Be It Ever So Humble...

There really is no place like home


Came home from the hospital Friday afternoon, after a 2 and 1/2 day stay.  I will not lie about how I feel.  I am sore, my neck especially has been bothering me.  And I have a painful place on my lower right side that has made me unable to lie on my side for sleep or rest, so my back is bothering me because it is really tired and sore from being the only spot to lie or lean on.  But it has been great to sleep in my own bed again and it's very liberating to be able to go to the bathroom without an IV pole in tow!

Now for some surgery nitty-gritty.  I had undergone abdominal surgery twice before.  The first time was in 1977, shortly before my 13th birthday.  My symptoms made the surgeon think my appendix was the trouble.  It turned out that I had an ovarian cyst that had ruptured and, since it was on the right side, the appendix was the natural assumption.  And he did remove the appendix since he was in the neighborhood.  The second operation was in January of 1995 when my gallbladder (and 15 marble-size stones!) were removed.  As a result of these previous surgical adventures, my surgery on Wednesday took longer because my doctor had some significant adhesions (scar tissue) to deal with before he could get to the actual business of my weight-loss procedure.

In addition to these considerations, weight-loss surgeries generally come with the installation of a drain.  Of course, I was still under anesthesia when the drain was installed so it was nothing for me to be concerned about.  The removal of the drain was something else entirely.  I won't lie and say that it was a breeze.  It was unpleasant.  Had I known just how uncomfortable it would be, I might have asked for conscious sedation for that couple of minutes!  Seriously.  The good news is that it doesn't take very long for the removal.  Still, some twilight sleep or nitrous oxide or something mind-altering would have been nice.

I had lots of nice visits while I was in the hospital,as well as tons of phone calls and text messages checking up on me, which made me feel very much loved and cared for.  Flowers and balloons and a goody bag with journal, prayer box and cool pen (shaped and painted to look like a brunette Diva!) are on my coffee table here at home, and their fragrance and color remind me what wonderful friends and family I have been blessed with.

The Hubs has been the most excellent caregiver I could ever have asked for.  He has been concerned, patient, loving and supportive throughout this whole thing.  Not just the hospital and recovery, but the months beforehand during medically-supervised weight loss and CPE.  So even though I feel kind of crappy right now, I realize how very much I have to be thankful for.  The crappy part is all stuff that (I hope!) is going to pass soon.  The blessed part is what will last.