6:00 AM. So early that even the nesting birds are wanting to know "What the heck are you doing up so early, man?" as I walk by their nests.
The good news, since I know you have all been waiting for it, is that Lor came through the surgery 100% successfully. Her surgeon nearly gave us all a collective heart-attack when she emerged after only 45 minutes of surgery, but, no, the news was nothing more significant than that the surgery was completed, and we could see Lor shortly. There was much rejoicing, Facebook posting, telephone calls, etc. Others in the waiting room probably thought we were celebrating an ethnic holiday.
There isn't any bad news exactly. But there were some...surprises.
Post surgery, I think we were expecting a glowing, healthy person who was now totally committed to weight loss. What we got was someone who was in major amounts of pain, and suffering from the effects of anasthesia. Stupid of me to expect otherwise, but I was taken aback by the fact that the preson who went in for surgery was not the person who came out. Though she had returned to normal within a couple hours, it wasn't something I was mentally prepared for, and maybe should be included in the pre-op "training" - "Dont take anything said in the first couple of hours after surgery seriously."
A little later on yesterday, I got to see the reason that Lor was in so much pain. My first glimpse of her post-surgical abdomen gave me a serious shock. She looked, bluntly, like she had been in a knife fight.
I know, I know - what the heck was I expecting after she had scopes inserted into her abdomen in 5 different locations? What ever I was expecting, it wasn't this. Big bruises surrounding obviously punctured tissues, all across her tummy. I don't know how she is carrying on conversations, or breathing for that matter. I have a certain amount of experience with knife injuries (how is not important here), and these ones look like they are no fun at all.
So, next time someone asks me if bariatric surgery hurts, the answer should be an emphatic "yes". Got it.
We also had some administrative snafus that wound up with Lor finally getting comfortably settled in her bed, just in time to be informed that she had to move to a different room. On a different floor. Of course. Out came the wheelchair, the dance of disconnecting cables and monitors and leg-squeezers, and she was shipped up one floor, to the room literally directly above the room she had already been in. Administrative logic never ceases to confound me.
Lor's Mom took the overnight shift last night, and they are both currently still asleep 5 floors above me. I have camped out here in the cafeteria to jot all this down after sneaking out of my parent's house at 5:30 this morning to drive the 5 miles over to the hospital Lor is at. Thank God for our families - this would have been a nightmare without all the familial help and support we have received.
Thanks also to all of you - Lor was the subject of prayer chains, the focus of positive energy flows, and the receipient of remote healing energy from across the country. I can't thank everyone enough for your care and interest in the well-being of the person who is the center of my life. My heartfelt thanks to all of you.
Wondering If 7 AM Is Still Too Early,
- Hawkwind
PS - No pics for the next few days, my poor Kindle isn't the best tool for blogging.
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