A little backstory first:
Last Friday, I had my scheduled abdominal hernia surgery. It's been something I've been happily avoiding since Will was born, nearly 2.5 years ago, but it was time and we really like our general surgeon, so I scheduled it.
It was supposed to be same-day surgery, which was a huge relief to both Kyle and I, but it very nearly ended up not being that way.
Apparently, I wasn't very cooperative about lying still while under heavy sedation and kept asking for Kyle, so they put me under general anesthesia. Also, the hernia was pretty large.
After recovery, they gave me the option of staying for a day or two, or going home. You bet your sweet bippy that I got as dressed as fast as I could and made Kyle take me home!
Some interesting things happened during recovery and over the last few days, and they are fast becoming my favorite stories to share ---- also because I'm home-bound and this is the only material I have.
1) As I became more awake and lucid during recovery, my nurse leaned over and asked me "do you remember what you said to me when you were first coming out?". Of course, my answer was "um, no??". She gave me this huge smile and said, "you said, 'Did you guys give me Abs of Steel?'".
 |
| credit here |
2) Since I've had 7 c-sections, I know a little bit about recovering from surgery, and I tried to have as much of my surroundings planned out and prepared beforehand. Staying hydrated is really important, especially when you are taking painkillers, but it can be difficult to move your body in order to actually consume beverages. That's where this comes in handy:
 |
| The "Catholic" part is optional, but why take the chance? |
3) Kyle generously took a week's vacation to stay home and care for me and the kids, and I tried to have a few things planned out for them, so they wouldn't go stir crazy. In all of my preparations, I forgot about entertaining me! Fortunately, my awesome youngest sister showed up the night before my surgery with an armful of magazines and bags of bite-size candies!
4) Kyle has been doing all the jobs I normally would do this week and that includes a lot of driving. In Illinois, you are required to use a hands-free device with your cell phone while driving. So, Kyle has been using his voice recognition texting to send messages. The technology may not be perfect. Here is a sample of his texts to me:
And my sister texting me after receiving his texts:
Joe was working at the pool's concession stand and Kyle wanted to ask him about the funnel cakes. This is the text Joe received: "Do you have Hello Kitty Weed?", to which Joe replied, "No, we don't have weed of any kind. Sorry."
5) One final not-so-favorite: a prayer request for me. Apparently, I have contracted a staph infection in the vein where my IV was placed. I'm on heavy-duty antibiotics, but staph in the bloodstream isn't anything to mess around with, so prayers for a quick healing would be very much appreciated. I promise to offer up any discomfort for your intentions!
