My Mundane Life

Post surgery life has been a bit mundane. People keep telling me it's okay that I get up at 8:30 in the morning, take a morning nap and an afternoon nap. I feel like a 6 month old. I'm told that sleep is good, that is helping me heal. Quite frankly I'm annoyed by it. I'm not sure why but I envisioned these weeks off of work as being endless hours of reading, I stocked my Kindle with multiple books and I was ready to read. Problem is after about 30 minutes of reading I find myself drifting off to sleep. So instead of reading I have spent more time watching daytime tv.

Confession time - I'm amused by Regis and Kelly (at least their host chat time) what did they do last night while I slept? Regis is 79 years old and is way more active than most people I know. I'm less enchanted by the interviews they do and most likely who ever is on their show has already been on the Today show earlier in the morning or will show up on The View later.

I am not a fan of The View. I think the ladies of The View are quite rude to each other, they are more interested in getting their point across than actually listening to each other. I find them rude and insensitive.

I draw the line at watching soap operas, although my mom is a fan of Days of our Lives and I am embarrassed to admit that when she watched I was able to quickly pick up on what was happening in the lives of the residents of Salem, USA.

At this point in the day, I typically try to read, end up falling asleep and seem to wake up just in time to watch either Oprah or Ellen depending on my mood. I finally have permission to drive which has opened up a whole new set of opportunities for me. Tuesday I went to the post office, Wednesday to the pharmacy to have a prescription refilled and to buy hair color. I'm not sure if this is true or not but I believe the anesthesia they gave me in the hospital made my hair grayer than usual. Today I took my car to the car wash. And tomorrow I am quite excited about actually going out for lunch and spending an hour with my friends, I just hope I don't fall asleep in my soup.

Bedwarmers

People think I'm crazy when I tell them that I have actually trained my cats. Molly and Moses came to live with me 8 years ago. I like the idea of having a dog, but with out all the work and extra care required of dog ownership. So I set out to train the cats as if they were dogs and it has worked. Moses and Molly (almost always) come when I call them. Moses responds specifically to whistling but not just any whistling my whistling and he is especially fond of the tun "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" typically I get a 95% response rate with that tune. Molly will fetch a small cloth ball and return it to me and both of them are more than happy to oblige me when I ask them to come sit with me and keep me warm.

I've also trained them to go to bed at night, typically around 7:30 or 8:00 p.m. I will say "time for bed" or "let's go up" they then follow me upstairs to the office, where they hunker down for the evening. All this training has gone to pot since my hospital stay. I was gone for 10 days and while my mom lovingly cared for them she did not try to put them to bed each night.

My first night home from the hospital was horrible, I felt lousy and they were very aware of my intense pain and quite frankly my lack of interest in them. I didn't try to instill my bed time rules but instead have allowed something I know I will be sorry for. The cats are now sleeping in bed with me. I had always said my bedroom would be a cat free zone, but as I sit here in bed, Molly is warming my left side and Moses is taking care of keeping my feet cozy. I actually find their purring to be soothing and their snoring to be a bit amusing.

It is still up for a debate how long I will allow this to go on, I'm also wondering how easy it is to retrain a cat.

Food Glorious Food!

I ate a scrambled egg today, that's big news considering my last "real" meal was January 25th the day before my surgery. After surgery I went home with the instructions of staying on a liquid diet for a couple days and then begin introducing soft foods into my diet. Turns out that pesky little bowel obstruction happened before anything other than lemon ice passed my lips.

When I left hospital number 2 they too advised just liquid until I see the doctor again. That appointment happened this afternoon and he deferred to my surgeon who I meet with tomorrow. So for the last week I have had a diet of broth, yogurt, oatmeal and get ready for it, milkshakes; which really is not that exciting. I am craving something salty in a big way. Yesterday was Superbowl Sunday, besides Thanksgiving, I can't think of any other day when food seems to take center stage. My mom has been here taking care of me while I recover and my friends have been incredibly amazing at blessing her with meals each night. Last night my friend Laura brought my mom all the fixings for submarine sandwiches, chicken wing dip and chips and chopped veggies for dipping. It was all I could do to not just stick my finger in that dip and taste real food again.

