search: “hypertrophic scar”

Back in June, in a 7 Quick Takes post, I mentioned (in take #6) that I was developing keloid scarring after my surgery. In my case (thankfully), I should use the term “hypertrophic” scarring. I get a lot of hits on that post and I see the search string nearly EVERY day in my stats, so I thought I’d follow up for those who hit my blog looking for info on hypertrophic scarring and possible treatments. First, let’s clarify the difference between keloid and hypertrophic scars:

“Hypertrophic scars are typically raised, erythematous (red, pink, or purple) and stiffer than the surrounding skin. Over time most hypertrophic scars mature resulting in a scar remnant that appears like that of a normal scar except it is typically wider than if the scar had not become hypertrophic. Note that when an incisional wound heals normally, the resulting scar remnant may be as fine as a simple pencil line across the skin, while the matured hypertrophic scar may appear wider, like that left by a pencil eraser. Hypertrophic scars often are associated with hypersensitivity to touch (like clothing sliding across the skin), and they may itch or be generally painful.

Keloids have been described as hypertrophic scars on steroids! By definition, a hypertrophic scar remains within the boundaries of the original injury while a keloid may grow beyond those boundaries. Also, while hypertrophic scars typically regress over time, keloids generally do not.

Because the distinction between hypertrophic scars and keloids is often unclear, the medical literature and medical professionals often use the terms interchangeably.” (For more info and treatment alternatives, visit the source of this quote.)

The hypertrophic scarring was not a surprise for me. I had the same problem after my two previous abdominal surgeries. My mom has a few hypertrophic scars. Maybe it’s hereditary.

Back in June, my doctor treated the scar by injecting steroids directly into them. There was still swelling and numbness, so I didn’t feel a thing. Then in August, he injected steroids into them again and still numb, I didn’t feel a thing. He also suggested I tape the scar – just apply medical/paper tape directly over the scar, providing slight pressure and support 24/7. There are indications that the application of paper tape reduces the scarring. The paper tape stays on for days, even after showering.

So on Friday, I was back for my six month follow-up and while the scar isn’t worse, it’s still hypertrophic. I admitted to my doctor that I was good about taping it for about three weeks. Then . . . not so much. More steroid injections into the scar. And I’m not so numb anymore. ouch. and again. OUCH. But seriously, that pain? Compared to what I’ve already experienced? nuthin.

I am going to be more consistent about the taping.

skunks are actually beautiful animals.

So says FirstHusband. AFTER we spent nearly two hours coaxing one out of our FAMILY ROOM!!

OUR. FAMILY. ROOM.

That’s just wrong.

Remember the “squirrel in the chimney” story? All about how we dealt with extracting squirrels from our family room? Four times? Now I understand. God was just providing us with ample practice before we had to get a SKUNK out of the family room.

The facts are these:

It’s Saturday night, around ten till eleven. I’m sitting in my favorite chair, in the family room. FirstHusband is sitting on the couch to the left of me. We’re separated by a small table. And a bowl of popcorn. I’m relaxed. Watching DVR’d Grey’s Anatomy. And I hear a noise. A strange noise. A rustling noise. Next to me. So I look down at the table.

Someone is looking back.

One cat is asleep across the room. The other, asleep in PinkGirl’s bed.

This is not a cat.

I immediately lift my feet and, somehow, although I don’t think I’m breathing, I manage to whisper:

“There’s. a. wild. animal. in. the. house.”

FirstHusband looks confused. Just in case I really didn’t speak out loud and only thought I did. I repeat:

“There’s. a. wild. animal. in. the. house.”

“Where?”

“Under the table.”

And then it registers with me just how close this unidentified wild animal is to ME. I am SO not sitting here for one more second. I throw my legs over the right side of the chair and bolt for the kitchen chairs, inches away. I need to be up high. I don’t know what that thing is. It had a a long, pointy, black nose, beady little eyes and white stripes from it’s nose to the top of its head. This was not a squirrel. I decided it was a badger. A mean badger. A cranky, hungry badger. With rabies. FirstHusband tells me there are no badgers in Florida. I tell him he doesn’t know that. Smart man decided not to try and convince me.

As soon as I got up out of the chair, BeadyEyes took off under the couch. FirstHusband, still not sure what’s going on, gets up and W A L K S to the kitchen table. WALKS? He’s barefoot, for cryin out loud!!! So am I, but I’m standing on a kitchen chair, trying not to fall off. (Why did I ever think twirling, rolling office chairs were a good idea for the kitchen table?)

