Resurrection

6 weeks post surgery tomorrow.

My last post was three days before I went into surgery on December 17.

Before I went in, we became aware of a very bad outcome for a woman in our ward at church who had the same surgery I was going to have in the same hospital. She is still struggling and our prayers are with her and her family. Her experience motivated me to make prior arrangements to avoid a blood transfusion in the event of lost fluids. Needless to say, my stress level was heightened for a while. The Priesthood blessing I received before surgery was a tremendous help.

Tom stayed with me most of the time I was in the hospital. The nurses brought a cot in for him to sleep on both nights. Him being there made the whole process much easier. I was able to secure a hospital release about 44 hours after surgery. I really didn't want to go back very soon, so elected to remove the staples myself three days later. They came out almost painlessly.

Riding in the car as it goes over road bumps is right up there with laughing and coughing for things to avoid after abdominal surgery.

The struggle to get back into the routine of things, has felt like crawling out of my grave. 17.5 years ago when Heather was born by C-section, did not feel like this. My resurrection process has begun.

Jesse & Aleina came to visit for a few days in early January. It was so enjoyable to hold baby Orrin for hours on end. Newborn babies are good for the heart and soul. They have so recently left Heavenly Father you can't help but feel the influence of another sphere of existence.

Yesterday was my first day back at Hot Yoga. I felt weak and was unable to complete any of the balance sequences. I lost muscle tone during the recovery process. Vertical knee to chest movements were easier, however. Muscle tone & strength in my left arm are especially problematic.

I joined Weight Watchers last weekend, and decided to do it online to keep it simple. I got a reality check looking at my measurements. It appears that my body decided that if it was going to spend so much time sitting on it's backside during recovery, that it deserved some extra padding. It's time to send a different message.

After a while, watching movies and reading/listening to books begs for a change of activity. A future blog will contain a book list with a brief review.

I bought some yarn and began crocheting baby blankets. We have had 4 grandchildren born since May. So far, no new announcements. Back at work, I noticed that there are a lot of mother's to be. It's been fun making baby blankets for them. The count is up to five teachers who will deliver before the end of June.