So I took a few moments to look back on the months when I had:
* a tube from my nose into my stomach (absolute agony in case you've never had one. I wouldn't suggest one. Ever. *smile*),
* an incision from stem to stern with 50-some staples holding my remaining innards in,
* oxygen blowing into my nose,
* white puffer-things wrapped around my feet intermittently filling with air to prevent blood clots forming, (which didn't work, by the way)
* wound vacuum taped and suctioned onto that fistula opening on my tummy,
* my Groshong (permanent intravenous) line hooked up to a suitcase carrying my nightly nutrition,
* head freezing cold because I had no hair and hats don't stay on bald heads at night ...
* AND... I swore I would never, ever take for granted sleeping peacefully past 4 a.m. when the stupid (sorry, but it's true) lab lady would show up at my hospital door with NO smile, NO polite greeting, no warning about the overhead lights she cruelly flicks on, and says, "I need your arm". Same arm, same poor bruised hole in the vein, never once switching spots, until I got a nice ball of scar tissue over the spot. Grr!!!
How did I ever sleep????? I was never completely free of extraneous appendages until they removed my Groshong awhile back. And here I am forgetting it already. I'm not asking for sympathy here, by recounting all these things.. no way!! I'm saying - life is GOOD. =)
Did anyone else get to witness this the other night? It was 3 a.m., so likely only us folks with hay farmers in the family were up and about at such an unearthly hour. ... the photo doesn't really do it justice. I don't know when I've seen a better lunar eclipse.
And here's what we do when Andy's got time off... Notice neither of us is working. =)
6 comments:
Thanks for the lunar eclipse!! I very much wanted to see it but wasn't up at that time of the morning =) Glad you were. It's a great shot. And thanks for your succinctly put account of past *discomforts* (to put it mildly). It's true, we can so quickly forget the bad & take for granted the good, but don't you think that's really a tribute to the indomitable nature of the human spirit, that it can rebound from disaster & get on with life? That's not a bad thing, but you're right...it's good to reflect now & then on unpleasant things we've been dealt in the past & give thanks for the good things we experience in the present. A profitable exercise for sure! Good days to you & hubby. Looks like you do know how to enjoy your down time =)
The lunar eclipse shot is amazing. Your perspective on life...also amazing. It is too easy to forget the hard times and not carry those lessons with us, but such a dangerous habit! Thanks for the reminder.
I'm glad for a picture of the lunar eclipse. Our paper said we should be able to see it until 5:30 so we thought we would see it when we got up but we missed it.
When you mentioned the white air puffer things on your feet I knew exactly what you were talking about. Mom HATED those things - she begged, pleaded with, and bribed nurses and aides to let her go without them for awhile. They must be real pleasant. :) You always have such sunshine about you that I hadn't fully considered the depth of what you have endured. Sounds more like a torture chamber than medical help - yikes! :) I'm glad to see you sitting back, enjoying the little things that seem big when you take time to think about them. We should all do that more. We should all spend some time on a lake in a canoe too, from the looks of it. Pretty relaxing? Glad to see proof that there is a little down time for you two.
I was thinking the same thing that sister Michelle already mentioned about the white puffer-things. Mom did convince one CNA in Casper not to put them on her until she was ready to go to sleep....and then she would stay up later than usual to avoid them! :o) She detested them! You have been through so much, and been such a trooper through it all! I'm glad to see the picture in the canoe and some relaxation. Dad was telling me last night he is coming to your place tonight. Sounds like a great time! Have a great week-end!
I had to peek to see if there were pictures from the fun sounding get together I heard was going on up there - hope it was a great weekend! :)
In my former pre-kid life I did some oncology nursing... While I don't remember much I do remember that we used the groshong for lab draws WHENEVER possible. Why on earth were they poking you every morning? A lab tech can't do it but a nurse can. I guess if you had a single lumen only, with TPN running, that might have been a reason.. But my word! That's what the dumb thing is for! Unfortunately I think some nurses overlook it because its simply easier FOR THEM to let the tech do it...Anyway, glad you're through that chapter!
Loved the pictures!
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