FirstHusband starts moving things off the floor. Toys. Clothes. Backpack. The adreneline rush is easing off and I’m beginning to doubt myself. Full out wishful thinking. Maybe I didn’t see anything. Maybe it was my imagination.

FirstHusband tips the couch.

“It wasn’t your imagination.”

He saw a white, bushy tail run underneath the recliner at the end of the room. So. We know where it is. I saw the front end. FirstHusband saw the back end. He Googles. I can’t see laptop monitor from my position on top of a stool.

Skunk.

NO. That’s not possible. no No NO. NO skunk in my house!!!! no. No. NO. NO. NO!

I climb down from my stool to look at Google images. sigh. Confirmed. This looks exactly like the face I saw under the table.

So we go through the usual set-up for squirrel extraction. This is routine. We open the sliding door. We make our usual gauntlet to the sliding door. Pool hose is used to seal the gap between the bottom of the couch and the floor. Blankets and pillows stuffed into possible escape paths. Lights dimmed. We watch. We wait. We watch some more. FirstHusband moves the recliner. Nothing. BeadyEyes must have moved. FirstHusband moves all the exercise equipment behind the recliner. Nothing. Where’d he go? We wait. We hear . . . rustling. We watch. FirstHusband says:

“Get the camera. You’re gonna want to blog this.”

Can’t see it? Let’s zooma zooma zooma zoom.

Time crawls. BeadyEyes makes about 20 false starts to crawl up onto and across the fireplace hearth. Finally he makes it. Behind the TV armoire. Which we had attempted to block off with blankets and pillows.

Arrrggg.

Time crawls. Because you don’t want to startle a skunk. You don’t want to make noises or scare him out of your house – lest he freak out.

Another 20 or so false starts out the door. But it’s COLD outside. Friday, the week before, the heat index was 106 and NOW it’s cold? Over and over again, the little guy comes out from under the TV armoire, and handstand walks all the way to the door. Handstands. Supposedly this is an aggressive posture. Here’s a Google image of it:

When a skunk handstand walks in your family room, you stay back and leave him alone.

Over and over again, he makes it right to the door, gets cold (or cold feet), drops down on all fours and scurries back under the tv armoire. Finally, he’s there. RIGHT THERE. And he comes scurrying into the middle of the room – right toward ME.

I don’t think so. I had a mop. I didn’t try to whack him, I just stuck the mop head in front of him and he did an about face. Right back under the tv armoire. We rearranged our obstacles, learning from our mistakes and . . . waited.

And prayed.

Finally, he peeked out far enough, and we were tired and brave enough to move in and block his return. FirstHusband never moved faster than when he closed that sliding door.

And we prayed again. Thank you God that he’s OUT. Thank you God that he didn’t spray.

The next day, we walked the exterior of the house, looking for possible entry points. Nothin. And I’ve got to wonder how long he had been in the house, because for DAYS, our male cat has been crying with that low “MaaRRoww” cat cry you fellow cat owners know. And he started spraying in the living room again. Right after we closed the door after the skunk, we let the cats out (we had locked them up in the laundry room before we opened the sliding door). Bob the cat was all over the family room, sniffing everywhere. He knew someone had been there. But how long had he known?

So. What have I learned this week? Don’t leave your doors open. And if you see a skunk doing a handstand, back off.

---

To find out what others learned this week, check out What I Learned this Week hosted by Musings of a Housewife.

Need a few more chuckles today? Check out Friday Funnies hosted by Homesteaders Heart!

I blinked.

And then it was September 22nd.

Holy WHIRLWIND, Batman!

There’s so much going on right now. Here’s one thing:

No one was hurt!!! It could have been so much worse. We’re looking at it as a blessing!

FirstHusband was on the Florida Turnpike in my van, on his way to FavoriteSon’s “away” football game on Friday night. We had decided the two hour drive there, the two hour game and the two hour drive back was too much to ask of PinkGirl considering none of her friends would be going to game either. So PinkGirl and I were home. FirstHusband called about 5:30 p.m. and said:

“No one was hurt, I’m fine, but I just got rear-ended. I’ve gotta go.”

Sometimes, the man KNOWS how to start a sentence. I hung up and thought, rear-ended. No big deal. He’s fine. He drives a Ford F250, so if he’s fine, it’s probably fine. Small aircraft can hit that thing and bounce off.

Then I remembered. He was driving MY van. oh.

Then the texts/phone calls begin.

