Surgery continued

TUESDAY

This was a pretty difficult day in the hospital. Keelie & I didn't get much sleep in the wee hours of the morning between the IV machine beeping, nurses and techs coming in, and just not being able to. Around 5 am I decided I would sit up again and possibly walk. I don't think the nurse believed I was actually going to because she left the room while I was sitting up on the side of the bed and didn't return for quite awhile. However this allowed me to feel more comfortable being upright and let me stretch and helped me to feel better overall. Eventually the nurse returned and I was ready to walk. We slowly walked halfway down the hall, to the nurses station, and back. The nurse seemed impressed that I had already walked and she must have told the tech because she walked in like she already knew and seemed impressed too. Hello, my pre-op class told me that I would be up walking after surgery so I needed to stay on target! :-)

I thankfully got my hated catheter out at noon, which thrilled me. However, the afternoon was quite hard. My IV that was put in the day before for surgery quit working, which I brought to the nurse's attention after I noticed my arm swelling and hurting. What followed definitely felt like terror. The nurse proceeded to poke me three times in attempts to making new IV's work. She put one in my right arm, which set the IV machine off every time I moved my right hand. Since I am right-handed it was quite difficult to not move. After the machine going off numerous times, my arm starting to swell, and the nurse saying that the IV had quit working, she then pricked me in my left arm which immediately blew the vein. Next the same nurse moved the IV to another spot in my left arm and that one set the machine to beeping almost every time I breathed. IT WAS MISERABLE!!! The beeping was driving me insane, really. I could not make the nurse understand that I wasn't even moving my hand, as she accused me of quite a few times, and it would just go off. I even walked down to the nurses station to talk to them about it, and that is when I just lost it. The nurse made the comment that I was just too tall for the IV machine. Really? SERIOUSLY? Another nurse standing nearby commented how I wasn't too tall. Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm not nearly the tallest person to ever have an IV. What in the world?! And in the midst of it all the tech thought it would be a great time to take my blood pressure, pulse ox, and temp, and to continually giggle. I was done. Hit a wall. I commented how I wasn't feeling well and then just started crying. I made it back to my room and couldn't stop crying. FINALLY another nurse came in and put a new IV in my right arm that worked and didn't set the machine off. She was my hero! My IV worked correctly the rest of the time. I also requested that my nurse and tech not be my nurse and tech again the next day. They didn't return for the rest of my stay. Thank you Jesus! After my breakdown Keelie graciously volunteered to stay with me Tuesday night as well. She was a GREAT help!

working on breathing Tuesday evening

flowers from Leah, Leigh Ann, Marge, & Hannah that arrived Tuesday

WEDNESDAY

I slept a lot this day and it felt great. I had quite a few visitors as well. Uncle James dropped by around 11 am for a visit. Then Mom arrived around noon to help me get a shower. I hadn't had one since Monday before surgery and I was REALLY wanting one. It was pretty horrible, honestly. There wasn't an actual "shower". There was a bathroom with a toilet and sink on one side and a shower head on the other with a drain in the floor. I still had my drain in my side, and had to have my IV and incisions covered, so it made it quite challenging. I sat on the shower chair with my back to the water as Mom would spray me down. I was quite glad when that 45 MINUTE shower was done. I had been unplugged from my IV (so no pain meds) and was in pain.

Leah, Margaret, Paul, and Hannah came for a visit that evening. The nurse dropped by during their visit to unplug me from my IV for good. Goodbye morphine! ;-) Courtney arrived to spend the night with me. Then Deborah and Caryn popped in for a visit as well.

Wednesday night, tiring out

beautiful flowers from Deb & Caryn, roses and stargazer lilies, my fav!

THURSDAY

Going home day!!! My doctor stopped in early and said I could go home. Yippeee!!!!!! The nurse took my drain out and I felt like a new woman!!! I practically bounced out of bed. The discharge papers went through, Keelie, Mom, and Dad arrived to help me and Court load up, and I was OUT OF THERE! Being at home and in my own bed was the best thing EVER!!!! No more hospital bed killing my back or nurses trying to drive me nuts! Yay! No more hospitals stays for me in the near future, fingers crossed!!!!