Recovery

From Wes her husband and caretaker,

Surgery was longer than we expected but waiting is one of the most difficult things to do when your me. The PA said three hours in surgery was about normal then the doctor said two was about average. Well after four I was beginning to get a little anxious. If we had not had friends and family here to visit with, it would have felt like forever and my stress points would have been much higher. Recovery was more of the same. The doctor came out to tell us that all went as planned and that Dana did good through the surgery. He said she would be in recovery for about 45 minute and then into ICU. About 3.5 hours later we are told she is going to ICU. We get to ICU about 10 minutes later and have to wait another 30 minutes to see her.
Alex and I go to visit first and Dana is talking but feeling pain in the front of her head. She has spikes of pain, smiling makes her neck hurt and she feels sleepy but very coherent. We leave to let your parents come visit. With H1N1 hitting hospitals so hard they are only allowing two people in the room at a time and no kids under 18. Alex and her boyfriend leave and when Ron and Sharon finish their visit, they also leave.
I go back to stay with her, (now 4:30ish). Dana wants some ice chips and lip balm, her throat is sticky and sore. I'm testing friends and family with updates and Dana from a quite state burst into tears..."I just noticed the numbness in my hands and tingling in my fingers is gone!". The nurse comes in to see what is going on and were both in tears telling her about what she just discovered. Man, God is good!
The nurse gives me a form to fill out. This is the same form that Dana filled out at the Neurologist and at admission this morning. Wouldn't it be easier if they just made the form in triplicate and sent it to the departments that needed it?
So I take this form to the nurse at the nurses station to ask a question. As I re-enter Dana's room and she is crying. Odd thing about these ICU rooms at Mercy, you can not hear anything in the room until you pass through the sliding doors. When I get in the room, Dana is hard to understand because she is crying and talking at the same time. It might be a man thing but women are hard to understand when they are crying and talking at the same time. I'm almost positive other women can understand this type of communication but, well I'm a man.
"I can see your phone" I realized at this point that my phone is on the tray that is almost behind her. It hits me that for years she has had diminished peripheral in her right eye and that she has just realized that she can see more than she could just hours before. An overwhelming joy has consumed me in that instant and now we are both crying and rejoicing. For a brief moment I almost think I was beginning to understand her while I was crying and talking but,could this really be happening toa man?
During shift change they ask that all family and visitors leave for an hour so I head out to eat dinner while this happens. David and Sara Sutton meet me and I tell them about what happened. When I return Suzy Biggs is visiting with Dana and there is a lot of kidding and light laughing going on. A good sign that she is doing better. They visit for a little bit and then Suzy heads home. The nurse gives Dana some more pain meds while I start this blog and return some calls and texts. I think I have texted more this day than all the rest of the time I have owned a cell phone.
Just as I get semi comfortable in the recliner chair and start texting, Dana gets hit with a wave of nausea. This could be bad so I get the nurse and she quickly loads a syringe with something to to stop her from erupting. She has really done well up to this point and what ever they shot into her IV did the trick and good thing because I'm beginning to think I'm a sympathetic vomiter. Well she is in and out of sleep. Its funny because when she wakes up she thinks she has been awake all the time and she finishes sentences that she started before she fell asleep. She is doing better know so I think I will close my first attempt a blogging and try to sleep in this very uncomfortable recliner of a chair. More to come as her recovery progresses.

Wes

The day she became a zipperhead.

Greetings. This is Dana's daughter, Alexandria. Today my mother became a zipperhead.
It was an early morning. My fiance' and I arrived at the hospital this morning around 6:30am on this crisp morning. After being directed down the hall to her room we came in to find her calm and ready to stop hurting.
She still hates her hair.
Returning to the waiting room we found more of our friends and family who came to support her. We have such a support system within our family, friends and church family. About 20 people came to keep us company throughout the duration of her surgery.

Surgery lasted 2 hours longer than projected but the DR. said everything went as expected. I will update on her condition after we get to see her.

Thanks for your prayers,

Alexandria

The Last Supper

Today was an exhausting day. Still haven't completely unpacked the new office. Almost completely packed my bag. Cleaned up the kitchen and tackled the microwave. Got dizzy from bending over and looking up so anyone that comes over here - just don't look at the top inside of the microwave.

Bought dirt and flowers today for the new window boxes. I wasn't terribly smart and took the car. Now, the car is full of dirt. However, the boxes look beautiful with the flowers in them. Fell over again today while I was planting the flowers. I bent down to pick up the empty flower boxes, got dizzy and toppled right over. Landed on the step ladder and now have a bruise on my stomach. Glad no one was driving by. Just sat there for about a minute until the dizziness passed.

