After a long surgery and a longer than expected stay in the hospital, I returned home late in the afternoon on Friday. Thank you for all of your encouragement. This has been a surprisingly painful operation. The Dilaudid I am taking for the pain just manages to take the edge off for about 1 1/2 hours. When it wears off, it is really rough. When I woke up from the surgery, my doctor told me the pain would be terrible. I could expect to have muscle spasms along with the searing pain.
When he began the operation, he was surprised to find 3 hernias and tons of scar tissue. (The scar tissue makes sense. This is my 3rd abdominal surgery in the last 10 months.) He removed the scar tissue and repaired the hernias, placing a 10 x 12 inch sheet of mesh in my abdomen to prevent hernias in the future.
He was not kidding about the pain! Worse than the contractions I endured when Zoë was born, honestly! I guess it is going to be a long, slow recovery. I am mostly sleeping, walking (helps relieve the pain temporarily), and sipping on tea, juice, and water. I can't really handle solid foods right now, but that's fine by me. I'm hoping to see a good weight loss after my body settles itself down. I'm currently up 10 lbs. because of the fluids, etc. I expected that, as it seems to happen every time I have surgery. My true weight should show in a couple of weeks.
I'm starting to fade, so I'm going to sign off. I'm hoping to be well enough to attend a party for my fellow Class of 1985 graduates this Friday, but right now, things look "iffy" at best. In the meantime, thanks again for your messages of hope and encouragement!
Until Next Time,
Nancy