The jellies have arrived

and I will be putting a post-it note on the bag saying ... HANDS OFF Stephen.

Things are getting back to normal. I'm back driving now that I've had my introduction to the new car. I haven't figured out all the buttons for the sound system but I can make the windshield wipers work.

I went to the gym this morning and luckily it was a cardio class, low impact and no weights. It felt good to be back and even better getting such a warm welcome. Apparently I was missed.

Enough already

The weather is mimicking me. Dull.

Had a bit of a scare on Monday night and into Tuesday with a sore chest that felt worse with deep breaths and when I bent over. Paul wasn't content with me wanting to just wait and see if it got better so I called the doctor and because of my recent surgery the possibility of blood clot was mentioned and I was told to get it checked immediately.

So into the car and down to the Urgent Care Unit run by one of the area hospitals. They took an X ray, did blood work, hooked me to a machine and 3 hours later there I was with a prescription in hand for an anti-inflammatory as well as an antibiotic and on the way home. Once again first rate care by all the staff members I encountered.

My heart is fine, no clot just a muscle pull. At least that's not as embarrassing as indigestion, one of the ideas running through my head after a weekend of over eating.

Paul is now happy knowing it was nothing serious but he's forcing me sit and do nothing again. I am suffering from a mild headache thanks to the antibiotic medication and I think I could do with an afternoon nap. The muscle pain has gone so I've been able to stop taking that pill.

*sigh* Can't wait to be back to normal.


Canadian Thanksgiving A link to the wiki site for Kathleen who was interested in the differences/similarities between our holidays.


NO - NO - NO. I just looked out the window and it is snowing. Not a serious stick to the roads and sidewalk kind of snow but snow nonetheless. NO

Bits

Golden carpet of leaves on my neighbour's front lawn.

Monkshood in bloom.

Paul pulled up and stored away the tomato cages, pulled out the roots and did a nice tidy up in both garden patches while I wandered around with my camera.
With patches of sun appearing between rain showers the last few days, and with the forecast calling for more, we do what we can during the dry periods.

I was talking to my sister Catherine just now and was told that her one daughter was coming home at the end of the week before heading off to Egypt with her boyfriend and father. I sent a text requesting MORE JELLIES.

All but 2 pieces of tape are off, the stitches are dissolving and the scars look minimal ... all is well.

Doctor visit

Well that went extremely well.

The tape can be removed as it peels away in the shower. I've already been cutting away any free ends.
The stitches will dissolve.
I am healing quickly.
I have my next appointment in 6 weeks when I will get instructions on self examination taking into account scaring. He did say I have a skin type that does not tend to scar badly.
I should at that point go for a proper fitting for new bras and I am to remember ... "gravity still happens".

The idea of olive oil from Shellie ( in comments on previous post ) is a good one for tape removal and soothing. When I was pregnant my doctor suggested I start using it on my nipples to prevent cracking once I started breast feeding. Safe for me and safe for baby. It worked.

It's at times like this that I realize who smart I am keeping Paul around. He's a great helper, puts up with having to do things my way and hasn't complained that I toss and turn at night finding just the right spot for comfortable sleeping.

I'm having second thoughts about Stephen though. He ate the last three tropical fruit jellies that I had my sister bring from Victoria BC. I can't find them here and they were my recovery treat! ( it's alright son I forgive you )

One week after

I itch. I itch all around the stitches and under the tape that is still sticking like new.

There is still tenderness and swelling but otherwise I feel great. In the end I had no need for the painkillers.

I am beyond sitting and giving instructions. I let Paul handle anything that's heavy or requires reaching high but otherwise I'm back to doing some chores, like peeling potatoes.

We watched Lost in Austin last night and I was quite surprised that Paul settled into it and that Stephen wandered in and joined us. They missed some of the nuances, not being familiar with Pride and Prejudice, but got right into the story. Watching it on DVD was much better than catching it in small segments on TV.

The leaves are changing and one of the trees up the street is dropping leaves at a furious rate. The high winds and the stormy skies yesterday kept me at the window. Autumn can be so pretty.

I need to make a run to the library. I'm bookless again having read everything worthwhile and discarding the who-cares into my library bag.

Better and better

Trying to do nothing is very very hard.

I've hovered over the making of dinners.
I've stuck my hand into the making of lunches.
I've followed behind to the washing machine and made numerous comments.

I'm sleeping much better now that I don't have to sleep on my back, I'm a side sleeper.
I've had two showers and today I washed my hair.
The swelling is decreasing but now bruises show and I still have some seepage under the left breast but not enough to worry about. I see the doctor on Wednesday and can call sooner if I get concerned.

We went to the library today to pick up more reading material, Lost In Austen (DVD) and then to the grocery store. I bought grapes.

