...Shift change for the nurses also occurred between 7:00-7:30.. So we met my new nurse, Nurse Liz, & she quickly became our favorite.. She was kind, understanding, funny, the kind of person you feel like you've known for a long time.. She never questioned when I asked for pain meds.. She took the initiative to bring Matt food, drinks, & coffee even without him asking for him, & anything else that we did ask for.. She explained the hospital food process to us.. Instead of having meals delivered at a set time every day, they actually had a menu that you call & order from any time between 7am-6:30pm & order anything you want.. There was even a guest menu for Matt, so that he literally never had to leave the room even to eat.. Added bonus-- the food was tasty!...
...A fresh hospital gown, towels & washcloths, & toiletries were brought in for me to bathe.. Matt helped me sponge bathe & dress.. At one point during my bath, Nurse Liz just came on in my room & swept back my privacy curtain-- automatically I quickly covered & said, "Um, I'm bathing".. Without batting an eye, or even looking at me, she said, "Oh that's ok, I don't mind!" & continued what she was doing at my room's medical computer.. At first, I didn't know what to do, but quickly realized how silly it was to feel bashful around a nurse, much less a female nurse, much less Nurse Liz! who I felt so comfortable around.. I felt sheepish, & resumed bathing..
...I was encouraged to walk the hallway.. As I barely shuffled along wheeling my IV in one hand, & holding my catheter bag in my other hand with Matt by my side, I began to chuckle.. I turned to Matt, saying, "I never thought I'd be that person that shuffles down the hallway holding their pee bag"...
...The rest of the day is a blur of pain meds, ordering lunch, & resting.. A doctor came in sometime in the afternoon to see how things were going & see if I felt up to going home- the only requirements for medical release were being able to hold down food & walk a little.. She said I certainly didn't have to go home if I didn't feel up to it,.. but I didn't see any reason why not.. She checked everything, answered our questions, chose the 5 meds to send to the pharmacy, & gave discharge instructions & my long list of physical restrictions.. Over the course of the next few hours, Nurse Liz taught us how to manage my catheter, bringing me a leg strap for the tube, & how to manage it under clothes, how to empty the bag & record the amounts.. She & Matt both helped me get dressed.. She showed us how to use a safety pin to hang the urine bag inside my loose yoga pants-- it hung down at my calf & with the long tubing peeking out at the bottom of my pants, along with the sheer bulkiness of it, it was clear it was in there but I didn't care-- my modesty was long thrown out the window.. She asked me what shoes I brought- I told her sneakers- I mean, they seemed the obvious easy comfortable post-op shoes, right?.. She frowned & said, "No flip flops or anything?".. I hadn't realized that fluid swelling was an issue for a while.. With no other shoe options, she said I should simply wear the hospital grippy socks but that she would bring me a fresh pair to put on literally right before I got in the car so as not to bring home hospital 'contamination'.. She brought me fresh pain meds to go ahead & take in anticipation of the road trip..
...We'd opted not to go home with the typical daily Lovenox blood thinner injections- it was a calculated risk that Dr Tanner felt was probably best due to my choice limitations if a bleed were to occur, but he was on the fence about it & ultimately left it up to us- we opted against it.. What it came down to was that, while a blood clot would be devastating, the risk was relatively low of having one.. but if something happened & a bleed occurred, which was more likely than a blood clot in my surgery's case, it would most likely be fatal if I wouldn't accept a blood transfusion... So it simply made sense to us to decline-- extra walking it would be, as well as flexing my feet & ankles back & forth at least every 30-60 minutes.. Neither Nurse Liz nor the discharge doctor questioned our decision, but Nurse Liz reiterated the magnitude of the importance of the walking & flexing, stating, "Soreness won't kill ya, but a blood clot sure can!"...
...By the time the discharge was official & Matt had gone down to the pharmacy to get my meds, it was around 4:30pm that my wheelchair arrived.. Nurse Liz gave me a hug, & asked if we would come by & see her after my first pre-op visit the following week-- she "wanted to see me without that urine bag"... I'd only known her for a day & I was already going to miss her!.. Matt carried our overnight bags, discharge folder, & meds while the super quiet tech wheeled me to the elevators.. A few other people entered the elevator off of lower floors as we went down.. One middle-aged lady kept looking at me, I could see her from the side.. I glanced briefly up at her & saw she had a tender sympathetic smile.. Seeing me glance at her, she quickly looked away, but when I also turned back, she clearly turned her head back to look again.. I didn't know how to feel- I knew she meant no harm, but I had no idea what she was thinking & the staring embarrassed me...
...Since Matt was parked close to the parking garage elevators, w/ the parking garage being underground straight below the hospital, instead of him driving around to the hospital front doors to pick me up, the tech just went down the few extra floors to the garage.. At the car door, we changed my grippy socks & threw the others away, as Nurse Liz said to.. And before I knew it, we were heading home & I was holding my stomach to brace it, & flinching with pain at every single little bump & turn.. Matt tried his best to be careful & slow, & sweetly apologized over every single bump or break-- probably at least a hundred times on the way home, the sweet man.. But nothing makes you feel how much bumping around typically goes on in a car on the road like your belly feeling like any shaking will burst your whole torso open, spilling your guts out all over the place.. It was a terribly long 2+ hour ride home...
...At home, Matt ever so sweetly helped me out of the car & slowly make my way to the front deck steps-- he & Antonio had built handrails on it just a few weeks ago, just for this purpose-- I truly have the best boys in the world.. Those handrails were lifesavers-- I could lean heavily on both rails on both sides going up, with Matt's hand gently behind me on my back.. He helped me into the front door & get settled comfortably on the sofa, with my meds lined up, along with my post-op breathing apparatus, water bottle, crackers, & chocolate on a TV tray right beside me.. We figured out the best positioning of the catheter tubing & urine bag-- so awkward, but at least it wasn't physically uncomfortable.. Antonio was going to stay one more night at his friends' house.. So, I talked to him briefly on the phone before we settled in for the night- it had only been 2 days, but with all that had taken place it felt like so much longer.. He's a sweet boy.. I could hear the tender concern & love in his voice.. Matt had kept him updated throughout.. I was glad he was having a nice time-- good friends are more valuable than all the physical treasures in the world.. I also really looked forward to seeing him..
...Matt was taking the next day off of work to be with me, so we took our time in going to bed.. The rest of the night is a blur of Oxycodone, choppy sleep, strange dreams, & pain.. But at least we were home.. At least now focus could be on recovery.. It was only up from here right?.. So we thought...
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