Text from FirstHusband: “Your registration is expired.”

Me: (to myself) CRUD-OLA! Happy flippin birthday to me, I FORGOT to renew my tag! (text to FirstHusband) “I’M SO SORRY!”

Him: “No worries.”

Me: (to God) “I know we deserve the consequence, Lord, but please don’t let the ticket for an expired tag be too expensive!!!”

Phone Call from FirstHusband: “Where’s your insurance card?”

Me: “In my purse.”

Him: “Not in your van?”

Me: “No, I carry them with me. With my license.”

Him: “I keep mine in my glove compartment.”

Me: “You don’t carry mine in case you drive the van? I carry yours in case I drive the truck.”

So, FirstHusband is on the Florida Turnpike, over an hour away, with a smashed van, waiting on the Florida Highway Patrol to arrive – withOUT proof of insurance and with an expired tag.

And he’s not mad. Gotta love him.

While waiting on the FHP officer, he called and told me what happened. There was a three car accident ahead and traffic on the Turnpike came to a stop. The guy in front of him barely made the stop. HE barely made the stop. Both he and the guy in front of him looked in their rear view mirrors and knew the guy behind FirstHusband was NOT going to make the stop. They both inched forward as far as they could and FirstHusband stood on the brake to (hopefully) keep from hitting the guy in front of him (didn’t work). At the last minute, somehow, the guy ended up on the right side of the van instead of directly behind it, so no full rear impact. AND the guy didn’t hit the traffic in the lane to the right. No one was hurt, everyone was in a pleasant mood and a woman who worked for the Department of Transportation was two cars ahead, so she hung around and told everyone what they needed to do.

Like I said before – it was a BLESSING. I’ve prayed “Thank you, God” more than a few times since Friday night.

And, instead of a citation with a fine, the officer gave FirstHusband a citation and a form to fill out. We had 30 days to mail copies of the proof of insurance and renewed registration to the clerk of the court. It’s in the mailbox right now.

FirstHusband, Later that Night: “In 19 years of marriage, we just learned something new about each other today. You carry both our insurance cards with you and I keep mine in my truck. I thought you kept yours in your van. Neither way is wrong, I just can’t believe after 19 years, we just figured this out about each other.”

Now we figure out what to do about the van, but that’s another story and it’s WHALE of a SALE time! I’ve got to go shop alphabetize books!

7 Quick Takes: 06/12/09

1. “crud.” That’s what our dishwasher is leaving behind. It is also what I am saying about the fact that our dishwasher is not washing our dishes.

Crud is NOT the word I used when I Googled my Kenmore model and found a forum with over 750 entries by owners who have problems with this dishwasher. Instead, I said, “ARRGG!” What? I love that word. Try it. “ARRGG!”

2. “EWWW!” That’s what I said when I sat down at the piano to help PinkGirl with her scales and smelled cat urine. EWWW is also the word I used when I saw the output tank of my SpotBot after cleaning the source of the stanky smell. I will spare you a photo.

3. “Dang It!” That’s what I said when I saw cat foot prints on the SpotBot track marks the next day. I need to get some Enzyme cleaner. Fast.

4. “Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow.” That’s what I said over and over again the day after using my SpotBot on said carpet stain. On my hands and knees for 15 minutes moving my arm back and forth while holding the SpotBot wand and my abs are KILLING me. I thought it would be okay, it’s six weeks post-op for cryin out loud. Ow.

5. “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!” That’s what I said to FavoriteSon this week! 14 years old! When did THAT happen?

6. “Bummer.” That’s what I thought when FirstHusband sent me a text message on Wednesday night that read:

“On the ground in Birmingham. Wasn’t planning to be in Birmingham today. Always a risk flying into Atlanta.” and then “Finally . . . 4 hours late.”

He sat ON the plane, ON the runway in Birmingham for THREE HOURS waiting to fly into Atlanta on Wednesday night.

Then I said “Bummer” again on Thursday night, when I got this text:

“Plane late out of Atlanta. Currently scheduled to land in Orlando at midnight. Be home around 1am.”

And no, he wasn’t sitting in the Atlanta airport that entire time. He flew from Atlanta to somewhere else and back between Wednesday and Thursday evening. He got home around 1:45 this morning and was already at work before we got up this morning. BUM. MER.

7. “YES!” That’s what I said when I got rid of graciously mailed out FOUR, count em’ FOUR free books to other paperbackswap.com members. Let the purging continue! Want a free book? Join paperbackswap.com, list some of your unwanted books, PICK ONE from my list and I’ll send it to you FREE!

