When my surgeon opened me up, she found quite a surprise- my bad kidney and ureters were covered in a 1 1/2 inch thick mass of scar tissue that was wrapping around my organs and constricting them. She spent an hour removing all the offending scar tissue, then another hour widening the area of the kidney that drains into the ureters. For good measure (and to hopefully prevent the regrowth of the scar tissue), she wrapped my kidney and ureters in a protective layer of abdominal fat- yuck!- and then left a stent in my kidney to help it heal.
I woke up in the recovery room in terrible pain. I don't really remember much except asking for more morphine and then being moved into my hospital room. From there, I got to see Bryan and my dad. I was in so much discomfort that I could barely speak above a whisper, but I asked Bryan "What did they find?" He told me about the scar tissue and how the surgeon felt confident that that was the cause of the chronic pain and that she had been able to fix it. A huge smile broke across my face and I made him tell me again. And again. He probably thought the pain meds were causing me to act loopy, but I just wanted to hear those sweet words over and over. Finally, an answer. Relief. Justification for all that constant pain.
I spent the next four days in the hospital, getting my pain under control, resting and then eventually getting up and walking around. Family and friends came to see me and I got tons of beautiful flowers.
This was the view from my hospital bed.
I had so many flower arrangements in my room that I had to put some of them on my food tray. I just loved all of them! I also got several boxes of my favorite treat, Gigi's Cupcakes. I enjoyed bites of all the different types until I started having problems with nausea. Let's just say that it is tortuous to throw up when your side is full of metal staples, so I pretty much stopped eating for a few days.
Then, on Saturday afternoon, the nurses came in my room and asked me if I'd like to go home. "Get me out of here!" was my response, so Bryan carefully loaded me (and all my goodies) up and drove us home. A very happy Tino was just waiting to lay next to me and protect me.
This is a picture of me and Tino on my first day at home after Bryan got us settled in bed.
And this is a picture of my incision just five days after my surgery. The incision was held closed by a dozen metal staples and was surrounded by bruising. My abdomen was puffed up like a marshmallow and I couldn't stand up straight. There was an awful-looking dimple between my new scar and my old one from a previous kidney surgery. I cried for a while after I got a really good look at it, thinking my stomach would never be the same. Vain, I know, but it looked terrible.
Speaking of my stomach, thank the Lord that my mom came down to stay with us when Bryan had to return to work. Bryan had spent our first two days at home running out to get my smoothies, mashed potatoes, ice cream... anything that sounded appealing to me just to get me to eat. Nothing stayed put for long, though, and when he had to return to work, Mom made it her personal mission to help me get my strength back and keep food down.
Three types of nausea medication later, we figured out that I had to keep food in my stomach at all times. Bryan would start me off in the morning with some buttered toast and a round of medications and then leave for work. Then, a couple of hours later, Mom would bring me breakfast in bed:
Then, it was lunch, a snack, a gourmet dinner and dessert. Pretty soon, I started to get better every day. I spent most of my time in my "nest," a clever arrangement of our sofa and love seat that allowed me to keep my legs propped up comfortably and still see the TV. It was also the perfect spot for a long nap! Friends came by the house to check on me and I was well-stocked up with magazines and books.
After a week, I had the metal staples removed and the incision immediately looked a little less gruesome.
Here I am a week after surgery, still puffy, but now staple free and able to stand up straight!
Things really started to improve then. I tried to take a very short walk once a day around our cul-de-sac, but since I couldn't comfortably wear pants, I had to do all of my walking in pajamas or a sundress!
Here I am modeling a comfy, new dress.
By July 4th, I was ready to get out of the house and have a little fun. We had some delicious tacos for dinner with some friends and family and then enjoyed the fireworks show at UCO.
Tino and I enjoyed our patriotic Independence Day shirts from my mom.
After three weeks, the scar was looking even better and my abdomen was finally getting flatter, Praise the Lord!
I'm still completely numb on the left side of my abdomen and very sore, but I'm looking and feeling better.
Today, I made my first attempt at getting back to work. Next week, I go back in the hospital to have my stent removed and to check the progress of my internal healing. It will be another 3-5 weeks until I'm considered "well," but I am certainly in very positive spirits. I am so grateful for all of the prayers, kindness and support that my family and friends have shown me over the past months. I feel incredibly humbled and blessed and so happy and relieved to be moving on from this difficult phase.
1 comment:
I was glad to cook for you and help you through this rough time. I know you will be feeling better every day.
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