I’m back! {Surgery and Recovery Recap}

Hey, hey! Look who’s back posting on her own blog for good! 😉 Friends! I’ve missed you! It’s been a crazy, crazy month, and I am so glad to be back. If you’re new around here, I had surgery about a month ago, so the past few weeks on my blog have been filled with {amazing, incredible} guest posts from some of my favorite blogging buddies! Be sure to pop back to the homepage and check them out because these ladies are seriously talented.

So what have I been up to this past month? I truly feel like I have learned so much during this time– about my faith, my family, friends, and life in general. There’s nothing that will teach you more than being flat on your back and having to rely on others to take care of you. Talk about humbling. I may dig deeper into the lessons I learned in future posts, but today I just wanted to give a little recap of what in the world has been going on around here. Like many of my posts about my health/surgery, I mostly write them to have a record so I can look back or my boys can look back and remember our whole journey, but feel free to come along for the ride!

Surgery

Waaaaaaayyyy back on July 21st, I arrived at Magee Women’s Hospital in Pittsburgh at 5:30 in the morning to check in for my surgery {a preventative bilateral mastectomy and reconstruction due to a genetic mutation that was discovered 10 years ago. You can read my full story here}. My parents and Donnie were with me, and I felt like we were all surprisingly relaxed. (It’s not that I’m all that strong. It’s mostly that I had a good, hard “I’m scared and nervous and can’t control this thing and it’s really terrifying” cry the night before, so it was all out of my system. 🙂 ) The day we all had known was coming for the past 10 years was finally here, and there was nothing left to do but to go for it. I was taken back to a room, the nurses had me change into a gown, they placed an IV, and each of my doctors came in to talk to me one last time. Everything felt like it was happening in slow motion. You know how when you anticipate an event for a long time and then it finally comes you can hardly believe it’s actually happening? That’s how I felt as they were prepping me for surgery. The last thing I remember from that morning was the medical staff pushing my hospital bed out of my temporary room, and entering the hallway… then nothing.

I woke up in the recovery room hours later… well I sort of woke up. It was all kind of a blur. I remember that every time I tried to open my eyes I felt like I was carsick– nauseous, dizzy, headache. It was awful. I also remember the nurse coming in and asking me if I was ready to go see my family. I was, but then they made me wait another hour or two until they actually took me, and I remember feeling frustrated in the midst of my delirium that I wasn’t going anywhere. 🙂

It was 5 pm by the time they put me in my permanent room, and Donnie, my parents, and my sister were all waiting when I got there. I know I was glad to see them, but I really don’t remember much about the rest of surgery day. Apparently anesthesia and I don’t play very nicely together, so I was feeling pretty sick and falling in and out of sleep. Eventually my parents and sister left to take care of the Cs (who I was already missing terribly) and Donnie stayed with me overnight.

If you’ve ever had a hospital stay, you know that nights there are not usually very restful. People are coming in all the time to check different things and make sure everything looks the way it should. It seemed that every time I would begin to fall asleep, someone would come to take my vitals or check my drains, or attend to my IV. Despite the somewhat sleepless night, I felt better the next morning, and one of the first things I thought was, “Oh no, I’d better let people know how I’m doing or they’re going to think I died.” (See how much I love you guys? 😉 ) Now, I probably should have made someone take my phone away from me because I was still partially delirious at this point and really didn’t know what I was doing completely. Thankfully I didn’t overshare any information, but if you follow me on Instagram you saw this:

Not the most attractive picture of me for sure, but I figured you all would understand since I just had surgery and all. 😉 Later that day when I was a little more “with it,” I was delighted when the Cs were able to come for a visit.

I remember seeing a look of surprise on their faces when they walked into the room and saw me lying in bed, hooked up to tubes and crazy machines. I immediately began questioning whether it was a smart decision for me to ask for them to be brought for a visit, but it didn’t take long until they were acting like their silly selves, and seeing them completely brightened my day. They went off to grandma’s house for a few days where they enjoyed being completely spoiled, and I headed home later that night with Donnie.

Recovery

The next several days were kind of foggy– I was tired, had a lot of headaches and nausea, and just felt all around “out of it.” I finally realized that the pain medication was playing a major role in all of those side effects, and once I stopped taking it, I felt SO much better!

Tiredness was still (and continues to be) my biggest side effect. Any little activity– folding a basket of laundry, taking a shower, even focused writing or responding to messages and emails– totally wiped me out. Every time I did one of those things I would spend hours on the couch recovering. It was pretty ridiculous. I don’t know that I have ever spent so much time in my house in my whole life. I now have a small idea of what it might feel like to be a hermit. 🙂 Finally, though, I started getting out little by little, able to do a more and more each week.

I’m thrilled to say that I’m feeling much, much better these days. I still tire more easily than before, but I’m not spending the majority of my days on the couch anymore, so it’s an improvement! There are still a few things that my doctors will be keeping an eye on, and I’m still going in for check ups periodically, but the toughest part is definitely over.

There is no way that I could have possibly gotten through this last month on my own. I SO felt all of your prayers and know that God was holding me in the palm of his hand throughout this whole thing. Donnie was beyond incredible. He kept up with his full time job during the day, working from home so he could check on me and help me when I needed it. He spent his evenings taking care of the Cs and after they went to bed, he spent time putting the finishing touches on our master bathroom. Have I mentioned that he’s amazing? He’s amazing. Both Donnie’s parents and my parents, and our sisters gave of their time to help out whenever and wherever they could, including caring for the Cs a lot. I literally didn’t cook for 3 1/2 weeks after my surgery because friends blessed us with so many delicious meals. I have never felt so loved and supported– through care packages, flowers, cards, emails, comments, messages, you name it– you guys were so awesome. Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

GIVEAWAY!!!

As a little added bonus, I wanted to give away a little something as a “thank you for putting up with all of the craziness around here,” and I couldn’t think of a more perfect person to help me with this than my friend Mindie May of the blog Bacon Time with the Hungry Hypo and the Etsy shop TLC Creations. I “met” (online, of course 🙂 ) Mindie May shortly after she was diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year. I have watched her fight with a vengeance throughout her whole battle and be oh-so-brave the entire time. She continues to amaze me with her strength day in and day out, and I am so honored to call her my friend.

Throughout everything Mindie May has kept up her adorable Etsy shop, which offers unique jewelry and hair accessories, soaps and perfumes, and even a little homage to breast cancer survivors everywhere…

Mindie was sweet enough to send me one of these beautiful “Survivor” totes, which can be found in her shop here. She also gifted me a gorgeous terrarium necklace, which I absolutely love, and I’m so thrilled to be giving away one of these necklaces to a lucky reader as well!

{If you have any questions about the necklace details, you can view the listing here.}

To enter to win, simply follow the instructions on the rafflecopter below, and be sure to visit TLC Creations and see what Mindie May has been creating lately!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you so much for entering and for your amazing support over the past month! Sending you big hugs across the internet!