometimes. So that's what I'm doing.
Next week, I have my post-op doctor appointment on Monday afternoon, and then I will probably start physical therapy after that. So, I will write more about my experiences with it all. Oh, and I am still praying for some digestive relief, ifyaknowwhatImean. TMI? Yeah, you're probably right, but I wouldn't be me if I left that part out!
Thank you to everyone for the out-pouring of love and prayers and help over the past week. It really means more than I can ever express to you all!
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