Blessed

The blessings we have experienced in the last two weeks have been too numerous to count. The biggest and best news is that the surgery went perfectly and Dr. Atkinson was able to reattach Vern's colon without a problem. He had to remove 12 inches of his colon. It still amazes me that we have that much or more to spare! 8 days total in the hospital and I got to bring my precious cargo home. Vern is doing great,recovering in leaps and bounds!

The Hospital-We were blessed that our town recently built a fancy new hospital with private rooms. Hospitals are almost impossible to sleep in which is ironic because the people that are there need to rest?! I was thankful for the recliner that the nurses snuck out of the OB ward for me to sleep in after Vern's surgery...oh and that stack of warm blankets from the blanket oven,heavenly ;) As for Vern it was a long frustrating stay filled with worry,pain and then cabin fever. By the time I brought him home we were both so excited we cried.

Our Nurses-First it was Norma the "highballer". We had her the first night after we got moved up from the emergency room. We were exhausted and still in a bit of shock so her apparent incompetence almost went overlooked. We later found out that quickly pushing meds into an IV is called high balling and is done by drug addicts and nurses in a hurry. Nice. Poor Vern would get a hot rush through his body and then tingle through a bout of nausea after she administered his meds. We never saw Norma again after that and that was the end of horrible staff. After that we met Shelly,she became like a mother figure to us while we were there. She is probably in her early 60's and works harder than the Nurses half her age but you always knew when Shelly was on shift because she left a whirlwind of mess behind her. She hated to be bothered with wrappers,knobs etc as she was more concerned with patient comfort...but it was humorous. Since our time in the hospital Shelly has come to see me for a haircut and loved it! I hope to keep in touch with her for a long time. Last but not least our favorite team of male nurses,Brandon and Jeff. The best way to explain them is that they were like typical men..but nurses. Caring and concerned yet also efficient and thorough. Jeff gets special kudos from me because he is the one that tracked down the recliner and warm blankets for me while Brandon took awesome care of Vern.Brandon was easily "won over" with blue (raspberry) Jolly Ranchers and admitted often that he enjoyed his rounds in our room as we joked and ate candy. Apparently the hospital can be a pretty depressing place to work. I understand now why Doctors etc charge what they do...they deserve it. They work hard. I could ramble on and tell you about Tonya the feisty one that made us laugh,Megan,the pretty young nurse (and a really funny catheter story) who was kind yet new and uneasy. How does one make it through Nursing school without learning how to properly dress and wound?! But she was nice...and gentle (so I hear... LOL!) It was a strange feeling to be so happy to get away from people we had honestly grown to enjoy.

The Recovery-Vern has a long scar the starts above his belly button and extends down into his pelvic area. He says it is tender and sore and at first it was bumpy and swollen. He has been great about taking it easy and getting lots of rest. The first 24-48 hours after he came home he was restricted to a liquid diet and then eventually low fiber. For his "first"meal he requested a plain chicken breast and mashed potatoes and I happily obliged. The first taste he had, literally almost brought a tear to his eye after he had been tube fed and on liquids for almost 2 weeks. A week later at his pre op appointment Vern's surgeon also "mentioned" in conversation that he had also removed Vern's appendix. Dr Atkinson is a wonderful surgeon but how do you visit a patient 4 days in a row after surgery and forget to tell them them that you removed more body parts that originally planned?! Did he charge us? Did we get a 2 for 1 special in the OR? ha ha

I have typed away at this blog post for weeks now..saving because I was too tired to finish and post and then always something new to add. Thank you all for the prayers,love,support,flowers,meals,hugs and more! Now we are more motivated than ever to get out and enjoy life while also getting healthy :)