aroraborealis

On the bright side, I'm making noticeable progress in my recovery every day. A major turning point was last Thursday when I had my followup with my surgeon and he removed the staples from my incisions, which made me much more comfortable, both physically and psychologically. Friday, I woke up feeling like myself for the first time since falling ill. It was great, and well-timed. I'm moving increasingly easily and increasing my range of motion in my torso in nice ways. I'm also back to not needing to nap every day. This is great.

On the down side, I'm still enough in recovery that the progress is notable every day. I'm looking forward to when it's not quite so remarkable day to day. I'm also looking forward to being able to stretch comfortably without feeling like it's pulling in weird, hidden places, and generally forgetting about the whole thing.

Let's hear it for laparoscopic surgery, though. This whole process would be extended by a factor of 3 or 4 without it, and I'm incredibly grateful that it was an option available to me.

Things I feel good about:

* I suspected pretty early that the indigestion I was feeling was possibly appendicitis. I like it that I'm in tune enough with my body that I had a pretty clear sense of "this is wrong" even though at that point pain was pretty mild and other symptoms nearly nonexistent.

* Really awesome supportive people helped me through the scariest, hardest part of going to the ER, waiting for diagnosis, and prepping for surgery. I was completely freaked out about every part of that 15 hours, and I honestly have no idea what I'd've done without their help. Been an utter basket case, for one thing.

* Lots of warm, supportive visits and talks and comments from other folks help me feel loved and connected -- thanks, all!

Things I want to bitch about:

* In general, I haven't been blown away by the staff-patient communication here, even though people are, generally nice.

* I really want to go home.

* The IV port in my right elbow is driving me crazy.

* I can't wait to shower.

* My roommate here has been driving me crazy such that it's hard for me to sympathize with her, despite the fact that she underwent four major surgeries yesterday, but she blew her IV port about 3 hours ago and they haven't been able to replace it, leaving her without pain meds in all that time, which has decreased my respect for the staff and increased my sympathy for her. But I still wish I had my own room. Ideally, at my house.

Finally, is it wrong that I find it utterly hilarious every time an aide comes to take my vitals and freaks out at how low my blood pressure is? (as low as 80/46 today)