Friend #39

I am back! I took a week off, not by choice, but by the pain meds' choice. I was loopy and strange. And considering I've only been home and to the doctor's office in the past eight days, my new peeps are all medical personnel (still!) and I'm getting tired of it.
My surgery was Monday. Went well...I showed up, they had me lie down, all the nurses Ohh-ed and Ahh-ed at how pink and beautiful my skin is, someone pushed a needle through my hand and that was it. I woke up 5 hours later with a woman calling, "Kirsten, Kirsten? You need to wake up now." This was Cheryl. Oh, what an angel I was waking up to! "Kirsten, open your eyes now." I didn't want to. I wanted to sleep for days. Cheryl started telling me where I was and what had happened. I knew where I was though, because the anesthesia hadn't allowed me to dream that I was elsewhere. "Sweetie, you HAVE to keep your eyes open." And there it was: Oh My God it was a flashback from my college days and Shannon saying, "You are NOT going to pass out in my car! Keep your eyes OPEN!"
So I let out an airy laugh at Cheryl. She had no idea why I was smiling, but in my mind, it was hilarious.
After numerous reminders to keep my eyes open, Cheryl brought my Knight in, Michael, my hero. She gave him the directions for how to care for me in the next 24 hours until I returned for a checkup. The next thing I knew I was in the car. The next 24 hours were a complete blur of pain meds, trips to the potty, and Mike diligently taking my temp.
I spoke to Cheryl three more times that week on the phone, as she called to check in on me. I told her why I had laughed in the recovery room and she agreed that it could have been a moment from her college days as well.
One week later, and I'm still in pain, still a bit out of it, but I did my first load of laundry this morning.
This afternoon I have an appointment to get my drains (they are as gross as they sound) out and hopefully get permission to stop sleeping in my recliner. Fun times.