Hi!....I'm back!

It wore me out just reading all the posts from Bret and Kay and all the comments from all of you. Thank you so much to all of you that will take a minute out of your day to post a message to me...I really enjoy reading them. I also really appreciate all the cards, emails, food and gifts we have received this week. You are all wonderful! Sorry it has taken me so long to write but I really do seem to have a hard time getting all that anesthtetic out of my head. Just kind of feel like I have been in a fog this week.

On the day of my surgery I remember being very calm. A Pastor came in and prayed with me and then she did Healing Touch with me which really relaxed me and left me feeling very peaceful. I will probably continue to get those sessions. I remember they told us about the delays but then they came in and said they would give me TWO ativan to help relax me and that was it...I was in la la land for good. I do remember Carissa coming in and giving me a very special surgical hat to wear...it was bright green and covered with lady bugs which she said she chose for good luck. I loved it and I was told by the surgeon's the next day that the hat created quite a buzz in the operating room...they all wanted to know how I got one of those!! Yep - I got friends in high places!! Next thing I remember is chicken noodle soup running down my chin and then dozing on and off all night and chatting with my humorous nurse. The first surgeon came in at 4:30 to talk and the other two were in around 5:30 and said pack up and get ready to go. That's when I called Bret. I was glad that we would not have to wait all day...I just want to be home and in my own bed. I left the hospital with two drain tubes. These drain what my ps surgeon refers to as wound juice for lack of a better name. The fluid collects in two small bottles and Bret drains them and measures them and keeps track of how much we get each day - YUCK! I also had another tube which was connected to what we called the pain ball. It was a ball about the size of a large orange that was full of medicine. The tube went from the ball to each of the wound sites. It was slowly delivering numbing medicine...Nurse Bret removed that this morning and cleaned everything up. The other two drains will stay in until Friday for the PS to remove...those are stitched in. The pain really has been tolerable..the worst thing was this stupid bra that felt like it was made out of steel for a chick that maybe weighed 90 pounds...I could tell it was cutting right into the fat on my stomach....when we finally got the ok from the PS to cut the elastic I got a lot of relief...

My Mom has been a great help and it is just nice to have her here. The kids seem to be doing fine...Heather had Jillian for two nights and they had a great time....that was the first time Jillian stayed away from us but it didn't seem to phase her...Thanks Heather!

Now, let's talk about Nurse Bret. They say you get married for better or worse and Bret sure has gotten the worse part here lately. I have not even looked at myself in a mirror with the bandages off but Bret doesn't even blink an eye...I just wanted to cry yesterday when he was giving me a shower...I just seemed so helpless and I am not used to being in that condition but true to fashion he just kept cracking the jokes and kept on washing....we made a huge mess in the bathroom so hopefully we will get better at this before Friday...the PS said I am not supposed to shower until then but I couldn't even imagine that so we are being very creative with ziploc bags and towels to keep the wounds dry. Anyway, I hope he knows how thankful I am for all he does and do make an effort to let him know how much I appreciate all he does.

Well, I think it's nap time again....thanks for all the prayers...what a huge relief to hear about the clean pathology...now it's time to just focus on healing and living the best life possible.

I want to put out a prayer request for my co-worker and friend JoAnn. She was supposed to have her tonsils removed yesterday. I know that can be a very tough surgery so I just hope that she has a minimal amount of pain and is feeling better soon - love ya!