On The Road Again

Honestly, the title to my post was simply going to be, "Road to Recovery," but that reminded me of the Willie Nelson song that has now been stuck in my head for far too long!! Everyone sing with me now, "On the road again. Just can't wait to get on the road again..." Sorry about that.

Last Friday I finally got my walking papers and was able to go home. The hospital, in its typical fashion, would not let me walk out but instead wheeled me out. However, I totally cracked up when we got down to the curb. Joel had run out to grab the car and left me with the nurse. Apparently once you hit the curb you are no longer hospital property. In her kindest voice she said, "You can wait on the bench, I saw you walking around earlier," and kicked me out of the chair. Luckily, I found it to be quite humorous. Joel quickly picked me up and we drove over to the pharmacy for my medications, to Burgerville for Joel's dinner and then home.

Both boys were spending the night with someone Friday night and I have to say that it was a blessing. It was nice to be able to come home to peace and quiet and to find my comfortable spot or two without any interruptions. As much as I enjoyed having nurses answer every call and tend to my every need it was incredibly nice to be home! Joel, all worried and concerned, doted on me and made sure I was well taken care of. He too was glad to be home and have me here with him.

I've been resting and recuperating quite nicely. Actually, I am feeling a lot better than I had expected. The first day (Saturday) I was extremely achy and had a mild dull pain but controlled it well with Tylenol throughout the day. Each day after that I have been getting progressively better. As a matter of fact, I haven't needed/wanted Tylenol at all today. The first couple of nights home I took the prescribed pain medication they gave me just before bed just to make sure that I could rest well and comfortably. I switched to Tylenol last night and will probably do that again tonight. I am still a little achy but for the most part but feeling really well. This is the time that I really need to focus on taking care of myself. This is when I would normally push myself and try to do more than I should. I've promised myself, my husband and many others that I will give my body a chance to recover completely though so don't worry. Plus who can argue with not vacuuming or mopping for 6 weeks? Seriously, why pass that up?

One thing that I have noticed is that I tire easily, to be expected after surgery I'm sure. I got up Sunday morning around 7:30, I thought I had been up for much longer and was shocked to find it only 9:30 when I headed in for a long nap. I've been listening to my body, taking the clues and taking lots of naps.

I've been instructed to keep my diet very simple, low fiber, low bulk, etc. Turns out that hasn't been hard for me at all. I'm am struggling to get my appetite back. I can barely get down a banana and a couple sips of coffee before I'm done. I am still easy to tip to the nauseous side of things and am finding few things appealing. Water, bananas, juice, baked potatoes (sweet and regular), butternut squash, chicken broth/soup have been my main staples. I tried some yogurt and that did not settle well at all which really surprised me. I did have a little bit of macaroni and cheese yesterday, it sounded good so I went with it, and that went down pretty good. I have lost just over 10 pounds since Wednesday of last week. I'd like to think that will stay off when I get my appetite back but I'm not counting on it. =)

The rain has been pretty steady and crazy since I got home so to get out and walk someplace other than my house, Joel took me to Fred Meyers yesterday and let me walk a bit there. We went and picked up a couple of donuts and a latte today. Amazing what a quick trip out can do for your spirits! I do pace the house frequently to get my walking in and have made a couple of trips to the mail box too.

So, in keeping with doctors orders, I've been resting and walking. I'm starting to get a little bit bored but I've had some fun with scanning and uploading old pictures to my facebook page, I have some books that I've been meaning to read, I bought a puzzle book at the store yesterday and many other things that I can focus on. I also have a couple of stitching projects waiting for me at Joel's work that I can't wait to get my hands on.

Many have asked if I'm happy that I went through with the surgery and if I've noticed any changes yet...I'll answer that in my next post. Any other questions out there? If you have any hospital/surgery questions, be sure to ask me now while it's fresh in my mind!