Home and Recovering

Well, things are going better than I'd feared, but not as good as I hoped. I told the nurses I am a total pain wuss, and they got the docs to give me two versions of Oxycontin. One is a pill I take every 12 hours. The other is a liquid I take every 4-6 hours for "breakthrough" pain. My body is quite adamant about the 4 hour schedule. The pain is my personal alarm clock. I take the meds then try to stay up for about 30 minutes for them to kick in so I can drink a little. I'm currently waiting for the meds to kick in before I go back to bed.

I feel pretty good, unless I have to actually swallow. I see why dehydration is such a concern. It's so tough to force anything down when you know it will cause agony. Marilyn is checking me periodically to encourage me to drink. I have some Propel water from work to keep electrolytes balanced, and we made some orchata (Mexican rice milk) as well. I figured both of those have some nutrients as well as liquid to keep me going.

Not hungry at all, except when dad made pork tenderloin for him and Marilyn last night. It smelled good and my tummy was growling. I didn't really want to eat, so it must have been the good smells. I'm slightly nauseous from the meds, but not too bad. Mostly I just sit up and watch TV until I doze off.

I can't lay down - anything more than a 45 degree angle and I have difficulty breathing and start choking. One of my co-workers had warned me about this, so I have lots of pillows and just sit up.

I've gotten your phone calls, and I'm texting folks I know have it on their phone, so keep 'em coming. I'll check email whenever I have energy to get down here, and don't feel too shaky. Thanks for the positive thoughts everyone!! I love you all.