Post-Surgery Pros and Cons

I'm back!! And thanks to strategic positioning of pillows to keep cats from kneading on incisions, I can sit at the computer in relative comfort. I'd intended to write an entry about clear liquids cuisine before the surgery, but instead I got called to come into the hospital earlier than planned and then waited on a guerney for the extra hour I was asked to come in. I think most who know me already know surgery details, so I won't put them on my blog. I will, though, share a list of things I like/dislike about this whole process:

Dislikes:

clear liquids the day before surgery-- the noodles saved from the Thai soup for later just weren't as satisfying eaten separately
colon cleansing-- if anyone recommends this, run away. Seriously. Who would do such a thing outside of a medical procedure?
catheters (hey, I have a consonant theme going here)-- I always thought you didn't feel any bladder pressure if you had a catheter. Not sure where that idea came from, but it was wrong. Post-surgery day with the catheter was not fun.
pain med nausea
sleeping on my back-- I WILL be able to sleep on my side again, I WILL!
the sound of a cat hacking up a hairball upstairs where I can't clean it up

Likes (this list will be longer):

a Pioneer Day song serenade during pre-operative prep. (thanks, Nancy!)
a much flatter abdominal area-- not that this is the best way to lose ten pounds, but I lost them
great conversations with friends who come to help during recovery
comfy jammies
care packages
meals brought in-- seriously, who would have guessed how many would come? I'm set for at least two weeks and it's only been one week
feeling stronger every day
napping whenever I feel like it (even though it's on my back)
love flooding my home

I have to admit I felt a little cheated when I realized that no family or close friends would be able to stay with me while I recovered. What I hadn't anticipated was all the wonderful friends here in Morgantown who would step in. I'm experiencing loss, but I'm also being so, so blessed at the same time. So if this experience were the only way to feel this love, would I do it again? You know, I think I would.

Have you ever . . .?

Here's the deal: Anything bold is something I've done. Copy the list and adapt it to what YOU'VE done!

Started your own blog
Slept under the stars
Played in a band
Visited Hawaii
Watched a meteor shower
Given more than you can afford to charity
Been to Disneyland
Climbed a mountain
Held a praying mantis
Sang a solo
Bungee jumped
Visited Paris
Watched a lightning storm at sea
Taught yourself an art from scratch
Adopted a child
Had food poisoning
Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
Grown your own vegetables
Seen the Mona Lisa in France
Slept on an overnight train
Had a pillow fight
Hitch hiked
Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
Built a snow fort
Held a lamb
Gone skinny dipping
Run a Marathon
Ridden in a gondola in Venice
Seen a total eclipse
Watched a sunrise or sunset
Hit a home run
Been on a cruise
Seen Niagara Falls in person
Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
Seen an Amish community
Taught yourself a new language
Had enough money to be truly satisfied
Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
Gone rock climbing
Seen Michelangelo’s David
Sung karaoke
Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
Visited Africa
Walked on a beach by moonlight
Been transported in an ambulance
Had your portrait painted
Gone deep sea fishing
Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
Kissed in the rain
Played in the mud
Gone to a drive-in theater
Been in a movie
Visited the Great Wall of China
Started a business
Taken a martial arts class
Visited Russia
Served at a soup kitchen
Sold Girl Scout Cookies
Gone whale watching
Got flowers for no reason
Donated blood, platelets or plasma
Gone sky diving
Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
Bounced a check
Flown in a helicopter
Saved a favorite childhood toy
Visited the Lincoln Memorial
Eaten Caviar
Pieced a quilt
Stood in Times Square
Toured the Everglades
Been fired from a job
Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
Broken a bone
Been a passenger on a motorcycle
Seen the Grand Canyon in person
Published a book
Visited the Redwoods
Bought a brand new car
Walked in Jerusalem
Had your picture in the newspaper
Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
Visited the White House
Killed and prepared an animal for eating
Had chickenpox
Saved someone’s life
Sat on a jury
Met someone famous
Joined a book club
Got a tattoo
Had a baby
Seen the Alamo in person
Swam in the Great Salt Lake
Been involved in a law suit
Owned a cell phone
Been stung by a bee

Making Pesto

The other morning when I was watering my tomatoes on the deck I realized that my basil plants were growing out of control. So Sunday after church I picked all the leaves that were big enough (and we're talking elephantine leaves, here) and made pesto.

Why didn't I just leave the basil on the plant? Readers should know me well enough to know I'm going symbolic here.

When I was in graduate school, my faculty advisor said that when bigger issues in my life are bothering me, I focus on details. That's pretty much what's going on now. Ten days until surgery and I'm making pesto- why?

Simple: making pesto is something I can control. It's predictable. It's also, in a weird way, a sort of nesting behavior. I've been spending pretty much every day since my surgery was scheduled trying to figure out what I can do in advance to get ready. More importantly, I'm trying to figure out what has to get done because I won't be able to do it while I'm recovering. It also occurred to me that when people ask, "Hey, how can I help?" I can maybe have a list ready to pull out. So here's my list of things I won't be able to do and will need help with:

Yard-- lots of subtopics here. I got the hedges trimmed and the front flowerbed weeded, and the rocks ejected from the rototilling of the garden are now moved off the lawn so somebody can mow (I don't think I'll need to mow before surgery). But MORE rototilling needs doing. I won't be able to lift the watering can (over 5 pounds), so somebody will have to keep tomatoes and all the potted plants on the deck alive.

Stair-related-- no stairs for at least two weeks. Washer and dryer are in the basement. Who wants to do laundry? Upstairs: kitty litter box #2 needs cleaning. Probably kitties will hack hair balls all over the upstairs floor because I won't be able to get up there to clean up.

Garbage can hauling
Getting the mail-- only a couple of steps, so maybe after a few days I'll be able to do this one
Groceries
Meal prep-- not that I'll feel like eating much the first few days, but I still gotta eat.

Stuff involving lifting more than 5 pounds-- okay, so my book bag weighs more than I'll be able to lift. And, come to think of it, my laptop. And the cats (even though they're skinny). And pretty much any pots and pans.

I'd like the house to be clean before I'm stuck in it for several weeks. And I need to get my seminary room set up. And buy cute pajamas. And haul home every book I might possibly need to prepare my fall course syllabus.

I'm sure there are more things, including somebody making sure I'm okay the first few days when I'm still really whacked out on pain meds. I hate not being able to plan and predict. Gotta let that go. Maybe stock up on fun movies . . .? What am I missing?

Eat local!!

How do you spell gluttony? It's actually two words: Apple Annie's. Some friends visited from out of town this weekend, and after a tour of Fallingwater Friday afternoon, we were all VERY hungry. Apple Annie's was on the way home anyhow, so we stopped to eat.

These pictures explain why we had to wait a long time for a table. These are individual pieces of homemade desserts. Over half the chocolate cake with sea foam (on the right, upside down-- it had some trouble getting home safely) is still in my fridge after my guests have left. This is after said possessor of dessert ate from it TWICE. That's right: it took her TWO DAYS to eat HALF the SINGLE piece of chocolate cake. I got a blackberry cobbler piece (also still in fridge, partially eaten) and I can't remember what the fourth dessert option was.

What I do know is they were BIG. And home-made. Apple Annie's is one of those places that gets featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives-- or should, anyhow. Family-owned, local (it's in Point Marion, PA, 6 miles from my house), just plain good food at a very reasonable price.

Maybe after I digest some dinner I'll have room for a little of the dessert that's still in my fridge.