The hospital

After being in recovery they moved me to room 511, this was around 5:30 pm. I was still in considerable pain and not completely aware of my surroundings, I think largely because of the anesthesia. My nurse, a wonderful person named Sarah, gave me liquid form of percocet which pretty much put me back to sleep. I woke up three hours later and was able to watch some TV and call the kids to tell them good night. I had ice chips to suck on and I always had one in my mouth. At 10 pm Sarah came in checked my vitals and gave more pain medicine. I was able to ask for this every four hours and I pretty much did. The pain was tolerable for most of the time. The last half hour before my medicine was due again became uncomfortable, but not as bad as when I first left surgery. The next morning I was still groggy, but the anesthesia haze had left me. I learned that I was experiencing two different kinds of pain, one from the incisions that was sharp but did not last long, and one from a build up of gas in my intestines that I could not pass. The gas pain was not as sharp but it was uncomfortable and lasted longer. As each day progressed the pressure became greater. For breakfast (and all the rest of my meals) they brought me broth, jello, a popsicle, and juice. I alternated between the broth and the jello, never touching the other things. After relaxing a majority of the morning the nurses aid, another person who did a fantastic job, came to help clean me up and to move me around. The first thing I had to do was to get out of bed, which was a huge endeavor. I could not even scratch my legs (or my back as I found out), so swinging my legs over the side of the bed and twisting to sit up was a big deal. We eventually go it, thankfully I did not fall as she was 8 1/2 months pregnant and I would have killed us both, and I was able to walk around the room. I sat in a chair for a while and went back to bed. I then would get out of bed every so often, each time was painful, but easier than the time before. Friday night was not bad, except for the pain from the gas and during the night I actually got out of bed and walked the hallways twice. Saturday morning the doctor came by and said I could go home and we went through the steps for that. I still could not pass any gas, but the pain was tolerable with the medication and I was able to be home early Saturday afternoon. I received good care in the hospital but I was glad to come home.