If you read English books you'll know that grapes are always taken to any main character who ends up in hospital and I didn't get any....and I noticed.

The story

Funny how once you know something is going to happen you start to wonder if it was such a good idea.
I packed and unpacked a small bag to take to the hospital several times just knowing I was overdoing it in my usual fashion. Paul refrained from stating the obvious, anything I over packed he could take home and anything I might have forgotten he could bring later

Up at 6:15 Tues. morning and had my shower while Paul ate breakfast. I'd had my last food, a bowl of strawberry frozen yogurt at 10pm Monday night. Paul very kindly refrained from having a morning coffee so I wouldn't be jealous.
Left the house shortly after 7 am so we could find parking and arrive on time at admitting.

Once checked in it was up to pre-op where I was given my hospital gown, put on the compression stockings they had given me ahead of time and had a fluids and antibiotic IV started. Slick as a whistle. Good hands on that nurse.

It was just a short walk down to the operating room area and in came my surgeon who proceeded to make jokes with Paul while he marked the incision sites. I asked what happened to the tissue removed and was told it gets sent for biopsy (cancer ) and then incinerated.

Walking into the operating room at 9:30am was odd seeing as it look very little like some TV hospital drama sets and then being strapped down on a table with arms stretched out made me think of all those movies where the prisoner is getting ready for the final injection.

Three quick breathes in the oxygen mask and next thing I knew I was waking up from a pleasant dream in recovery all bundled up in warm blankets and being asked my level of pain, Zero being none...Ten terrible. I was about 6. They added some pain killer to my IV and then gave me pain tablets once I could manage water.

My throat was sore and I felt tender but surprisingly good and semi-alert and there was a lot of activity going on with patients coming and going and the nurses constantly checking on us all. If you were in a bed you were staying overnight. If you were on a stretcher you were a day surgery patient and would be moved to a post op. room for discharge later in the day.

The bed shortage that had delayed my surgery earlier this month was still a problem so instead of leaving me in the midst of recovery they moved my bed into the isolation area off to one side. It left me with a good view of the nursing station, the doors to the operating rooms and a section of the main ward so I got a good education into the workings of the department as the day progressed.

Paul was able to come in and visit me there and thankfully he easily found the coffee shop when my dinner turned up with tea and I went into minor caffeine withdrawal. The food wasn't great but it wasn't bad. In fact it was better than the meal on our last Air Canada flight. The broccoli was still green and although there was little crunch it had taste.

There was little point in him staying long after he reassured himself I was fine. He brought me my glasses and my book, made sure I was OK and checked into what would be happening on Wednesday so he would be there on time to help me check out.

I was looked after with gentle care and good humour. My blood pressure was constantly being monitored by machine, wow everything is computerized these days, I had my temperature checked often and they did an hourly check on my incisions and checked the nipples for colour and feeling. I used a bed pain for the very first time and it wasn't as yucky as I had expected.

I was so comfortable I started calling my area The Imperial Suite. In fact when there was concern about finding me a bed I told them I was content to just stay where I was but around 10pm they were ready to move me. The only little blip was around 9 ish when the last of the anaesthetic must have worn off and I started to I feel lost and off ( no better description ) and the tears started. I think a little TLC would have been enough but the shift change had taken my jolly nurses and left me with Miss Efficiency who handed me pain pills and told me it was just a normal reaction.

I ended up in a semi-private on the Burn and Trauma ward staffed by another set of smiling, gentle fingered nurses. I got a nice sponge bath, had everything checked over, my pillow fluffed and my checks changed to every 2 hours.

By 6 am Wednesday morning the hustle and bustle of the ward had started. My room mate got a bed change that produced a lot of moaning and groaning. I could hear carts being wheeled around out in the halls, I asked if breakfast was coming soon, apparently not, and told I could sleep longer. Sleep? Drift in and out yes, but no sleep for me.

By 8 am Paul had arrived with my clothes, helped me with breakfast and getting all the information we needed for care at home and had my dressings changed. We decided we could leave before my follow up appointment was made knowing we could do it from home so we were out the door shortly after 9am.

I crawled into bed and Paul went out to get my prescriptions filled. I had only needed 2 doses of pain medication while in hospital but we decided to have the tablets on hand at home if needed. Tender yes. Major pain and discomfort no. From talking to other people it seems a real mix of both and I have no idea of it depends on the person or the surgeon. I was actually surprised at how well I felt.

Up for lunch and then a drive down to the doctor's office when Paul became concerned with the blood on my new dressings. I got checked over, Paul was reassured that all was well and was commended on being careful enough to have it looked into.

Home to bed again and then up for supper feeling better yet. My main difficulties seems to be finding a comfortable way to sleep and constantly having to pee. They must have hydrated me like crazy.

