Whew!!

I think the worst is over. Or at least the worst of the beginning is over!!

I survived my surgery with very little side effects or issues. There was no one BIGGEST thing, but there were some things that were challenging.

1. the anesthesia got to me after the surgery, but to be honest, I had been lying in recovery for nearly 4 hrs before it got to me and only because I really should have been in a room by then, snuggled in for the duration. I think I got sick because I needed a drink or ice chips or something and there was no one there to help get that for me. They wouldn't let Roland come back there with me, which was a total bummer. He was irate and I needed him by my side to help me.

2. I got to my room, finally, and they didn't prop up my foot properly - but I didn't find that out until the NEXT morning when the orthopedic resident came in to check on me. She works with my Dr. and was totally familiar with everything he had done to my foot. She fixed my bed, propped my foot up more, which helped with the pain.

3. speaking of pain - OUCH!! 6 mg of Morphine every 3 hrs and 2 percocets every 4 hrs (alternating of course) only took the EDGE off for the first 28 hrs. Until I got released. I think just the idea of coming home, having my total sweetheart take care of me made me feel better.

4. and the bedpan - YUCK!! Need I say more?????

All-in-all, it was pretty intense until I got home. It still hurt until I got past the 48 hr mark, then it started getting better. I took a bird bath, he washed my hair, changed my clothes, fed me great food and let me sleep as much as I could. He's a GREAT CAREGIVER!! The recovery process is long, drawn-out: can't walk on it for 6-8 weeks, can't drive for 3-4 months, won't be 100% for a year, but it will be better than it was.

When I get pictures I'll put up before, during and after pictures. For the time being, it's still too embarrassing to post the pics. I swear, it's unbelievable how crippled my foot was and how I was walking. But I managed because I could NEVER have had this surgery without Roland's help. My kids would have helped, but it's not the same - they would not have been able to stay home every minute of every day to take care of me. I'm still in bed and will be for the week. Then he wants me to stay in bed for another week, only going out to go to the Dr's next Tuesday.

I'll get the stitches out on Tuesday, get a hard cast and go to the next step of recovery. But again, I could not have done this without him helping me. This is what relationships are about - it's love in action, that's what it is................I love him so much!