The Road to Recovery

Recovering...

The next morning, I woke up with little to no pain- which I was happy about (I mean who wants to be in pain😁)  I believe I was on a light diet, as I just had major surgery, so I had a disgusting cup of tea and maybe a bagel or piece of toast.  Besides the fact that hospital food is gross anyway- anyone with cancer should be limiting/ eliminating their carb intake (more on that later).  Everything was going smoothly.  Then I got a phone call from my husband; wondering how I am doing, what am I doing, and what time I would be able to leave?  So I answered all of his questions: I was fine, little to no pain, I was laying in bed (not really moving in fear of somehow changing the no pain to painful), and that I needed to wait for the doctor to come in and make sure that everything was ok for me to go.  He then proceeded to tell me that he got food poisoning from the food he had the night before and that he wouldn't be able to pick me and that I would be staying at his parents house because he didn't want to get me sick. UGH! I wasn't upset at him, I was just disappointed that I wasn't going to be able to see him until the next day.  I was also nervous (which is a useless emotion that doesn't do anything but cause stress for all of the 'what-if's' of the world) because I was at my 'lowest' and I just wanted to be comfortable in my own home.  However, it was extremely nice of my in-laws to open up their home to my children and myself.

There I was lying in bed, somewhat comfortable, watching television and then walks in a priest.  Well, my heart just about beat out of my chest and my eyes nearly bulged out of my sockets.  My immediate reaction was that someone didn't tell me something and that I was dying.  Then this poor guys stupidly opens his mouth and says something (I don't even remember) and I replied with, "Do I look like I am dying, what do I need a prayer for?  Who sent you in here?"  I am not sure what he said after that, but he quickly exited my room (hehe); maybe I scared him off- LOL.  😂  So I went back to watching mindless television, almost insulted that a priest dare to walk in and try to be nice to me.  The next thing I knew my doctor entered; I couldn't be more happier because that meant I would be leaving soon.  So he looked at his work (with a smile on his face- I guess he thought he did a good job), and then told me what he was looking at and how to take care of myself when I was home.  (Keep in mind that I really wasn't paying attention). I proceeded to tell the nurse to make sure that everything that he said was in writing so I could show Pete.  She said no problem and then she got my paperwork together so I could go home.  In the mean time, I called my father-in-law to come and get me.  He said no problem and within 30 minutes he arrived and I was ready to go.  I got up to walk out of my room, when the nurse IMMEDIATELY stopped me and told me to sit myself down in the wheelchair- I was NOT happy about that- however, I agreed because I just wanted to get the hell out of there before they changed their minds.

Pop (my father-in-law) had the car ready and waiting at the door that I was rolled out through and somehow I got into it without much difficulty (another small victory for me!).  Besides the fact that he looked scared that he would somehow hurt me, we began our journey back to his house.  Well, everything was fine until we got to the main road, which in NY from all of the snow and winter weather, was warped and had pot holes all over it.  I think he hit almost every pot hole (not on purpose).  As the car was going THUNK, THUNK, I was hanging on for dear life and my poor father-in-law felt so bad, his face was beat red.  He asked in a worried voice, "are you ok?"  Gritting my teeth, I stated "yup, all good here."  He felt so bad, he quickly got into the other lane and drove the rest of the way home nice and slowly, being sure that we were on a smooth road.  The drive was probably around 20 minutes, and then we arrived safe and sound; Pop looked relieved!

Nana (my mother-in-law) greeted me at the door with my kids (Lizzie was 4 and Peter was 3) who ever so gently said hello with a hug and a kiss (they honestly were amazing about this whole thing- even today- they are so understanding and supportive!).  Apparently, they helped Nana get the house ready for my arrival with blankets and a pillow on the couch- seriously, how amazing!  So I sat on the couch and watched television with them for a while- now that is exactly what the Dr. ordered.  Soon after that, my husband called to make sure that everything was alright and that I was settled in; like I said before, I couldn't see him until the next day because he got sick and he was sick all night- I really felt bad for him.  Anyways, for the rest of the night I watched TV with my kids, ate dinner, and got "ready for bed" (sat back on the couch and Pop fluffed my pillow).  Everything was fine until about 2AM.  "AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!" I SCREAMED in agonizing pain.  Pop came running (I mean running) down the stairs.  "WHAT'S WRONG!" he shouted.  "I am in so much pain" I yelped.  He quickly got my pain pills and gave me 2 of them.  It took about 10 minutes to kick in but when it did I felt much better.  Pop was like, "I don't know how much your supposed to get but that should be ok until tomorrow."  It was because for the rest of the night, I slept like a little bug in a rug.