Wow! What an Adventure!

I'm back, and feeling really good, though slightly sleepy. Today is Day 4 after surgery, and here's what my day looked like:

11:30 am - Wake up.
11:35 am - Move to giant, comfy easy chair. Put in movie. Doze.
3:00 pm - Move back to bed. Sleep.
6:00 pm - Wake up. Bill O'Reilly is on my radio. Ugh. Must. Leave. Room. Now.
8:30 pm - Feel the urge to sleep, but I'm forcing myself to stay awake.

Whew! I'm beat!

Thursday went VERY well. Thank you so much to those of you who were praying. I was not nervous at all. God covered us with a great sense of calm and peace.

Most of the pre-op nurses we dealt with were all-business, but Deidre breezed into our room with the news that she'd had the same exact surgery 2 years ago, and had my same exact doctors. She was such fun, and answered all my questions (the ones you're too embarrassed to ask the doctors) and was very encouraging! Thank you so much, God, for sending her.

The nurse anesthetist was great fun, and was completely happy to take pictures for me. He only took a few (I'm assuming he had other things to be doing during the surgery), and I'll post them when I get the film back. Hopefully they're not all shots of his thumb! He did promise to make sure I was *really* unconscious, and not to set me afire during the surgery. Good guy!

Our pastor came to visit and pray before hand. It was very nice having someone "from the outside" to talk to. Until the conversation between the guys turned to topics like eschatology and carbon dating. After a while, one of them noticed I was absent from the conversation and apologized, but I'd said, "No, no. I was actually so bored for awhile there that I forgot where I was. That's a good thng!"

After the surgery, the back of my neck hurt from being held in an awkward position during surgery. The recovery nurse told me I hadn't done or said anything embarrassing upon awakening.

"Would you tell me if I had?" I asked.

"Nope," he replied. The mystery will die with him.

All of the nurses were wonderful. Just the sort of people you'd want to help you when you're recovering. They were kind and patient, chatty and friendly, and willing to laugh with me, not at me. Thank you God, for the wonderful people there!

I came home Friday night, and have been moving between the bed and the easy chair since then. I don't hurt too much, but am surprisingly tired! The kids have been very gentle and helpful. M. has really tried hard to keep everything moving: cleaning, laundry, cooking, taking care of and entertaining 3 kids and an invalid. He's done a great job!

Here's a picture of what my neck looks like. This isn't my neck - my film isn't developed yet. But mine looks just like this - only with big, black sutures. We tried to decide whether "Franken-neck" or "Zipperneck" was the better nickname today.

Zipperneck won.




Thank you again for your prayers, and the encouraging comments and e-mails that have flooded my in-box. The words "thank you" seem so inadequate right now.........