Grateful Friday

 I am grateful to be home! (I don't know why I hesitated if I would need to take today off also.)

Surgery is rough.  I had to be at the hospital at 2:00 pm and then didn't actually go back to surgery until 3:45 and we got home at 6:30 pm.  I would have preferred it to be earlier, but no one asked.

I'm grateful it is over.  One more thing behind me.

I'm also grateful for how kind and caring everyone (friends, family, the hospital staff) was.  I'm grateful for modern medicine.  I'm grateful for scientists and doctors and nurses that have devoted their time and talents to healing.  The doctor explained to us before the procedure that he had a tool that would guide him right to the lymph node because of the tracker that was on it.  Pretty remarkable.

The original surgeon I had was on vacation this week so I had a different doctor in the same practice.  He said, "He probably would have had me do this anyway because I do these all the time and he hasn't had as much experience."

I'm grateful I got the experienced guy.

I wasn't given a pain pill prescription and I'm glad because I don't like how that makes me feel.  I was told to alternate Tylenol and Advil.  Adam gave me Tylenol right when we got home at 6:30.  He said he would give me more at 10:30.  I told him I would be asleep and I was.

I woke up at 11:30, in pain.  I got up and got the Advil and sat in my chair.  I reached across with my right hand for a notebook and pen and dropped the notebook.  It fell between the end table and chair.  I could get it with my left arm, but not now.  I looked at it and thought:  that is where you live now.  I got another pen.  I wrote down:  Advil 11:30.  I ate part of a Larabar so the Advil wouldn't hurt my empty stomach and took a drink of water and then got up to go back to bed.

Then I remembered I had never taken the Advil.

I still had enough anesthesia in me to be on the struggle bus! 

I took the Advil and from then on had a pretty restless night.  My lymph node was removed from my left armpit and I am a side sleeper and either side hurt to sleep on.  I know I'll heal though.  This won't be forever.  I'm grateful for my body's ability to heal.