Recovery-Update 16

Our first night home was a bit tough. We were already exhausted from the day and I personally hadn't really thought about the fact that Katie's need for pain meds every 4 hours meant I was going to have to set my alarm to get up every 4 hours. Also, taking Vicodin is not like taking a tylenol. Apparently it makes you nauseous - even just swallowing it and you HAVE to take it with some food. Katie usually has a couple of foods to make sure she gets rid of the taste, such as crackers and apple sauce. So, it takes a little while.

This morning she was feeling both pain and nausea. Katie just wanted to sleep because the nausea was so bad. We called the surgeon to see if we could get a prescription for that and to address the pain. Of course, being a surgeon, he was in surgery. It wasn't until late afternoon that we got a call back. For the pain, they want her to continue with 2 pills of Vicodin but to add 2 pills of Advil on top of that. For the nausea, they prescribed Zofran. Thank you Lord for insurance. Walgreens warned me that not all insurances cover it all the time and that if they didn't 30 pills would cost $407!!!! We almost had to make another trip to the Heart and Vascular Institute for me!!! Fortunately they do cover it and it was only a quarter of that cost. Yeah - still a lot but I happily paid it knowing what it could have been (mind you this was for the generic brand too).

It was worth it. Katie took the pill and the late afternoon/evening was completely different. She was up, walking around and playing with Elena as much as she could and at a much SLOWER pace. She was also eating. Now she's able to do the things she's supposed to do to heal. Speaking of walking, Katie's walker arrived this afternoon. It's perfect. It has four wheels, hand breaks, a basket for carrying things, a tray that clips on for carrying food/drinks and a seat. We wanted something she'd be able to use outdoors for walks as well and I wanted to make sure it had a seat. That way if she needed to rest, wherever she was, she could just lock the brakes and take a breather. I wanted to minimize the obstacles that might keep her from walking.

Anyway, it's difficult for Katie to walk at her own pace because Elena likes to get behind the walker when Mom is using it and push it to go faster. Katie definitely has a physical trainer and her name is Elena. Nobody can get her up and moving like Elena can!

Tomorrow we're expecting the nurse that was supposed to show up today. She'll take a look at Katie's incisions and help us re-dress and care for them.

Thanks to everyone whose brought us meals so far. With everything we've been managing, it's been a great deal of help to not have to worry about what is for dinner. It helps us unwind a little bit in the evening and is even a little surprise to look forward to.

If this post seems incongruous it's because it's reflecting the state of my mind at this point.