News from the other side.

Pull out the pillow from between my legs, put it on top of the cover. Grab the headboard with my left hand, push myself up enough to get my right elbow digging into the bed, move my feet out to hover over the edge, push/pull/swing all together until I stand with a grunt. Sway slightly. Shuffle to the bathroom. Repeat 3x per night.

The good news is that my kidneys are in great health despite pain meds and ibuprofen!

I've been home since Thursday. I never felt nauseous from the anesthesia, the worst the pain ever got was a 3/10 (I suspect I have a relatively high pain-threshold) and I have the entire Gilmore Girls box set to tide me over to a healthy state. As of today, I'm off the Vicadin and just using ibuprofen and tylenol. The staples come out this afternoon. I suspect that I'd be up for working by a week from today, but I'm not telling work that! I'll wait until my follow-up appointment and decide from there.

My Mother-in-Law calls Every. Single. Day. She couldn't be here, so apparently, telling me what to eat, drink and do has to substitute. It's been very kind of her to be so concerned, but phew! I'm glad we don't normally do a daily phone chat. Honestly, not that much changes in 24 hours. I'm still doing well. Still enjoying my Mom's friend. The dogs still like each other. It's still sunny outside. I'm still not working.

I love having OTRmama here. She's a fun yet comforting presence. As much as I love my family, each of us are high-intensity personalities, so I think we all drain each other a bit. Jrex is extremely grateful that OTRmama can walk the dogs. In an expression of gratitude, he's been cooking for us. Yesterday was pancakes and eggs for brunch and a honey/soy-glazed salmon for dinner.

I can tell that a bunch of people are praying. There's been an overall sense of love, peace and safety throughout this whole experience. I feel a little guilty being the invalid! Jrex cooks, OTRmama cleans up and I lay around on the couch watching DVDs. It doesn't seem fair, but I'm surviving the ordeal despite the guilt!

Now for the photo essay. From there and back again.

A nurse with a sense of humor is great! I was STARVING after the surgery, but couldn't eat anything until I passed gas. Talk about losing all sense of shame! I was never so happy to announce "I farted" to a stranger.

I even had a private room! Right next to the nurses station, but earplugs (and pain meds) cover a multitude of evils.
My 'happy button'. Gave me a shot of morphine whenever I wanted it!

My beloved book pile.

Back home again, the two dogs have settled into a more or less peaceful companionship.


Doggy BFFs.

How we suffer here in the invalid household.

OTRmama and her little Azure shadow.

My throat has been raw and dry in the mornings, so I had to go to Target to buy a humidifier. The one that was ultrasonic and had an adjustable rate of flow, also comes with an elephant head! It makes me laugh every time I look at it.