Well I’m cut from under my right breast down to where my ribcage ends. I was in surgery for almost three hours and then in recovery for another three. I managed to get up and walk last night (speeds recovery), but only about 20 feet and back.
My Mom stayed the night with me to help me. I managed to sleep fairly well thanks to the pain pump. I woke up about once an hour to press the button that released pain medication into my system. I had an allergic reaction to one of the medications so my left arm is wicked swollen — elephantitis of the arm! They had to put an IV in my neck because the arm veins were shot! I have never had an IV in the neck. Apparently the IV therapy team will be coming some time today to put in a deeper PIC line in my right arm and take the neck IV out, which is good because it’s really uncomfortable.
The surgery went well. My gallbladder had a huge stone. Apparently I also have a ton of adhesions from my past surgeries so the surgeon couldn’t explore as much as she had wanted to. The GI team is worried about more intessuceptions so they are coming up with a plan to try to stop it from recurring and are also going to tell me what to watch for in case it happens again.
I’m supposed to be in the hospital through Friday and then they’ll release me to home. I won’t be able to return to work until July 7. Coincidentally, that’s when my next class starts. I have to decide now whether I’m up to taking classes next session or whether I need to wait until fall.
Zzzzzzzz _ sleepy time now.