My parents took my husband and I to dinner tonight for my last supper before surgery. Mexican, my favorite. Nice to have good conversation, good food and a relaxing couple of hours.

I've received lots of nice comments on Facebook and had phone calls and texts from friends to remind me that they're praying for me. God has blessed me with more good friends than a person deserves and they've all been such an encouragement to me these last few months.

As my daughter would say, all I've got left is a "wake-up". I've got to be at the hospital at 5:15 a.m. That's WAY early for me so hopefully I'll be more sleepy than nervous although I will admit that the nerves are kicking in today. I think it's from talking to everyone about what's going to happen. Though no one knows what the outcome of the surgery will be, I'm grateful for the opportunity to try for some relief. God is my strength and my refuge. Whom then shall I fear?

"Well, there's all kind of trouble weighing me down
I hear the voice of confusion trying to turn me around
But I'm bound and determined to see this thing through
Until the end of my struggle, here's what I'm going to do

I'm gonna keep the rocks silent for one more day
I don't know about you
But I'll keep praising His name
I'm gonna keep the rocks silent for one more day

Now, I've been fighting the good fight mile after mile
But my burden is lifted after just a little while
You see I'm bound and determined, I made up my mind
I may not know the answer but in the meantime

I'm gonna keep the rocks silent for one more day
I don't know about you
But I'll keep praising His name
I'm gonna keep the rocks silent for one more day

Now, I don't know much of nothing about the end of of my days
But I know a little something about the power of praise
'Cause I've been bound and determined, right from the start
To keep a rock in my hand and praise in my heart

I'm gonna keep the rocks silent for one more day
I don't know about you
But I'll keep praising His name
I'm gonna keep the rocks silent for one more day"

A Day and a Wake-Up

Tuesday before surgery. Didn't sleep well again last night. Tossed and turned all night because I couldn't get comfortable. I think I kept my poor husband awake.

Took my oldest dog to the vet today. We really thought something was terribly wrong with him because all of his hair is falling out and he's got this terrible bumpy rash all over. Then there's the smell. When I called to make the appointment, I asked them if it could be mange. No, they said. If he's an inside dog, it won't be mange. Took him in and low and behold, he has mange. It's the kind that you're born with and it lies dormant until you get some other infection. In his case, a yeast infection. Luckily, it can't be transferred to humans or other dogs. Poor thing got two kinds of medicine and a medicated shampoo. I'm just glad that he's going to be feeling better.

I almost fell today in the vet's parking lot. Stumbled and then did a little dance while trying not to fall or drop the dog. Bet the people driving by wondered what that drunk person was doing in the parking lot.

Spent a good part of the day running errands and picking up last minute stuff. One last day of getting the house as ready as it can be. I'm exhausted so I hope that I can sleep tonight.

As my daughter would say, I've got "one day and a wake-up" before my surgery. The nurse called again today to see if I had any additional questions. She reminded me, again, not to bring in my bag. Also reminded me that I can only have 2 visitors at a time in my room and no one under 18 is allowed to visit me. That's Mercy's rules right now because of the swine flu going around. At least I won't have to worry about having a room full of those pesky friends of mine who are just waiting to gather round and make fun of my scar. :o) One of them actually said that we could still go shopping and that she would just bubble-wrap my head to make sure that I was safe. Another one said that if I didn't remember her when I woke up, she'd just remind me that she was my very best friend and that I cleaned her house every Friday. Um, I don't think so... Yes, my friends are weird but I love every one of them. Well, at least until they said that they would get me a HoverRound to go shopping in but that they would make sure that it has a basket so that I can carry all of their purchases...

Last Day At Work

Today was my last day at the office and everyone took me to lunch. It was really bittersweet. I absolutely love my job and the people that I work with so it's been hard to give it up for the surgery. On the other hand, these last 3 months or so have been difficult at best. I'm usually very organized in my job. I always try to stay on top of things. Lately, I can't focus. I have to write down everything or I'll forget it. I have to ask the other girls how to do simple everyday things. I can't remember who called or what I'm supposed to do with the information they gave me. Needless to say, I've made mistakes and I'm not proud of it. The others in the office have virtually carried me along each day that I've worked. I know that it increased their workload and I've hated it. But you must know that not one of them has complained. No one has put any blame on me. They've just picked up the slack. They have no idea how this has helped and encouraged me. I love all of you and will miss you terribly. I know your individual needs and will keep all of you in my prayers as I recover. I'm looking forward to the day that I can come back to the office - clear-headed and ready to tackle the job. Thank you all for loving me.

My husband is working hard on our new office and spare bedroom. Vacuuming, cleaning carpets, etc. The contractor came today and finished painting our new window frames on the front of the house and on the kitchen window. For the next two days, I'll be cleaning everything up and getting the house ready for surgery. Is that even possible? Well, at least I can try. Oh, and my sweet husband had the contractor put window boxes on the two new windows so tomorrow, I'm going to buy some flowers!