Tonight I can take a shower, replace the dressing and leave off the padding. I have some tight fitting yoga tops that Paul picked up for me that will work better than bras with my stitches and next Wednesday I see the doctor again. Hopefully the swelling with be gone soon so I can actually see the new me.

I'm home

Thanks everyone for keeping me in your thoughts.

Everything went well. I was discharged this morning at 9:am and have had 2 naps, a quick run to the surgeons when Paul became concerned about the blood on my new dressing...all is well and normal but the doctor was pleased to know he was keeping an eye on my.

Very little pain, just some discomfort that doesn't warrant any medication although we do have some in case that changes.

Lots to tell thanks about my hospital experience, which was excellent, once I recover from sleep loss.

Did you know they DON'T expect you to sleep well there?

Of book and boobs

Keep your eyes open for this one.  Not widely available yet but it will be coming.

Dancing Backwards: Salley Vickers

I found myself rereading passages and sentences.  I read it slowly, even though I wanted to know what was happening on the next page,  fearing I'd miss a feeling, a suggestion of things to come, a life truth.
I have trouble finding just the right words other than "I really really loved this" to describe the tale so I am putting up a review I found on Amazon UK that sums it up better than I ever could.


By     Prudence Patts  (London, UK)
This is a brilliantly written story of Violet (Vi) Hetherington and a serious life error she made as a young woman, which is recalled as she crosses the ocean to visit the friend she betrayed. The novel unfolds in characteristic Vickers' style - spare, dry, acutely observed and often very funny,as well as poignant and frequently painful. The back story takes place in the sixties, when as a shy young student, convinced of her own insignificance, Vi meets Edwin, her teacher of literature who encourages her to write and they become firm friends. But another friend of Edwin arrives, a serpent in this garden of Eden, and the resulting catastrophe causes Vi to leave her life as a sucessful poet and settle for a safe but drab marriage. We feel both for the young, inexperienced Vi and her older, more melancholy self, whose shrewd eye appraises her fellow passengers but who also becomes, if unwillingly at first, engaged in their lives. Oh, and she learns to dance, which she is surprisingly good at, which leads to another plot theme. What is so enjoyable about this, as with all Vickers's novels, is that her acute observations and insights are never at the expense of her characters, or her readers. She has a wise and compassionate view of humanity, as befits her psychological background, but she is also huge fun. A great book to take on holiday as well as a serious novel.
                                                                     .......

As of  now I am still set for my operation tomorrow morning.  Now I'm getting nervous.
I'll keep you posted.

New month, new date

We have seen finches in our tree and have heard them singing. Today a young member of the family sat quite still on the fence as I crept close with my camera. I love the tufts of feathers around his head.

After cutting the grass I noticed he had disappeared but an adult was in the area calling out. I watched and listened as they tried to find each other in the trees.

I've had another call from the doctor's office and I am re-booked for Sept. 22. Still no guarantees but at least I know that any wait should be weeks rather than months.

I think the chocolate will last til then. If not I'll buy more.

Double darn

Got the call just after noon today that my surgery has to be postponed. No beds available for anything other than emergencies at the hospital.

Paul did suggest we take in our inflatable.

I'll get a call later in the week with a new date but I have no idea if it will be a long or short wait.

I think I'll just leave everything undone next time. Who knows maybe being so prepared jinxed me.



Oh well. I'll be able to go through the new month list at the library myself and there is always end of summer gardening to be done.

Downsizing

I didn't reach I called the doctor.

As I've aged and become more active ( joining a gym after I turned 60 ) my boobs have become a liability. My older, smaller breasted, sister always said I'd pay the price for my size.
My family doctor referred me to a reconstructive/plastic surgeon and after the being measured, assessed and documented the paperwork went into the Ontario government health plan to see if I qualified for breast reduction.
After 18 months ( the typical wait is 2 years ) I have full approval and will be going into hospital on Tuesday, September 1st for my surgery.
I won't end up with a perky 18 year old set but I will be able to buy less industrial size/expensive bras, I should start enjoying summers without sweat rashes and I am looking forward to the weight off my shoulders.
I'm a little scared and a little excited.

How to prepared for an overnight in hospital and some restricted arm movement:

Wash everything in the laundry baskets. done
Iron all shirts. done
Put fresh linen on the beds. to do on Monday
Clean the bathroom and put out fresh towels. to do on Monday
Wash the kitchen floor. done
Dust and vacuum. done
Stock the fridge and freezer with easy meals. done
Get lots of reading material in. done
Get lots of chocolate in. done
Get hair cut nice and short. done
Instruct hubby on reserving latest DVD's at the library first day of new month. done

I'll let you know how it all works out as soon as I am back at the computer.