The Act Continues

Today I've been tired. Probably because I had a rough night. I won't go into the details, but I'll just chalk it up to the Dulcolax Double-whammy. Yeowza!! The experience left me a bit pooped today (pun intended...) But I was able to have a nice shower and get my hair washed today and then cuddle up in my wonderfully cozy robe that my co-workers gave to me and napped throughout the day. I'm feeling much better tonight.

Mom on the other-hand is doing wonderfully!! I had planned to go spend some time today with her, but in light of my evening, I chose to stay home and rest. She was scheduled today to get a trach and I wanted to be there for a little while to give her support. Gary went in my place and spent about 2 hours and then Aunt Nell went up this afternoon. They both said that she was just as perky as they'd seen her in weeks! Very alert and writing many notes. They did the trach at the bedside around 2 o'clock and let Aunt Nell back in around 4pm. She was still very perky and looked SO much better without the tube in her mouth. I'm hoping to see a rapid progress in the next few days. More to come.

I had a wonderful experience last night. I spoke to a woman, a complete stranger, about to undergo the same surgery as me (but she's having a single-sided mastectomy with reconstruction.) Our experiences have been very similar in many ways. She is a friend of a co-worker of mine and when they learned about our experiences they put us in touch. At my invitation she called me last night on the eve of her own surgery. I was able to fill her in on my hospitalization and answer her questions and fears.

Continuing on my own story; on Sunday night I was finally transferred to a step-down unit. The staff there was incredible. I was getting up much more, sitting in the chair. I had thought far enough ahead to bring DVDs to watch. They made the time pass much faster. At our hospital, you actually have to pay for TV access. You have to purchase a prepaid card or something to that effect to get about 20 channels. Now, usually I can take or leave most of what's on TV, but when I worked on the neuro / neuro-surgical floor, I would turn on the news for my patients. I believed it helped with their orientation to the here and now. And as much as I don't like much of what is broadcast, it does help to pass the time. Until I pulled out my DVDs, time passed excruciatingly slowly!!

It was so wonderful to have visitors too! They so helped to pass the time and it was so nice to discuss something other than pain scale or bowel movements. I received several floral arrangements, the wonderfully cushie robe I mentioned earlier, an incredible basket of goodies, and a "puppy" that stayed with me constantly. Two co-workers gave me a little stuffed puppy that was soft and looks remarkably like Ripley. Very cute and gave me comfort when I missed the 'girls' (the pups at home!) Now I'm here at home. I'm navigating the stairs very well; they are much easier than I thought they would be. My walker was delivered today and, oh, what a difference that makes. I was getting around fine without it, but I have much less lower back pain when I use the walker since I have to walk hunched over for now. I've settled into a routine. I wake up and have coffee in bed, listen to NPR and watch the Bay come alive. Then I come downstairs, have breakfast, read email, do my assigned exercises, and then maybe nap on the couch. (Now that my walker is here, I'll probably add a couple of laps on the porch...) After lunch I go back upstairs for another nap and then come back down to do more exercises and have dinner with the family. Then maybe a movie or some TV and back up to bed for the evening. If I'm able I will try to go visit mom once or twice a week. We still have no idea when she will be able to come home. Day-by-day...

Thanks to all of you for your calls and emails. I have continued to read them and enjoy every single one!! Your love and support is palpable and helps to heal me!