---

Join in with your own 7 Quick Take Friday post at Conversion Diary hosted by Jennifer!

bah-donk-a-donk butt.

note to self: choose on purpose.

Summer can be a little busy. We can find ourselves out and about. And hungry.

Yesterday, I had a Quarter Pounder with Cheese for lunch. No fries, and with a Diet Coke, but still. Today, I had my FAVORITE salad, a Grilled Southwest WITH the southwest dressing even. So yesterday? 510 calories and 26 grams of fat. Today? 420 calories and 15 grams of fat. Still not great. But better. Not better than eating at home. But better than the day before. And really, that’s all I’m going for.   Better than the day before.   Baby steps. Baby steps. (and I’m filling out the exercise log again)

At McDonalds . . .
A Quarter Pounder with Cheese from McDonalds has 510 calories and 26 grams of fat.  (bah-donk-a-donk)
A Grilled Chicken Southwest Salad has 320 calories and 9 grams of fat.

The Southwest Dressing has 100 calories and 6 grams of fat.  (bah-donk-a-donk)
The Low Fat Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing 40 calories and 3 grams of fat.

At Pollo Tropical . . .
The Caribbean Chicken Fajita Platter has 690 calories and 26 grams of fat.  (bah-donk-a-donk)
The Chicken Regular TropiChop® w/Yellow Rice & Vegetables has 330 calories and 5 grams of fat.

At Del Taco . . .
The Chicken Cheddar Quesadilla has 570 calories and 29 grams of fat.  (bah-donk-a-donk)
The plain ol’ Nachos have 370 calories and 21 grams of fat.  (bah-donk-a-donk)
A Taco has 130 calories and 7 grams of fat.
The Grilled Chicken Taco Del Carbon has 150 calories and 5 grams of fat.
(and this one’s for the rest of the family)
The Crispy Fish Taco has 300 calories and 17 grams of fat.  (bah-donk-a-donk)
(and this is for FirstHusband)
The Deluxe Taco Salad has 850 calories and . . . wait for it . . . 46 grams of fat.  (bah-donk-a-donk)

At Subway . . .
A Six Inch Turkey Breast Sandwich has 290 calories and 4 grams of fat.

YO! Julie! Go to Subway! Eat Fresh.

And avoid bah-donk-a-donk butt. (I love this commercial!)

7 Quick Takes: 06.01.09

Kristen emailed me to make sure I was okay and I realized I hadn’t blogged in over a week!

Over a week! What have I been doing?

I missed 7 Quick Takes Friday last week, but it just seems like a good way to catch up on a few things . . .

1. Still healing. Feeling pretty good. Still slow, but getting faster. FirstHusband and I went to Sam’s Club and Walmart together on Saturday and he said I wasn’t annoyingly slow, just a little slow. I leaned on pushed the basket a lot. I get really tired by the end of the day if I’m too active during the day. So. I’m still a bit of a wimp. Thankfully, I’m allowed in my dry sauna now, so that is a WONDERFUL THING. I LOVE my dry sauna.

I wish I could stretch. I mean REEAALLY stretch. Like a cat. When our cats stretch I want to throw things at them to make them stop. It’s not nice that they do that in front of me.

I wish I could sleep comfortably. I mean like I did before the surgery. Hunker down and sleep HARD comfortable, you know?

I wish could get a massage, but I’m still too afraid to lay on my stomach or let anyone even come close to touching my new scar. My back hurts all the time from wearing the compression binder all day. Four weeks down, two more weeks to go.

2. I’ve been reading C.S. Lewis. Really for the first time. I’ve read The Screwtape Letters, but that was over a decade ago and that was fiction. I’ve read excerpts and quotes, but this is the first time I’ve read an entire book by C.S. Lewis. My first pick? “The Problem of Pain.” I’m still working out my thoughts on the paradox of evil and suffering vs. a loving, all-powerful God. Learning a LOT. Making many handwritten notes. And a list of words I need to look up in the dictionary. Like “filial.”

3. Spending a lot of time writing in my prayer journal. About everything. Reading my Bible. Spending time sitting still and shutting up after writing/praying. Listening. Learning. Thinking.

