Why I haven't blogged much lately:
1. blogging takes time, something of which I have very little these past few months
2. I am now a fiancee, which means I spend much time with a great man named Josh
3. Josh lives in Huntsville, Alabama, which means I spend almost every other weekend traveling
4. Traveling means the time that I have at home is crammed pack full of work, getting things done and spending time with people I love in Franklin
5. my younger brother Michael got married last weekend [Photos from Michael and Katie's wedding to follow ...]
6. I had surgery on Friday
7. all of these reasons leaves me very little time to process my thoughts enough to write them down
But having surgery has left me with some recovery time on my hands ...
I have contemplated whether or not to even write about this on my blog. I know I mentioned it a few posts below, but I didn't really go into detail. And I'm not sure I'll go into a lot of detail now. But this blog has become a journal for me and if I don't write something, then may not write anything, and I feel compelled to write SOMETHING.
During a recent regular check up my doctor found something unusual in my abdomen. She asked me to humor her concerns, which she said were small, and have a test run. I obliged and her concerns were validated. There was something abnormal in my body. She said it didn't look like cancer, but surgery would be needed. She assured me that if it was indeed what she thought it was, then the surgery would be minor and recovery would be quick.
I had never had any type of surgery before and so I was somewhat scared, but tried to be level-headed about it all. This was definitely uncharted territory for me.
We scheduled the surgery for October 10 and Josh made plans to be here for the pre-op appointment as well as the surgery and the rest of the weekend. I am so thankful that he is in my life, and especially glad that he made the decision to be right by my side through the whole thing. He had to calm me on many occasions, but he's a trooper and such a servant. I love that man!
Going into surgery was fairly easy; God had given me such a peace about it all. Everything went exactly as I hoped. The IV didn't hardly hurt and when they gave me the anesthesia, I just remember a few words and I was out. I wasn't fearful or worried at all. (Thank you to all who prayed for me!)
Waking up was a whole different story. I have never been in so much pain in my life and the feeling of waking up from anesthesia was terrible. I remember going in and out of consciousness and just feeling miserable. They were supposed to keep me in the recovery room for 30 minutes only, but I stayed there for an hour and a half. And even when I got back to my room I wasn't totally awake yet.
The reason for longer wait times and more pain was that the surgery lasted twice as long as they had suspected because the damage inside me was much worse than the doctor had originally thought. A general surgeon had to be brought in to remove my appendix and one other organ before closing me up. They had to make more incisions than they originally planned to and so it's going to take more time to recover than they had said in the beginning.
It's now been three days since the surgery and I'm still in pain, but it's getting better each day. I'm able to move from a sitting to a standing position without much help and I'm able to move around a little more quickly. Thank GOD for pain medicine, time and healing ... those first two days were miserable!
To be thankful for ...
1. They were able to remove everything diseased in my body and there is less than a 20% chance that it will come back.
2. I do not have cancer.
3. According to the doctor, I shouldn't have any trouble having children.
4. I felt no pain before surgery, so really I am blessed that this problem was found and that they performed the surgery.
5. Josh has been such a blessing through this whole process. He has been completely understanding, patient and kind. I CANNOT imagine going through this without him. I love you, baby!
6. My friends and family have prayed for me and taken care of my needs. They have called, visited, brought candy and flowers. I know that I am loved.
7. My health. I have a clean bill of health now and sometimes it takes something like this to really appreciate what you do have.
What are you thankful for?