I was an emotional wreck today, I blame it on pain, exhaustion and a lack of protein. I cried on the way home from the doctor today, I am desperate for a tuna fish sandwich or something that I actually have to chew. As my mom and I pulled into the garage I looked at her and asked "A soft boiled egg could be considered liquid right?" She agreed of course and quickly got to boiling water for me. When she handed it to me I asked her to stick it in the microwave for 30 more seconds to make it just a bit hotter. In that time it turned from soft boiled to scrambled and quite frankly I have never tasted something so good. Tomorrow after I meet the surgeon I am really hoping for a tuna sandwich or maybe some mac and cheese.

A Tale of Two Hospitals

I checked into one of my city's large urban hospitals on January 26 for a scheduled hiatal hernia surgery. This larger hernia had been giving me problems, lots of problems for some time so my doctor and I decided it needed to be repaired. She recommend a surgeon and while I have had previous surgery with another I went with her suggestion because she seemed so adamant and well quite frankly I do trust her opinion.

Unfortunately the surgery did not go as I had planned it was open vs. laparoscopic which means a MUCH larger scar and unfortunately more time in the hospital. This is actually where my nightmare began. I was moved to my room about 10 p.m. and spent the rest of the night in a post anesthesia confusion. At times I had scripture verses running through my head providing me comfort and other times I saw strange pictures on the walls and then when I would finally feel the ability to drift to sleep I would be awaken by the nursing staff, they needed blood, or to check my blood pressure and temperature

At 4:00 am the next morning I sensed a strange presence in the room. Turns out it was not an employee of the hospital but the daughter of the 78 year old patient in the bed next to me. Did you see that I said 4:00 am? Turns out this woman is a Nurse Practitioner who had worked at said hospital for 28 years and considered herself a VIP. For the next 4 days she turned into the cruise director and our semi private room was the place to be. Problem is I was in extreme pain, tired and just wanted peace and quiet. The 78 year old patient, her husband, and their 40 something year old son insisted on watching Jerry Springer and Judge Judy every afternoon. Since she and her husband are both in their 70's volume was an issue. I did my best to put my ear phones on and the nursing staff were also kind enough to provide me with a pair of ear plugs. The last straw for me happened on Friday night which apparently was their 60th wedding anniversary, when the whole anniversary party came to visit. At one point in our semi-private room she had 8 visitors at one time. Thankfully at this point two of my dearest friends Kathy and George came by to hold my hand and wipe away my tears of frustration.

I insisted on being discharged the next day, I wanted nothing more than to be in my own home in peace and quiet. This was a mistake. From the moment I arrive home I could not stop dry heaving, from Saturday through Monday afternoon I ate 2 spoonfuls of jello, a bowl of lemon ice and few glasses of cranberry juice. On Monday afternoon when the pain in my stomach and back was so back and the heaving continued I called a good friend with several years of nursing experience. She suggested she meet my mom and I at small community hospital just a few minutes away from me. Turns out all my pain, inability to eat was because of a bowel obstruction. The nurse in the Emergency department quickly conducted what I can only say is the most uncomfortable procedure I have ever experienced the NG tube. The horrible tube is shoved down one of your nostrils to your throat and then eventually empties all the "crap" that has been sitting in your stomach unable to leave your body. I had the NG tube for 3 days and pray that I never have to experience that again. 6 days later after a much for quiet experience at small community hospital I am home resting in bed. Turns out my original surgeon of choice is now practicing at small community hospital as is the father of one of my co-workers. My Physician's Assistant who visited me throughout the week happens to be the best friend of my dear friend Kathy. I am praying that in the future I have no more need for surgery, however if I do, I certainly know where I am going.