A week ago, tonight, I shared a room with my daughter and the most ice chips any hospital has ever produced. The procedure itself was over in less than an hour, that morning, but I was still feeling the affects of the gas pumped into my remainder of stomach and the cuts and bruises all over my middle.
I stayed overnight in the hospital about an hour away from home so it was really cool of my girl to drop on a cot and just be with me for the duration. She was sincerely helpful in every way. I found myself mothering her just as much as I always do - insisting to nurses to keep the lights down, to let her sleep whenever I could get up to walk the floor on my own - but she turned the tables on me whenever possible.
We had the most fun walking through the quiet hallways, just talking and laughing but trying not to wake anybody who could try sleeping. I was getting doses of pain medicine through an IV so I wasn't feeling much discomfort and could walk relatively OK...dragging my hospital gown and IV pole along. Several people tried to adjust the gown so it'd be shorter than me but none of the string-tied alterations stayed in place. No big, I learned to walk with the constant threat of tripping and NO FALLS. I did alright. :) I stubbed my toes on the base of my IV pole countless times though.
Whatever, it was all fuel for humor between my daughter and I. She was overtired and fresh from college stress so the two of us made a heck of a pair as we waddled around from place to place. The staff at the hospital was always encouraging, extremely helpful. I didn't want for anything. Even the nurse who comes in to check blood sugar came to see me at regular intervals.
We were impressed!
That night, I was introduced to chicken broth, beef broth, sugar-free orange jell-o, water, ice chips, sugar-free popsicles...whatever I felt I could take in. I kept with the ice chips mostly because they -felt- good and my throat was still raw from the mandatory breathing tube I had during surgery.
I slept off and on, talked with Hopper and the nursing staff, paid a little attention to TV and rolled into the next day like I didn't just have a big piece of an organ removed.
I still haven't felt the change in my actual stomach yet. At only 1 week out, I'm still sipping on liquids so there hasn't been a test of any sort to see what the new size holds. I did get to see blue chalky dye stuff move through me while in radiology the next day...but still no real *feeling* toward the small pouch.
Overall I am feeling well. I maneuver OK and most of that movement is pain-free. I haven't taken any pain medicine in a few days. I've been sleeping here and there. Trying to get comfortable in bed is probably the hardest thing about being home but it's gotten a little easier. I'm managing. :)
My disposition is good and so far I can say, "Yes, I'm glad I did this." I will let you know if that changes.
No comments:
Post a Comment