Got to take our dog to the vet tomorrow. I'm NOT looking forward to it but I hate to see him suffering.

3 days until surgery. The surgical nurse called me today to give me the dos and don'ts for the day of surgery. I've got to be at the hospital at 5:15 a.m. and the surgery will be at 7:30. I can take my blood pressure medicine that morning but nothing else. She told me to not bring a bag for a couple of days because I won't need anything. Great. At least I'll be able to have visitors in the ICU. I very much doubt that I'll be awake or even remember that they were there but I'm grateful that my family will be able to come and see me.

It's becoming more real now. Seems like these last few days are flying by. I'm going to try and enjoy the next few days and not fight with my hair!

New Office

Pretty eventful morning in our neighborhood. Our neighbor had to call an ambulance for her husband. I hated to see her so upset but glad that we could be there for her until the ambulance came.

Church was difficult today. Loud sounds are really hard on my head. The music seemed unbearably loud today and I had to leave the room for part of the music worship. Once I came back in, the loudness seemed to overwhelm me. It was a great sermon but difficult for me to follow. I was seeing him speak and could hear him but sometimes he wasn't making any sense. I was continually having to re-focus. By the time I left, I was completely exhausted. Made it through lunch but came home and crashed for a few hours. Once I got up, I felt better and not so over-whelmed.

Also had trouble with my words today. Words came out all backwards sometimes. My husband would just smile and repeat what I said. Sometimes I feel like I have a mouth full of marbles.

Well, we have a new office in our house. My daughter recently graduated from college and moved into her own apartment. My husband's office was in the smallest room of the house and he decided to take over her now empty room. Her walls were dark purple (which was actually pretty) but he wanted to paint them. He painted the woodwork white and the walls a kind of greenish/gray color and we got new blinds. Today, he finished getting all the cables fixed to hook everything up and we moved the furniture in. Well, HE moved the furniture in while I supervised. Things are still not quite as they should be but at least we have more space. Now, to find out how to put the bedroom furniture into that tiny room....

Tomorrow is my last day at work. I'm really torn about it. I love my job and hate leaving it but it's become really stressful these last few months. I find it terribly hard to concentrate and am making all kinds of stupid mistakes. My bosses are really great and haven't complained once but I know that I'm not working up to par.

4 days until surgery. A lot of people asked me about it today at church and reminded me that they would be praying for me. God has given me tons of encouragers and I am very thankful. On the other hand, the more that I talk about the surgery, the more apprehensive it makes me. I'm just trying to get the house in order and that seems to take my mind off everything. I ask that you pray for me in four different ways:

1. Please pray for the doctors and nurses that will taking care of me in surgery, in ICU and when I get into a regular room.

2. Please pray that there is no leak of the patch and that I won't pick up any kind of infection.

3. Please pray for my family. Mainly my husband who will be my primary caregiver. He runs a large fine arts facility and has an extremely busy work schedule in the next few weeks and I know that he will be torn as to where he needs to be.

4. This has nothing to do with my surgery but one of our dogs, our 15 year old, is sick. We plan on taking him to the vet again this week but anticipate that we may have to put him down. As silly as it sounds, he's almost like a child to us so this will be very difficult.

By the way.......I still hate my hair.

Friends

Didn't sleep well last night. Got up and sat in a chair in the living room for about an hour. It helped my head to stop pounding. Wish I could take something to help easy the pain in my head, shoulders and back when I lay down. Nothing seems to touch it. All in all, I think I got about 4 good hours of sleep. Ugh...

Today was a good day although I woke up with a headache, as usual. This morning, my husband and I went to get a pedicure together. Toenails were looking way too long and I needed them to be pretty for the surgical nurses. :o)

Later, I went to a friends house where she served some of us lunch. There's no way that I can adequately describe how much I love my friends - the ones that were there and the ones that couldn't be there. We laughed, we cried, they encouraged me and prayed for me. I know that I have prayer warriors that have been and will continue to lift me up to the Father through this whole process. I do NOT take them for granted.

I joined another good friend for dinner. We laughed a lot but didn't cry...

5 days until surgery. God reminded me today that I'm one very lucky girl. He is not a bit surprised at the turn my life has taken and has already made provision for whatever I will need. He has provided me with a beautiful family, a home, a job and blessed me with wonderful friends who love and support me. When you look at the bottom line, what more could a girl possibly ask for?

"The eyes that see a sparrow fall, sees my need before I call. Isn't that just like God? When I question if He even cares, He answers my unspoken prayer. Isn't that just like God?"