Well, I have been relieved of yet another extraneous body part (thanks MJ!) with the removal of my tetchy gall bladder last Wednesday (Warren's birthday, by the way). And recovering nicely thank you very much.
Of course, it was not without it's (minor) complications. What was supposed to be an outpatient surgery turned into an overnighter when I had a bad reaction to the anesthesia, something that had never happened to me before. It wasn't even decided until almost midnight that I would be admitted; once in my hospital room (exhausted, nauseous and groggy from morphine) I was still asked the million and one admission questions by a nurse whose accent I had trouble understanding (and so many were repeated more than once). I'm sure this was a welcome diversion for the other patient in the room (who really wants to waste time sleeping when such fun is to be had!) but for me it was excruciating. I did well from the moment I was admitted and of course was discharged by noon the next day, none the worse for the wear and highly entertained by my roommate's backstory which included: drugs, alcohol, rehab stints, a 12-year-old son home alone, government-funded housing, medical self-treatment, an ex-husband with custody, an enabling mother, a suspicious social worker, weeping, threatening, shifting stories, gastric bypass surgery, 4 gallons of vodka, a current husband (residence unknown), a National Enquirer, taxi vouchers, a jovial male nurse ("Hang in there!"), discourse on the best and worst hospitals on Long Island (she's been to quite a few), and outright lies. Didn't miss my Blackberry and People magazine at all!
Recovery is going well. I only needed the fun painkillers the first day home (just Tylenol since then), I've gone out walking to get my body back in condition, and I will be back at work on Monday, albeit with the restriction of no lifting or exercise (what, no yoga again?!) for a couple of weeks. And I need to continue, for awhile at least, with the low-fat diet I've been "enjoying" this past month. While it freaks me out a little that I've now had 2 surgeries in the course of one year (3, I guess, if you count the fibula bone removal as a separate surgery), I'm glad that I had this done. Indeed, the doctor did find some scar tissue on my gall bladder from the attacks, so waiting and risking further attacks would have just led to a more complicated procedure than the simple one I ended up having ("lap choley" as those of us in the know call it). All that being said - I wouldn't mind taking a (permanent?) break from surgery!
Once again, I am thankful for all the support and prayers I received but a special shout-out must go to the young ones in my neighborhood: Abby and Anthony for helping their mom do some shopping for me and for their beautiful card; and Caralynn for her awesome gift (a colorful, homemade bowl that now holds my Jelly Bellies) and sweet card. I am doubly blessed with great neighbors AND their amazing offspring.
Some cool things I got to enjoy these past couple of weeks: a visit with Taryn in Maryland; a visit from Ian this weekend; talking to Emily about her upcoming study abroad in Russia; the Yankees winning the AL East Division; teaching this year's first Sunday School class last week.
Some cool things I'm looking forward to in the next couple of weeks: Girls' Night Out (with the neighbors) on Wednesday; Girls' Night Out (with my friends in the city) on Thursday; Vinnie's Bench Party on Saturday; Parents Weekend at UM; Chicken McNuggets (duh!).
Blessings and Love to All.
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