The Day After (aka Christmas Eve)

I woke up the day after my surgery feeling loopy and not very well-rested. Oh, and thirsty. And a little hungry.

I was extra sore when I got out of bed - it had been a rough night. Like I mentioned in a prior post, I woke up several times throughout the night. Also, it was hard to sleep comfortably because I normally sleep on my stomach and it was off-limits. I was suppose to sleep on my back but I occasionally shifted over to one side or the other. It hurt to shift and it hurt to sleep on either side, making sleep difficult. Mom came in to check on me and to give me more medicine. I seriously couldn't stand the thought of drinking it, but I knew I needed to in order to help my body heal quickly. I walked a few times up and down the hall while Mom prepared my breakfast - beef broth and apple juice.

I rested awhile after eating, then Mom suggested I give myself a sponge bath. It hurt quite a bit to stand in the bathroom and gently wash my body. The five "cuts" hadn't bled since the day before, but they still looked pretty gross. The tape from the guaze had left marks on my skin (I'm pretty sensitive) which made the scene look even worse. Oh, and I started to get really dizzy. I hurried to put my contact lenses in after I had "bathed", but almost passed out before making it to Mom's bed. I rested for a bit, then when I felt better, Mom washed my hair in the sink - a painful process as I had to lean forward against the sink - then blew it dry and styled it for me. It felt really good to be relatively clean and to have my hair done. Totally worth the pain and dizziness.

Mom ran to the store while I rested some more and bought me extra food that my doctor said I could eat - pudding, cottage cheese, and applesauce. She forgot the applesauce. For lunch, while everyone else ate ham and funeral potatoes, I had cottage cheese and apple juice. The cottage cheese, though not exactly solid, was the closest thing to solid that I'd had in what felt like forever.

Kevin had his son Scott for the day, so he opened his presents from us and his dad. We let the other two kids open a few presents, too. I love watching them open presents! Brooke always says, "This is just what I've always wanted!" She says it sincerely, packed with enthusiasm and glee. She chose to open my present to her and insisted on wearing the tutu the rest of the day.

Though in a lot of pain, tired, and woozy, I decided to go to Dad's house because everyone was opening their presents from him and I wanted to watch. The trip across town hurt, but once I got to Dad's and was able to rest on the couch for a bit, I started to feel a little better. We opened presents and it was fun to see what everyone received. My dad gives the adult children money right after Thanksgiving and instructs us to buy whatever we want. Then we take our purchases to him and he and Paula wrap them. So, we already know what we're getting; the fun comes from seeing what others bought themselves. When I bought myself a PlayStation2 a couple years ago, my brothers, knowing I'm not much of a video game player, thought it was just the box - it was the big surprise that year.

After presents, everyone ate and I tried a little chicken broth. Not as tasty or filling as beef broth. The others had pizza and it sure looked good. I was just about sick of not eating solid food, but I also didn't really feel like I could handle anything beyond broth and apple juice. By the time everyone had finished eating, I was feeling really tired and sore, but I didn't want to ruin anyone's fun, so I agreed to play a new game Dad had gotten for the family. It was a lot of fun but took a long time. I was really close to winning but could have been stopped, but the others were ready for the game to be over and they could tell I was in a lot of pain, so they let me win. My sister-in-law told me later that I was really pale and my eyes showed I was in a lot of pain. I wish I was better at reading eyes. In stories the characters can always tell what someone is thinking/feeling by looking in their eyes, but I don't think I could.

Anyhoo, we packed up and headed back to Mom's house. I barely made it to Mom's bed before letting the tears start to fall. My neice had followed me back and became really worried when she saw me crying. She ran down the hall shouting for Grandma (my mom) to come quickly. Mom came, saw me crying, helped me into bed, and hurried to get my pain medicine. She gave me a sip, waited, then tilted the cup but nothing came out before she took the cup away again. I told her I didn't get any and it reminded me of the numerous times this had happened in the hospital and I started to laugh. Laughing hurt like a mug, so I cried more, then laughed. Mom started laughing while admonishing me to stop laughing so it wouldn't hurt more. We both couldn't stop laughing so Mom left the room, laughing down the hall. We finally calmed down enough for her to give me the rest of the medicine. Bleh! That stuff is so awful! It worked, though.

I stayed in bed most the evening, only getting out to say goodbye to Corey's family and wish them a Merry Christmas. I wasn't lonely, though. Every so often, someone would come talk to me, then someone else would take their place. The kids stopped by often. They thought it was fun hanging out with Aunt Julie on Grandma's bed. After awhile, Brooke became really worried that Santa would be coming soon and she didn't want him to pass by because they weren't there. We tried to explain that Santa doesn't come until midnight or later and it was only 9:30, but she wasn't taking any chances. So, they left.

I stayed up a little longer to talk to Kevin and Mom, but the medicine makes me tired, so I finally went to bed. Mom, Kevin, and I had decided to go to Corey's house the next morning to see what Santa had brought the kids and to watch them open up their family's presents, but as I laid there, still in quite a bit of pain, I wasn't sure I'd make it. It was hard to think about not being there and participating but after being in so much pain from overdoing it at Dad's, I didn't want to overdo it again. I decided to decide in the morning then drifted off into a troubled sleep - I still woke up everytime I changed positions and sometimes just because. It was a long night.