Surgery Update

Warning: my brain is so scattered right now so I am guessing this post will be, too.

I am just under 48 hours out from my surgery and I am getting pretty anxious, to say the least. I feel like I still have a lot to do beforehand (cooking, cleaning, laundry, packing, Christmas things) and very little time to do it all in. I know it will all get done because I am neurotic like that and will sacrifice sleep (and a bit of my sanity) in order to focus on my to-do list.

Trust me, I know there are a lot of things I could not do beforehand in order to make these last couple of days a bit more relaxing but that’s just not me. I would rather be a bit crazy for two or three days in order to be able to focus solely on my recovery for the following two weeks.

I know I could buy a lot of packaged/processed convenience foods and live off of those for the week or two I am not able to cook for myself but I really don’t want to. I am undergoing something that will be a pretty big impact on my body. My body will be working hard to fight off infections, to repair itself, to heal, and I need to be giving it the best and most nutrient dense foods I can in order to help it along in the process. I honestly believe that what I choose to eat (coupled with following doctor’s orders regarding movement and rest) will help make my recovery easier and faster. This means cooking/freezing a couple weeks’ worth of lunches and dinners ahead of time. That was my focus last night and will be today and tomorrow after work.

Another thing I wanted to do prior to the surgery was to finish Christmas shopping, wrap all my Christmas gifts and write out (and mail, if needed) all my Christmas cards. I know this is not a necessity. I am pretty sure that anyone in my life whom to which I would give a present or a card to would be 100% ok with not getting either given the circumstances. I know gifts/cards are not expected from me. However, I love Christmas. I love being able to express my feelings of love and gratitude to those around me and I didn’t want this surgery to stand in the way of that. Sadly, last night I ran out of Christmas cards and was a bit bummed because I didn’t get through everyone on my list. Thankfully my friend, the one who is taking care of me over the next two weeks, volunteered to write Christmas cards for me if I were to buy more. So…if you receive a card from me but it is in someone else’s handwriting you’ll know why.

Today will be a pretty busy day. Work, quick stop (is there such a thing?) at Target during my lunch break, work, pick up prescriptions, cook, package up prepared food, clean, laundry and packing. Oh and Christmas cards (I plan on buying more at Target) if I have the time.

Tomorrow is almost as busy; work, lunchtime appointment at the surgeon’s office for my markings, work, visit with the pups (since it will be awhile before I am able to see them again), then home to finish packing, packaging up all the rest of the meals I made ahead of time, and final bit of cleaning. I won’t be staying in my apartment for a few weeks so I want to make sure all the trash is taken out, the apartment is clean, and everything I will need to have with me is packed.

Wednesday will be; up at 430a, 6am arrival at the hospital, 9am surgery, then recovery with a 23 hour watch which means I may or may not spend the night in the hospital. That’s for the doctors/nurses to determine after. The surgery should take approximately four hours. So sometime early to mid-afternoon (don’t forget, I am on central time) I should be out and in the recovery room resting. My friend will have my cellphone. I put him in charge of three things; social media (Facebook updates plus responses to any tweets, messages, etc.), text messages and phone calls. So, if you want to check in on me at any time Wednesday or throughout the week please use one of those three methods. At some point I will try to blog and let you all know I am ok and how things are going but I make no promises as to when that will be. It will be as soon as I can string together some words in a coherent manner.

I guess that is about it for now. I don’t plan on writing anything tomorrow so until the next time…

Love and hugs and many holiday wishes-

Dacia