Reflecting back on my surgery:
My hospital room was filled with some of the most beautiful flowers I have ever received! Everyone who walked in the door commented on how wonderful it smelled in my room because of the flowers. I was blessed to receive my first vase of pink roses soon after I left recovery and got to my room on that first night from my in-laws. The next day I received a beautiful vase from Keith's Aunt and Uncle which was a nice surprise. Then I received two more gorgeous bouquets from Buss florist which we sent from Oak Grove school and from my Kindergarten team. These were unique arrangements that were full of bright colors and wonderful flowers!!
Along with the flowers, I was also surprised to have so many visitors and phone calls! The girls and mom came over to visit and they brought me roses from Papa's roses. It was so fun to see them and they all had many questions about all the medical things and about how mommy looked and felt. We answered them as best we could without scaring them! Seeing my girls was some of the best medicine.
I was also so blessed to have my dear friend, Katie come in just to be with me throughout this surgery. To top that her mom Fran blessed me with a prayer before surgery to help me find peace and ask for blessing for all involved. These women sat with Keith and my mom all through my surgery which was so amazing to me! I loved seeing them when I got to my room and then they came back the next day. Katie is such an amazing friend and I am so blessed she is in my life!
I was also blessed to be visited by Cinde and Pat, Aunt Candy and Uncle Terry, Lauren (from my oncology office) and her husband Josh, my dad, and of course, Keith. Everyone gave me a chance to forget about the pain and enjoy sharing the success of the surgery. I was so lucky to have Keith with me most of the time. There was no good place for him to sleep in the room so I sent him home each night to get sleep and get ready for his camping trip which I hoped helped him. I luckily had great nurses and CNAs so it was OK to be alone at night.
I was well taken care of by all my doctors. Dr. Chung came to see me the day after surgery while she was on her rounds. She did not have to come but she said she would not have missed the chance to come check on me and see if there was any notes she could read to get an idea of how it all went. Dr. Ganshirt checked in each day and we discussed how happy he was that there were no surprises when he went in. Dr. Lu was also there each day and he even helped me see how an extra day in the hospital would help me recover better, plus I had a slight fever still that they were concerned about so he wanted to keep an eye on me until that Sunday. He made sure I had everything I needed to go home and that I knew all I needed to know about how to recover at home. He really helped to put me at ease.
I learned so much from all these people and experiences and I have so much more to learn! I am finding my positive attitude again and trying to be patient as we wait on the information that will help us make all the decisions for the future. There has to be a good reason this information is taking longer. I hope to be able to reflect on this later to see why all this time was a good thing!
After surgery:
I have received many cards and gifts from family and friends! These little rays of support and hope and well wishes have been the things that have gotten me through all these tough days of waiting. These notes of encouragement have been wonderful surprises. The girls especially love to get the mail and count how many cards mommy gets each day.... then they complain they are not getting any mail.
The girls mom's away from home, Kim and Wendi, have helped more than I can ever tell you! They are such angels and have created such a safe environment for the girls throughout these past months when I have not been able to be with them. We are now finding time for me to able to get together with them all and have family days together. We last had a fun afternoon of talking, eating and enjoying each others company at Wendi's house.
Thank you to all who have helped us in so many ways! You are all a part of our family and we love you all! Support and love are the things I take away from all of these experiences!
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