Home, Sweet Sweet Home!

Yes!! I am home…

and have been since Friday 8/13. I was discharged from the hospital early Friday afternoon and was so relieved to see my children again, sleep in my own (comfortable) bed, and simply enjoy the comforts of healing at home. Darek was by my side during most of the visiting hours while I was in the hospital. He sat with me, made sure I was comfortable, and I’m sure we talked about a lot of very important things (haha) that I cannot remember. Thankfully, he was able to keep up on some of his work while I rested (let’s be real, SLEPT). I was on a couple of different pain meds this time around, and I appreciate that the hospital staff made sure I was recovering well, and my pain was “under control.” I received pretty great care, from what I remember.

This surgery was No Joke! The post op pain has been worse and longer lasting than my previous surgery. My nurses told me that liver surgery can be very painful (good to know now) so I should expect to use more pain controlling meds than last time. I am not a fan of this, but I understand that I won’t heal well if I do not rest, and I cannot rest if I am in pain. Was was also met with some new scars, which will continue to tell my story as they heal. My abdomen currently looks scary, like some sort of freaky science experiment. I remember this from my previous surgery, but forgot about some of the discomfort that comes from the incision sites. I also had some internal muscle spasms that apparently can be common with liver surgery, so that was a new and unwelcome discomfort. Thankfully, my surgeon sent me home with a medication that really helped the spasms settle down for the first few days. The spasms have since subsided and I am now working on sitting and standing up straight. My first surgery left me with this seriously uncomfortable / painful shoulder issue that I could not figure out and pain meds would not touch. I quickly learned that it is caused by the sterile gas pumped into the abdomen in order for the surgeons to work. This gas has nowhere to quickly escape, so as gravity has it, each time I sit or stand up straight the gas (and pain) goes into my shoulders. My mom bought me a microwavable, lavender infused, rice / seed hot pack to help alleviate the discomfort. That was a huge blessing and helped immediately. I am on day 6 of recovery and today I have not had any of that shoulder pain.

As you are likely aware I was not exceptionally strong pre-surgery. I mean, my strength was average, but I currently have no abdominal strength (again) and was instructed not to use my core at all for 2 weeks. I met with a physical therapist in the hospital who showed me how to properly get in and out of bed, sit and stand on furniture, and go up and down stairs. I have been relying on my arms and legs (and walls, railings, furniture, and people) to provide the support and steadiness I need. Toby is at just the right height for me to rest my arm around his shoulders as we walk up and down the street. Darek, my mom, and the kids have been nice walking companions as we take our daily “sloth walks.” Apparently I am a little bit slow! Hahaha!

I mentioned that my mom is here… I am so thankful that she is staying with us this week. I feel guilty watching her do all of the things that I normally do but I know she wants to help out and (don’t you worry) I am letting her. She will probably need a vacation to recover from the busy that our home life brings. :) Thank you, Mom!

VICTORY!

Now for the victory reports:

Last week on Sunday, Darek started to come down with a sniffle / sinus headache. Considering that I was to have my C-Vid test the following day, this was not great news. He did take a test at home just to make sure and it did come back negative. That being said, I still felt bad because he had to keep his distance so I would not catch this cold prior to surgery. He slept in the basement for the first time ever.

Monday rolled around and I had my test that morning. I mentioned in my previous post that I did not receive the results within a couple of hours as I have in the past, so this heightened my anxiety. THEN, one of our girls started complaining of a stomach ache. Well, you guessed it. She tossed her cookies, and the fun began. Darek was quarantined to the basement and she was quarantined to her bedroom with a bucket. :( I was unable to care for either one so this was a very interesting situation. The other two kiddos helped out and thankfully bedtime was coming. Our other daughter complained of a headache, so I dealt with that and proceeded to tuck the other two kids into bed. I headed to the main floor to clean up and read my book, when wouldn’t you know… Our other daughter was calling for me. She just tossed her cookies! GAH!! This was the moment I declared, NOT TODAY, SATAN!

I had Toby bring a bucket to her room as well and I turned to positive confessions and prayer. This was not going to stop us from progressing toward our Summer of Healing! I kind of laughed and the situation because you just can’t make this up.

Daughter 1 cleared her system out through the night, and was mostly able to take care of things herself. I sprayed things down between each occurrence and made sure she was comfortable and staying hydrated. Daughter 2 slept great and woke up happy and in perfect health. Darek woke up feeling a bit better, but still having some lingering symptoms.

And Finally, I received my C-Vid test results - NEGATIVE - as mentioned before. I knew everything was going to be okay and that God had his hand in our situation. I was confident in knowing that no matter the final result of any of this, God’s plan would still work out, because “He is working all things for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

Sometimes things don’t look the way we expect them to look, or the plan does not go according to our agenda, but we can always remain confident in God’s promises. I am not saying that discouragement doesn’t rear its ugly head when our plan changes. I am saying that His will is going to prevail, and that brings great peace to my life.

VICTORY #2

My pathology report came back with great news! The lesion was completely “dead” as a result of the adjuvant chemotherapy, and the second spot (that they considered doing an ablation on but instead removed) was also of no concern. There were no active cancers cells or spread detected in any of the tissue that was removed.

PRAISE GOD!

Oh yeah, and my gallbladder was completely normal and had no issues. :)

Thank you for your continued thoughts, prayers, and support! Our family is grateful!

It is my hope that you find comfort in God’s promises.