2 PM in Albuquerque, NM. The recovering patient is asleep in her own bed, my mother-in-law is cleaning my house from stem to stern, and I am hiding in my office, "working."
It has been a hectic 24+ hours since I last posted here. Lor was walked around the hospital floor several times last night, discovered the reduced capacity of her new stomach pouch the hard way (no room for error on drinking just a little too much anymore!), and been awakened by hospital staff asking "Are you sleeping?"every two hours.The hospital staff members have been great, but anyone can tell you that a hospital is no place to get well.
So, by 6 AM this morning, Lor, her mother and I were all sitting around the hospital room, waiting for her release. A doctor showed up promising freedom at about 7 AM, and by 11 AM or so (you know, hospital time) Lor was finally out the door and on her way home. She arrived here at noon or so, and is now resting as comfortably as you can with 5 new holes punched through your abdomen, and the MIL and I are doing the best we can to avoid interrupting that rest.
Lor is actually doing pretty well today, all things considered. Her mobility is good, she has had little interest in pain meds, and her biological functions are slowly returning to normal. Once the post-surgical inflammation recedes a bit we will get a "real" idea of what her new stomach capacity is. Right now she can only have a couple of sips of anything before she is forced to quit for half an hour or so. It seems slow to us, but she is right on target according to her medical team. We are doing our best to not get in the way of the folks that do hundreds of these a year, even when certain things seem weird. Not easy for control freaks like Lor and I.
For this weekend, we plan to just let her recover, walk her around the house (slowly), and get this healing process underway. I continue to hope for a steady recovery for her, but knowing her tendencies it may be necessary to apply the brakes now and again. If she had it her way, she would be ready to run a marathon tomorrow.
I will let everyone know how the process is going on Monday morning. Enjoy your Father's Day weekend!
Very, Very Tired,
- Hawkwind
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