Hunkered Down

This is driving me crazy. Boredom is worse than ever this time. I got so bored yesterday that I pushed my self to go on a longer walk. They advised me that moderate walking is good for my recovery so I tightened the abdominal binder and took off around the block. Made it! 5 days after surgery & I estimate its 3/4 mile and about 50/50 downhill / uphill. Think I'll try it again today or maybe try to stretch 'er out a bit.

Finally Home

Made it home last night after the hospital took forever to discharge me. Short staff on a Sunday. Restless night but I haven't taken any pain meds so far. Looked at the incision last night and it's longer than I expected. But at least the doc cut on the same line as the old incision. Guess I'll hunker down for a few days of healing now.

Sunday

I'm feeling better & still hoping to go home today or maybe tomorrow. They finally gave me some solid food starting yesterday but I can't eat very much after the liquid diet. Mom & Dad visited yesterday and after them Kyle and his family visited. Since the kids can't come to the room, I walked to the waiting area to see them. I think it was a big surprise, especially for Butch. He seemed really uncomfortable seeing me in my hospital gown with an IV tower in tow. New, not so good image of Papa. Shawn & Kelly came later without the kids. Probably best that the grandkids don't all have an image of me hooked to an IV tower.

Friday - the day after

I spoke with the doctor this afternoon. He said that my belly is a mess of scar tissue! But he thinks that the surgery went well. I have some pain (as expected) that they're managing with medication. I have been up and walked a little bit today although most of the time is spent in bed. I have been on a clear liquid diet but was just notified that it was upgraded to a full liquid diet - whoopee! I'm ready for a hamburger, but I think I'll wait until the doc clears me to eat solid food. Don't push it - right?..... Looking forward to going home. He said probably Sunday, maybe Monday.

Out of surgery

Dad is out of surgery and doing just fine. They couldn't remove the gallbladder laproscopically (due to all of the scar tissue), so they had to cut him open again. The doctor said he really had to dig that gallbladder out! The good news is that Dad did not have a hernia; the "bubble" (as Dad so affectionately calls it) was caused by the skin and mesh from his accident surgery. Stuff had moved around and readjusted itself in there. The doctor was able to fix that while he was in there, so he won't have to have a second surgery. I'll keep you updated as I get word from the hospital.

Erica

Gettin' Ready

I went to the hospital this morning for my pre-assessment and pre-admission in preparation for my surgery tomorrow. Blood test, urine test, x-ray, blood pressure, etc. Getting ready was a breeze so let's hope the surgery is a breeze too. Plans are to take the gall bladder out with a laparascope procedure in the morning and be home late in the afternoon. Yep, day surgery. Unbelievable. Hope it eliminates most or all of the remaining pain. In any event, I'm ready to get it over with. Doc said that I can go back to work next week, maybe as soon as Monday, if all goes as expected.

Pre-assessment

The hospital called yesterday & scheduled me for an appointment first thing tomorrow morning for a pre-assessment for the surgery on Thursday. As far as I know, that's just a blood test and interview covering what I take in the way of meds (none) and vitamins & supplements. And, maybe a pre-admission paperwork session. Hopefully, it will go quickly.

Bummer of a Day .....

Yesterday was a bummer! I've known since I left the hospital in February that I had a hernia as a by-product of the accident / surgery and that it needed repair as soon as convenient. I visited my surgeon yesterday to learn that the hernia is huge (much larger than I thought) and that there are risks associated with the gall bladder infecting the hernia repair. So I naively asked if he would take out the GB when he fixes the hernia. Nope - too risky. So the GB gets removed next week (surgery 1) and followed in a few weeks by the hernia repair (surgery 2)..... I just wonder if the young woman who caused the accident has any idea or cares about what I've had to go through or how my life has / will be effected as a result of her carelessness. 2007 has been the worst year of my life so far & I hope it remains that way. I am looking forward to a much better 2008.