May 21, 2020

That look on the left is me.  Maybe 6 hours after surgery.  Made it fine.  Don't know why I ever doubted.  Probably because I am human. 

Dr. Wade requested a x-ray swallow test the same day following the surgery.  That would be a check to make certain everything would go down correctly.   In addition he wanted me to stay overnight to see how food would settle in my tummy.  I was not being allowed to have anything to drink until the test was completed.  Finally about 6 PM the nurse came to say the test would not happen till the next morning. 

While I was on an IV which was keeping me hydrated, my mouth felt as if it were full of cotton balls.  After checking with Dr. Wade, I was allowed limited quantities of ice chips.  At that point ice chips were as welcome as a steak!  Which I cannot have for probably 2 months!

On Thursday morning I was the first one up for the x-ray.  The tech and doctor apologized multiple times that I had to wait.  No biggie, I was not going anywhere anyway.  Test completed and told all was great.  Yeah, I had passed another test.  One step closed to being back home.  Back to my room and I was allowed to order food.  Something warm sounded so good.  Cream of wheat it was with a cup of coffee.

Three things I learned quickly. 

1. Small bites, like 1/2 teaspoon goes down the easiest.  
2. Burping is just part of the process for a few weeks.  
3. Stomach is smaller than before surgery.  

Hubby had come up around 8 AM.  He brought a charger for my phone.  He was not allowed to enter the hospital.  He took the charger to the emergency room and it made it up to my room eventually.  Hubby returned home to await my call that I was released.  That would probably be between 2 - 3 PM.

Once the meal was complete and orders for release were received I wasted no time.  I pulled the sack out of the closet and changed into my PJs that I had worn to the hospital.  Ouch.  The waist bands were directly on top of 4 of the 5 incisions used for the surgery.  Adjusted up a bit and I was ready to go. I sat down and was asleep in a few minutes.  Jessie the nurse awoke me to sign release papers.  Hubby called and with in 20 minutes I was climbing in Icie.

The walk from Icie to the apartment felt like the longest walk I had taken in quite some time.  No time was wasted getting in the recliner and back to sleep.  The first instruction on the recovery list was rest for the first few days.  Not a problem.  No lifting, no bending, no turning or twisting, no leaning over.  Don't even think about anything using tummy muscles for at least a week or two.  Good cause it is very uncomfortable to do that!

There were calls and check ins from friends and family all over the States.  It really feels good to be surrounded by so much care and love.  Just writing about it now brings a warmth throughout my entire being.  Guess that is all for Thursday, May 21.

Peace, love and good health,
Janice

Weathering This Year

This has for sure been a year of hospitals, rehab and repairs for the residents of 3871.  Last mid-November Edna entered the hospital with pneumonia.  After 10 days, Edna was moved to skilled nursing for pulmonary rehab with a slight chance she could return to assisted living.  But it was not to be so we began the year with Gene's mom moving permanently into skilled nursing.  Then in late February, two days before my knee surgery, Edna was back in the hospital with pneumonia in both lungs, again about a 9 or 10 day stay.

I spent 8 weeks following surgery with in home and out-patient rehab for my knee.  All is going well with my knee now, thank the Lord and blessed health professionals.  The next challenge was Gene's knee and hip problem that began to really act up in late April.  Knee surgery in July followed by in home and out-patient rehab for 6 weeks for him.  He reached flex and extension goals more quickly than I cause he is tough.

In the middle of the mix of all the surgeries and rehab was the fireplace from hell repair.  Of course that started simply as replacing the carpet in a bedroom and living room.  By the last week of August we thought we had hospitals, rehab and the chimney all behind us.  But that was not to be.  Gene spent the last day of August and the next 4 days in the hospital with a clot.  He is doing good enough now that on Wednesday afternoon he mowed the front yard!

Then yesterday morning as we were trying to decide if we would work in the yard or do a project in the house another phone call.  Edna was unresponsive to the staff at the skilled nursing home.  So the decision was made for us.  We would spend the day in the emergency room.  Edna was a cognitive as she can be at this point in her almost 98 year old life.  Her mind could not figure out where she was and why she was there.  We would give her the information only to have her ask the same questions in just a few minutes.  The good news was she was responsive, knew us, our names and where Kenneth lives.  Bad news?  She has pneumonia yet again.

Today the weather was rainy and chilly.  I removed the remaining hose connections, rolled up all hoses and added support to the netting over the pond.  I did it in shorts and a tee shirt just because I was being a stubborn, old fart.  The temperature was in the mid 40's while I was doing the chores in a gentle mist.  I came in, put on a sweatshirt and have stayed in the shorts all day.

Gene changed the filters in the heating system and fired up the furnace.  There was the less than pleasant smell of heated dust in the furnace.  Supper, that is what a person that grew up in Texas on a cotton farm calls an evening meal, was simple, baked potato soup with grilled cheese sandwiches.  So here at 3871 we on the first of many cold days to come made it through the day relatively unscathed.  Pretty good for two senior citizens that have just been weathering this year.