Posted by Sunray on March 13, 2000 at 11:24:28:
Hello friends!
Thanks for your prayers, support and continuing good wishes!
I think I'm doing very well. I was 2 weeks post-op as of Thursday (3/9). I've had a little slower recovery than some, because I had the post-surgery congestion, fever, and then a minor cold when I got home. I also had a lot of trouble sleeping during the first week, partly because of the pain and partly because the congestion kept waking me up every time I got to sleep. Wonderfully, all of that is behind me now. I still can't walk very far (or shop very long--LOL) without having to rest, but I walk often, and I'm increasing the distance as fast as my body will allow. My incision pain and tummy pain are pretty much gone unless I get into a funny position while I'm sleeping and then I wake up kinda sore.
I found out during my stay in the hospital that morphine is not my friend--LOL. I didn't have a morphine pump, but I could get shots every few hours. I hurt so badly after the surgery that I was asking for a shot as often as I could get it. It felt like my stomach was full of churning crushed glass and on fire too. I found out later that I was having so much pain because morphine doesn't work for me--well, not for pain anyway. However, the morphine did work on my mind. Between the effects of the pain and the morphine I went pretty crazy. Bill was getting worried because he was asking me things like my parents' names and where we live, and I didn't give him the right answers. I felt like I was lost inside my head and couldn't get out. I couldn't concentrate. Then I got this uncontrollable urge to give Bill an urgent message. I mean URGENT! It was very overwhelming. It seemed a matter of life or death that I make him understand:
I said, "Bill."
He said, "What?"
I said, "Crabs."
He looked puzzled and asked, "What about them?"
I wondered why he didn't get it, but explained, "In a pot."
He said, "Okayyyy...what about crabs in a pot?" and waited expectantly.
I still couldn't believe he didn't get it, but I answered, "That's how you cook em." (DUH!)
Still looking puzzled (and very worried), he pondered that for a moment and then said, "Okayyyy....."
My important message delivered and after having struggled to stay focused for so long, I let my head collapse back onto the pillow. Mission accomplished! LOL I don't know why I thought the message was so important to deliver, but once I started talking about crabs, Bill put that together with my pin-point pupils and headed for the nurses' station. He told my nurse about the crabs, and she laughed and said, "Well, when the crabs get done cooking, we'll take her off the morphine and start her on demerol." Good choice! It was demerol for me and no more crabs from then on! So ends my morphine story!
love,
Lynne
"The greatest tragedy isn't our mortal death, but that which dies inside of us while we live." --N.Cousins