4. Still praying and struggling with what to do about the praise team at my church. Thursday night at 7pm, I went to my first rehearsal since my surgery. The interim leader/director who originally asked me to sing with the group was out of town. By 7:25 p.m., the rehearsal still hadn’t begun. Then, the director of the rehearsal that night, a new full-time hire who plays guitar, started noodling and singing on his own. About 7:45 p.m., 45 minutes after the rehearsal was supposed to begin, we started to sing.

The sound was . . . significantly less than optimal. Rather than go over any parts or run through the songs again, the director moved on. In the end, I said I wasn’t ready to sing with the group on Sunday. Everyone assumed that I wasn’t feeling up to singing quite yet. True. In a way. I attended the traditional service on Sunday morning instead of the contemporary service, so people wouldn’t wonder why I was sitting out.

I’ll admit, I’m discouraged and confused about the direction of this service and what role, if any God wants me to take. There’s another new full-time hire scheduled to arrive next month, so the entire thing is still in transition. I’m taking it a week at a time. Today, I prayed that God would make it VERY CLEAR whether I should sing with the group this week.

5. Summer has begun and we are actually on track for the daily summer plan. The kids are reading a minimum of 30 minutes every day and they are both physically active every day (they are in the pool right now). FavoriteSon has been practicing the guitar nearly every day and PinkGirl had her most productive piano practice today. (I can’t play, but I do remember my scales, so that’s what I’m teaching her.) She hasn’t been consistent with her daily math, but I’m working on it. We’ve been pretty consistent with a 20 minute rotation of playing/working during the day. My oven timer is getting a serious work out.

6. The kids and I have all gone to the dentist for cleanings in the last week and (unfortunately) PinkGirl had her first filling today. She did GREAT. We go to a pediatric dentist and LOVE him.

7. We got a Wii! FavoriteSon, the family money hoarder has been saving his money for months and decided that he wanted to have a boy/girl birthday party in a few weeks and he wanted Wii to be one of the main activities. So he bought himself an early birthday present. Our family was ready for a Wii. My dad came over on Sunday afternoon after church and he even played. Just one more way to get the kids to be active during the day.

---

Join in with your own 7 Quick Take Friday post at Conversion Diary hosted by Jennifer!

ibuprofen, eye contact & a retarded cat.

1. I’ve learned that 400 mg of ibuprofen pales in comparison to ANY mg of Percoset. Baby aspirin might be more effective at getting rid of pain. Or a chanting witch doctor.

2. I’ve learned that, with water, I can EASILY take four ibuprofen tablets at the same time. (A BIG thanks to the table-full of women at the 8th grade banquet last night who all informed me that 800 mg of ibuprofen is what I need!) And yes, you BET I’m taking them with food! Chocolate counts, right?

3. I’ve learned that I need to restock my personal mini-van pharmacy.

4. I’ve learned that I need to carry a bottle of ibuprofen and a bottle of water with me everywhere I go for the next few weeks.

5. I’ve learned that I miss my Percoset. I gaze affectionately at the half-full bottle. Then I pop my ibuprofen instead, get in my van and drive to where ever I have to go with no narcotic impairment.

6. I’ve learned that when doctors say that recovery from an abdominal hysterectomy is 6 weeks, they aren’t just saying that in an effort to protect themselves from a malpractice suit.

7. I’ve learned that when I tell people I had a hysterectomy and a tummy tuck, they only hear “tummy tuck.”

8. I’ve learned that when I tell women I’ve had a tummy tuck, most of them verbally express their jealously of me while abandoning eye contact in favor of staring at my abdomen – while they blatantly rub their own tummy and fantasize about the results of their own tummy tuck. (If I were to ever get the “girls” lifted, I wouldn’t tell. THAT lack of eye contact – and “gesturing” would creep me out.)

9. I’ve learned that the pain (mostly crampy) I’m feeling is INSIDE my abdomen, seemingly from the hysterectomy and not the tummy tuck. I’m thinking that all the organs which previously surrounded my giant uterus are now dukin it out for the newly available real estate. There’s very little incision pain from the tummy tuck. Still too much swelling and numbness. Even the tightened abdominal muscles aren’t really painful. It just feels like I did 2000 crunches. Yesterday.

10. I’ve learned that I really don’t like sleeping on my back.

11. I’ve learned one of my stupid cats believes I’m his personal jumping stepping stone.

12. I’ve learned that my cat can fly. And land on all four feet. Three times in a row.

13. I’ve learned that my cat has a steep learning curve. Or that he suffers from short term memory loss.

14. I’ve learned that this was the PERFECT year and time of year to have these surgeries! It has worked out really, really well.

