Recovery: Things are going well! I experience what I would consider noticeable improvement every day. I can still only sleep on my right side with any semblance of comfort. That means that generally after about 5 hours of sleep I wake up fairly numb on my right side. My shoulder and hips are paying the price, but I keep reminding myself that this is temporary! I am improving daily and before I know it, the pain and discomfort will be gone and I can go back to sleeping on whichever side I dang well please! My appetite has stayed pretty hearty, especially when compared to before Felicia was discovered. Before surgery I had terrible reflux symptoms (though as you may recall, I was not producing acid per the Ph study I had done!), I had a pretty nasty cough, high blood pressure, zero appetite, night sweats and I was exhausted the vast majority of the day. Every one one of these symptoms have now resolved…….. go figure! All in all, with the exception of the probably foot long incision from my sternum to my bikini line and the feeling that I’ve had an organ removed (wait just a minute now………), I feel pretty great!

The rest: The “rest” is the stuff that is tougher to describe. The emotional part. Will there come a day when I don’t think about this constantly? Will people always look at me differently now? Will I always be afraid? Will I feel normal again? I think I know the answers….. Yes, no, maybe a little and of course. Today was a great day! Some of the kiddos and our one precious grand kiddo came over. We enjoyed the sun, laughed, took a pontoon boat ride and just enjoyed the day. It wore me out more quickly than I would like. But I keep trying to remind myself that I had a pretty major surgery just 9 days ago. I am beginning to understand the 4 week recovery plan. It’s as though the doctors know what they are talking about.

Like I said, today was a good day. A really good day! Tomorrow will be even better! I feel so good and am making choices to keep it that way! I know I have some control here. I can advocate for myself. I can make better food choices. I can keep stress to a minimum and a positive attitude at a maximum! I can accept the love and support of family and friends and take care of ME. Guilt free! I deserve that. We ALL deserve that.

Enjoy this long beautiful weekend! And don’t listen to all of this “last weekend of summer” crap! There are a TON of warm summer days to come. And let’s be honest,
fall = jeans, sweaters, boots, bonfires, football games, pumpkins, apple picking and wine tasting. Fall is a pretty spectacular Michigan season too!