Not to worry....we're back!

Okay, it's been a couple days of ups and downs. Sunday was not pretty. Percocet is our friend and enemy. Side effects of nausea and constipation were really taking their effect. After Susan had some OJ on Sunday (healthy right?) she was feeling pretty nauseated. The thought of vomiting when you have 2 drains in andincisions on your chest is pretty scary. So Sunday consisted of trying to balance getting food in her stomach to buffer the Percocet, but not make her sick. It was a high pain day so Percocet was a requirement just to keep her from crying. I'm hoping she doesn't remember too much about the day because it consisted of us badgering her to eat crackers and drink water or Gatorade.

Late on Sunday when her stomach was settled but she was exhausted she said, "I'm going to get on that blog and tell everyone you bi*&%es have been lying about how well I'm doing. Photoshopping my pictures so I look good, painting a smile on my face. When I get on that blog I'm going to tell them the real story." That's when I could tell she was starting to feel a touch better.

We tried to deal with the nausea by dropping the Percocet to 1 tablet instead of 2. This seemed to help with the nausea but I called the surgeon anyway to get some antinausea medication to have on hand. When talking with Jenn (the surgeon) she asked if Susan had a BM since the surgery. When I said no, she asked if I had given her a laxative, as instructed per the post-op discharge instructions. I said I tried the day before but Susan wouldn't take one. Well, did I get in trouble (from Susan) for that! For hours, I heard about how I had "ratted her out" to the surgeon. I was trying to save my own butt (every woman for herself)! The surgeon recommended enough OTC laxatives to make someone's bowel clean as a whistle. (Okay, that's kind of a gross metaphor). Anyhoo, we're working our way through those. MD also recommended decreasing the Percocet if Susan could tolerate it.

Good news is Monday turned out to be a good day for the most part. Bland foods but more substantial (yogurt, blueberries, sandwiches, etc.) No nausea and okay pain control. Lots of napping. Normally Susan is a "buck up" kind of girl. She's been known to tell Steve to "buck up" when he was recovering from his herniated disk last year! So, she's trying to decrease the amount of Percocet she takes each day so that the side effects will decrease.

Yesterday evening, Susan's longtime friend Lisa stopped by (a preapproved visit). Lisa's mom and our mom were best friends so we all grew up together. Anyway, Lisa's a hoot so her visit was invigorating but not too exhausting. She brought a snuggly blanket and teddy bear (which can be used as a pillow under her arms for comfort). I think it's the first tiem the four of us have been together when we weren't all drinking. (Susan and Lisa were "on the wagon"....Sharon and I couldn't resist a beer!) I've posted a pic of our pre-surgical celebration. This was before we read the pre-op instructions that advised no "heaving drinking" within 3 weeks of surgery....oops!

Suze is having a good morning so far. Her voice is stronger and eyes brighter. I think the food from yesterday helped. When eating breakfast this AM we were talking about "this food has to go somewhere"....hopefully, it goes in the right direction! In addition to another dose of laxative #1, she got milk of magnesia which tastes like (and I quote Susan) "....the water used to rinse out a can of tuna and then the water was left in there for a day." Yum!

Right now she is napping, has Enya playing in the background, and a lavender candle burning. Althought this sounds peaceful (and it is), I've learned my lesson not to paint too pretty of a picture.

Once again, many thanks for the flowers, food, gifts, and cards. In the last post, Steve mentioned the "routine" of meds, eating, walking, and sleeping. Opening cards, etc. is a nice refreshing break from the routine and a highlight of Susan's day.