From August 22nd…
I apparently posted the following as a blog PAGE rather than a blog POST. Here it is for those of you who need just a little more ‘Merle’ this Sunday evening.
It Made Sense When I Thought of it…
So a little review, it seemed like a reasonable thing to walk up and down 6 flights of stairs while at Hopkins; unfortunately, I found that I got overly tired and sore — not such a good idea. It seemed like a reasonable thing to drive to NJ to stay at my Mom’s place; unfortunately, 2 hours in a car within a week of surgery is not such a great idea as I was really sore and grumpy afterward. Today, I thought I’d try to drop down my pain meds from 2 pills every 4 hours to 1 pill every 4 hours. Unfortunately, I also was feeling okay and let 4 hours become 5+ hours, and well, I am not ready to extend my pain med intervals.
Yesterday I talked with Dr. Cameron’s physician’s assistant who again and again reminded me that I will get better, stronger, etc. with time. Right now, though, I’m at a place where I am tired of being in pain. I am tired of not sleeping well. I am tired of having to hold my stomach any time I try to move. I am tired… Right now, September 2nd seems SO far away and I’m frustrated. Intellectually, I know it’s only been 8 days since my surgery. I know that my wound seems to be healing well and I’m doing really well to be up and out of the hospital. Emotionally, though, I’m not feeling it, right now. Perhaps a shower will help.
As an aside, I wanted to express my deep and heartfelt appreciation to my colleagues at CDC. There is no short-term medical leave at CDC; instead, there is a program for employees to donate excess leave hours they have to people who are in need. If I read it correctly, I have had over 450 hours of leave donated to me. I am in awe. Never had I expected to receive so much. Thank you! And while I am thanking folks, let me also thank Rob and Nancy, from church, who were kind enough to donate skymiles so MaryBeth and I can fly home to Atlanta from Baltimore in first class (figuring I didn’t want to try and squeeze into the smaller seats with my sore stomach).
Finally, I want to thank my mother-in-law, Elaine, who has stepped up to the Herculean task of watching over our three kids while MB and I are in the northeast. Elaine has been with the kids since August 12 and will be there until the end of August. Thus, I also want to thank my sister-in-law, Susan, who will fly down and watch the kids the last little bit before MB and I get home.
Tomorrow is another day and perhaps I’ll feel better then.
Merle