To Bed

After a very long day, we have made it home and into bed. Lynn had a small bout of nausea, but is now out cold. I am hoping for a day of minor pain and major eating tomorrow combined with good bed rest. I do have to work (from home) tomorrow, so this should prove to be interesting.

Have a good night and thanks for reading.

Recovery

I finally got to join Lynn in recovery. Seems she was out cold for most of the time. Nausea is minimal to none at all at this point. Pain is around a 4 (on a 0 to 10 scale) but coming down after the oxycodone. Lynn finds this to be the best pain drug around.

She is looking and feeling good, so we're going to unplug the IV, dress and go home now. Hope to be home before 8:30pm.

Post-Op Report

Dr L stopped by and gave me the update. He took a different approach than he had originally planned but everything went well. He said he didn't see any obvious signs of infection. My assumption is that he wouldn't find much given how much antibiotic she's been on.

At this point we start the hour wait to see her after recovery and then hope she's ready for to go home very soon. Poor kid was starving before surgery, but anesthetic tends to shut down her hunger (in addition to making her nautious).

The drains are back in, so she will have to see him in a week or so for a follow-up and their removal. At that point it's all about follow-up visits for the next two months and then our monthy Dr B visits. Almost there....I can really taste it. I know that Lynn is ready.

Another Update

The operating room called and let me know that they are just wrapping up now. Hopefully I'll see Dr L soon. This has been almost 2 hours longer than we thought. Hopefully nothing interesting popped up. I will post again after speaking with him.

Quick Update

They called up saying everything was fine. Doesn't sound like she's out of surgery yet, though. More updates to come.

Last Steps

"I'm so bummed." - Dr L

Yah, I guess we all hoped that this would work out, but at this point, I think we are all done (Lynn most of all) with pain, what ifs and one more things. Torn between looking "strange" and being uncomfortable, this was a hard decision for Lynn. My feeling is that if you have a choice between living in pain and not living in pain, choose the latter.

Dr H happened to be in the area this morning so we got to have a nice chat with her. We won't see her for a while, which leaves a mixed emotion. We both like her a great deal, but visits can mean not so good things. Lynn needs a doctor break---maybe we could have them all over for dinner so we could see them but not have it be a medical thing. I wonder if that is ever done.

Lynn was wheeled out at 1pm almost on the dot with the anesthetic already kicking in. Dr L says no more than 1.5 hours. Clock is now ticking.

Schedule for the Day

Just so you all don't worry, unlike previous surgeries, this one is at 1pm. I will post again once I am in the waiting room (it's sort of like Cheers, without the beer, without the relaxing side....ok, it's only like Cheers in the fact that everyone knows us there).

I have a big issue with mid-day surgeries--usually you stop eating by midnight and have an early morning surgery. Lynn had the same requirements and can't eat until after the surgery. Damn the eating requirements!

Crying Uncle

It's official - the implants come out tomorrow. Dr. L thinks that the infection keeps smoldering on the surface of the implant, and that the antibiotics won't touch it. We could take another week and see what happens, but I've reached the end of my tether. I am tired of being sick, and just want to move forward.

So, now I need to deal with another major alteration to my self concept, but at least it will be the last change for a while. I figure one more week in a bathrobe, mostly to accommodate the surgical drains, and then I am on to a full time healing schedule. I keep thinking I should be depressed as hell over the whole thing, but at this point I am just relieved to have an end in sight. Mirror-gazing will be pretty jarring for the next few weeks, but I'll get there.

I should be home by tomorrow night. Casseroles and company welcome! Check out my new streamlined look...