A Week Since Surgery

I kept meaning to write last week when I got home from the hospital but I just couldn't seem to find the time. I had work to do and my niece came to visit. Things are finally slowing down a bit. I relaxed in front of the TV with my wonderful husband earlier today and it felt sooo good to just sit still. :-) After a short nap and some computer play, we are back in front of the TV. So, here I am finally updating everyone.

Surgery went well. In fact, it took less time than they estimated. I spent Monday evening pretty out of it on Morphine. I don't really even remember much of it. I know that people were there and they came and went, my mom, my niece and my mother-in-law Dale. I am pretty sure I missed some great conversation with my in-laws because every time I woke up I heard my husband chuckling about something.

Tuesday morning, they put me in a wheel chair and brought me down to radiology for an esophagram. I got sick to my stomach on the way down. We had to stop outside the elevator so someone could get me a bucket. I was able to keep it together and we continued down. The liquid they made me drink didn't go as well. I had to swallow 3 times before they got enough x-rays and the last few x-rays were taken while I threw up in a bucket. It was very gross going down and even worse coming back up. Plus, I still wasn't okayed to have anything to drink so I had that taste in my mouth for a long time.

Back in my bed, I dozed in and out for awhile. A few hours later a nurse came in with a cup full of water and some little medicine cups. She explained that I was okayed for water and that I needed to drink 1oz every fifteen minutes. Plus, I needed to make the 1oz last for fifteen minutes. It took my awhile to get the hang of it and anytime I took too big a drink I could tell. I would get this tight feeling in my chest just above my stomach. I'd have to stop sipping and wait for it to go down. The nurse explained to me later that it was because of the swelling in my stomach. She said it would get better over time and it did.

My sister Amy and my niece Krista came in the afternoon and brought me some magazines. I flipped through them for awhile after they left but was too tired to read. Walter came by after work and brought me a book and little giraffe because I love that new Geico commercial with the mini giraffe. My father-in-law stopped by again that night. I think I stayed away for the whole visit this time. :-) However, I didn't stay awake the whole time Walter was visiting. There is something soothing about my husband being there that just made me fall fast asleep.

On Wednesday, at 6am they removed my IVs and my catheter and after Dr Trieu stopped by to see me, I was okayed to start having other liquids. So at around 11am on Wednesday, I had 1oz of chicken broth and 1 oz of orange sugar-free jello. Ugh. It was gross. I hate Jello and I hate soup(and therefore broth) but that it all I could have. I didn't have any visitors during the day and it was a long day. My whole body hurt because I couldn't do very much and there are only so many ways you can sit in a chair or lay in a bed. I just wanted to go home. After having a late lunch/early dinner of vegetable broth and orange jello I really wanted to go home. Did I mention I really hate Jello?

That night my ex-boss Hildy stopped by. I really enjoy spending time with her. Its always a good time. We had some good laughs and she brought me a beautiful potted arrangement that she put together at home. It now sits on my front step and looks fabulous. It greets me every time I come home. My husband came by after work again and stayed until I couldn't stay awake. Then he rubbed my back and kissed me goodnight as I fell asleep. It was the perfect ending to a long day.

Thankfully on Thursday morning I had red jello instead of orange or I might have quit eating all together. LOL. It was back to chicken broth though. The vegetable broth the night before was just gross. I just wanted to go home. I knew that once I got home I could start having protein shakes and flavored waters and even sugar-free Popsicles. At around 9am Dr Trieu came in and asked me a bunch of questions. I guess I answered them all right because he said I could go home. YEAH! Now I just had to find someone to come get me. LOL. Walter wasn't getting out of work until 2pm. I certainly wasn't waiting at the hospital all day.

My mom was able to come get me an hour or so later. She thought Walter would want to be the one to come get me. I am sure that he would have liked to be there but more than anything I think he just wanted me to come home. It was tough riding in the car because every bump or abrupt stop jarred my belly. My seven incisions hated every minute of the giggling ride to my mothers and the idea of getting back into the car to go home with Walter didn't seem very appealing. However, I wanted to go home and climb into our bed together and just cuddle while I fell asleep. I needed a good nights sleep and I knew that being at home with my husband would help me to get it.

Things have just been getting better and better as the days go past. I have been able to drink more water as well as more protein shakes. I have a lot less discomfort if I take a drink bigger than a sip. I try hard not to but its a habit that it hard to break. Its been tough remembering to take my pills every morning but I have been doing. Breaking open capsules and splitting tablets is hard to do without making a mess. Hopefully I will get better at it because it will be awhile before I can swallow something whole.

Today I broke down and bought a pill tray. Starting next week I am going to need be taking a lot of vitamins on top of what I take now so I decided the best way to do it was with a pill tray. It has 4 slots for each day and has 7 days in it. The neat thing is that I can take an individual day out if I need to take it with me somewhere. Because I have so many vitamins, I have to take them throughout the day and not all at once so I will probably always need to take them with me. This pill tray should help me stay on top of things so I don't forget.

Well, I better get off to bed. I have work in the morning. I will try to write again soon. I want to tell a few more exciting hospital stories. :-) I had a great roommate and a few great nurses. I also have a story about a real mean one but that will have to wait. Its getting very, very late!