Apologies for not posting on Tuesday. At the pre-op appointment we were told that I would be the first surgery of the day which is what I had hoped for. The Dr. expected the surgery would be about an hour and I would be out of the hospital by noon. Sounded great. Tuesday did not go as planned. 

My arrival time on Tuesday was 6am and I was promptly taken back to get things started. Everything seemed to move pretty quickly as they got me hooked up and met with the Dr. and anesthesiologist. They literally were drawing my labs right before I was wheeled to the operating room. The Dr. thought it would take 20 minutes to get me prepped and then the surgery should be about an hour. I was taken back a little after 7:30am. So, I should be done by 9am-ish right? 

Well, almost 2 hours later, right before 11am, Toby was notified that everything went well and looked good. The Dr. ran into some challenges that she wasn't expecting. Two of the biggest ones were the amount of adhesions I had from having two C-sections and having a short abdomen. So, she ended up doing part of it laparoscopically and part vaginally to avoid damaging other areas. She said later it's usually frowned upon if you sew the bowels to other parts. My Dr. is a hoot! I told her I just wanted her to have a challenge and she said she loves challenges and it was great to have one right away in the morning! 

I was in the post-op room for almost an hour and a half. I have trouble coming out of anesthesia - this would later contribute to me staying much longer than anticipated. I vaguely remember having two bites of pudding in a really bright room. I think this was so I could take some pain medication. 

My mom had planned to come at 1pm to stay with me as Toby had another appointment to be at at 2:30. Since I wasn't home, she ended up at the hospital with me. We did have a little giggle as I was thinking my vision was super blurry. Then it occurred to me that I didn't have my glasses on! I was doing pretty ok with pain and was able to have some Starry and buttered toast without nausea. I was a little nervous to get up and get dressed to get discharged as I felt a little jittery. But I was determined to get out! Plus, I finally had to go to the bathroom which was a requirement to leave. Everything was going well. I was able to go to the bathroom on my own and the nurse helped me get dressed. I was still feeling a little off. As the nurse was going over the discharge instructions I became really hot and light headed and felt like I was going to pass out. So she said we'd take a break and I laid back down. This gave Toby time to get back as it was about an hour later that I was able to finally get discharged. We left a little after 4pm!

Each day I get a little better. I was in a pretty big haze the rest of Tuesday and for the majority of Wednesday. I felt very fuzzy and light headed. I had a significant amount of pain. The best way to describe the pain was a combination of gas pain, menstrual cramps, the day after pain of an intense core workout, and labor pains. I was on round the clock rotation of ibuprofen and tylenol and only took my oxy at bedtime. Once some of the abdominal pain wore off, I was having other pain in my neck and legs presumably from how I was positioned on the table and adjusting to how I am getting up. Thursday was the first day my head felt clear so I was able to get some grading done. My major accomplishment was putting socks on by myself. Friday was even better. I needed to get out of the house a bit, so Toby took me to town for some groceries and to pick up our dog's ashes (she was put down the previous Friday). Riding is not a fun experience so the trip to town was about as much as I could handle. Last night was the first time I felt back to myself. Clear headed and able to do more things on my own. Today, we took a morning ride to Augusta for our annual Christmas donut run. The riding was better but that trip was about it for me for the day. 

I'm looking forward to spending the next week celebrating with family although in more of a low key manner. We have our meals planned through Christmas, visits by my parents planned for next week, and enjoying some family time together after the crazy year we've been through. I'm hoping to be well enough to travel to a family gathering next weekend out of town and we'll have our annual NYE gathering of snacks and games with the kids and some friends. I am blessed to have so many amazing people in my life, who give me strength and encouragement. Thank you to each and every one of you! <3