SURGERY AND BEYOND

Surgery has come and gone, it went well.  It took 94 minutes Dr. Landers told Gene from first incision to finish.  Gene and our Daughter Tracey were there waiting for me when I came out of recovery.  There was very little pain, of course I was still coming out of anesthesia.  Over all  I did very well in the pain department, I took oral pain meds for the first 3 days,  the most pain came from the gas they pump into you to give the Doc room to work.  I was up and walking the same day.  The worst part of being in the hospital is that someone is always checking on you every hour and it's hard to get any sleep.  The care I received from Group Health and Overlake Hospital was great.  I ended up being in the hospital 2 extra days due to fluid building up in my lungs causing Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) 2 days on Lasix took care of that and I came home on Sunday afternoon.  I've not had to take any pain meds since the Saturday Night before I came home.  Gene is taking very good care of me and making sure I don't overdo.  I am down 10 lbs. and I am amazed at the difference it's made in how I feel, no shortness of breath at the least exertion, my pain in my back  5 minutes into doing something.

I can not remember how long it's been since I was able to stand at my kitchen counter and prepare and cook a meal with out needing to sit on a stool, 5-10 minuets in and my back was in severe pain, had to wash and rinse dishes in stages.  Cleaning and sweeping floors was next to impossible.  Yesterday Gene and I spent a very quiet day at home.  I prepped and cooked homemade enchiladas, making my own homemade enchilada sauce for Gene, standing at my kitchen counter.   No sitting and no back pain.  Did it again today.  In fact taking Tylenol numerous times a day was the norm for me because of pain, almost any exertion at all was cause for aches and pains.  I have not had lower back pain at all since coming home.  Many of you know that as we get older the old bladder acts up and we are quite prone to leaking shall we say as we go from sitting to standing, and that has not been a problem at all since surgery.

Today Gene and I went on our first outing since coming home, going to the VA for his Dr's. appointment, usually by the time we get there he has to drop me off at the canteen which has the nearest bathroom.  It is then a chore to walk from the canteen next door to the hospital for his appointment with out being short of breath and having to make a stop or two.  Today no drop off at the canteen, no problem with shortness of breath or pain walking from the parking lot to the front door and all around the hospital.  Gene's appointment went very well except for the fact that his PA is retiring and she has been such a special part of our lives since taking Gene to the VA the day after we got here with congestive heart failure. (CHF)  She has done so much to care for him that he has lost 71 lbs. and no longer has CHF along with his heart PA.  We will miss her and her care for him very much.

I am slowly making the transition from clear liquids to a full liquid diet to include soups and sugar free puddings etc. and then go into pureed foods.  I had no problem cooking for Gene and wanting to taste my sauce before giving it to him, it sure smelt good but not even a finger tip in it.  The two worst problems I have are taking my pills one at a time because my tummy is so small so it's take 1 pill, wait 10 minutes for it to start to dissolve and then do it over again.  The second is I miss chewing on something solid.  By the way I no longer have to take my oral meds for Diabetes, just my insulin which will slowly decrease as I lose more weight.  After the walking went so well today tomorrow it's time to get on the treadmill and see how long I can go, 5 minutes has been my length of time before the shortness of breath and pain kicked in.

Over all it has been a very successful week, I feel better than I've felt in a long time.  I told Gene this morning that I don't know whether it makes any sense or not that I feel better in my skin and my clothes.

God is indeed good in all things.  Thank you all so much for your prayers and support.

Linda