15. I’ve learned that am incredibly blessed to have such a wonderful, selfless husband who tolerates loves me, even when I’m dishing the cranky because I can’t do anything I’m used to doing.

16. I’ve learned that my kids can be selfless and sweet. Sometimes. When I really NEED them to be.

17. I’ve learned that I need a nap. And a temporary cleaning service. And a rented dumpster for the driveway.

---

To find out what others learned this week, check out What I Learned this Week hosted by Musings of a Housewife.

the fine line between rest and lazy.

On Tuesday, I wrote this in my prayer journal:

“Lord, please help me to find the line between rest and lazy.”

The next day, I received a card from one of the ladies in my circle. In it she wrote:

“I pray you continue to feel stronger and better every day! Be extra gentle with yourself . . . and don’t push too hard. It seems a lot of surgeries are more involved than imagined. Give yourself permission to rest without guilt. Soon you’ll be ready for the beach!

Yesterday, I went for my second plastic surgery post-op, put away a few things on the back porch (while FirstHusband filled two garbage bags from even more stuff on the back porch) and went to PinkGirl’s 1/2 hour Cheer Camp performance.

Then? I laid down for a few minutes and woke up 3 hours later. When I woke up, FirstHusband told me that FavoriteSon’s Middle School State Track Meet would be webcast this morning. We decided that I should stay home and watch it on the internet instead of spend the day at a track meet, over an hour from home.

I was disappointed and told him so. I said,

“I just thought I’d be a little more active by now. It’s been two weeks. I spend a few hours out of the house and need a three hour nap? What’s that about?”

FirstHusband picked up my friend’s card and read,

“Be extra gentle with yourself . . . and don’t push too hard. It seems a lot of surgeries are more involved than imagined.”

sigh.

So, I’m home this morning, watching a webcast of FavoriteSon’s track meet. Isn’t the internet cool?

In other news:

My GYN post-op was Wednesday. Turns out my uterus was 138 grams and filled with polyps and fibroid tumors. A normal uterus weighs 70 grams. My friend wins, though, her uterus was FOUR times as large as normal. She had her hysterectomy the month before I did and I saw her yesterday. She looks and feels GREAT. I’ll catch up.

But the BIG news for me?

I got the second drain out yesterday!!!!! YEAAHHHHHHH!

I am SOOOOO happy about this. REALLY happy! REALLY, REALLY HAPPY!!!!

and

I can now take a shower using TWO hands instead of one! (no more holding the drain)
I get to drive my van for the first time this Monday!
I can’t do ANY strength training for another month.
I CAN walk – no restrictions on that, so I’ll soon be updating my exercise log again.
I still have to wear a compression binder for another month.
My stitches look really good. I’m starting Mederma and Vitamin E moisturizer.
I’ve lost at least 10 pounds since the day before my surgery and I still have a lot of swelling.

Baby steps, baby steps.

Dude, where’s my car?

FirstHusband took my car. Because he knows I can’t physically climb into his truck, a Ford F250. Or drive it in my condition. Not that I was going anywhere. But, without a car, I CAN’T go anywhere.

He’s so bossy.

I’m trapped.

I’m bored. I did work yesterday for a couple of hours. Client training on the internet.

But, now I’m bored again.

I am reading a lot. I’m presenting the program to my ladies circle on Thursday morning. (Yes. Someone is giving me a ride.) I’m still reading and learning about suffering vs. a loving God, so I’m organizing what I’m learning and presenting some of it. Looking forward to the discussion and feedback. Always lots of food for thought from these ladies.

I’m reading the chapters on suffering in:

Lee Strobel’s The Case for Faith: A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity,
Bringing Your Faith to Work: Answers for Break-Room Skeptics by Geisler and Douglass

and the books

Dark Threads the Weaver Needs – The Problem of Human Suffering by Herbert Lockyer and
Where Is God When It Hurts? by Philip Yancy.

I’m also going to be looking at Spectacular Sins: And Their Global Purpose in the Glory of Christ by John Piper and The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis. Any more recommendations on the paradox of pain and suffering vs. a loving God?

So I’m reading and learning a lot.

But when I’m not doing that, I’m still bored.

And slow. I’m walking w a y too slow. I’m so slow, I irritate myself.

Can you tell I’m bored?

Watchin a LOT of Niecy Nash on Clean House. What kind of bra does she wear? Seriously. I need the make and model of that bra. My “girls” don’t compare to Niecy’s, but that bra is FABULOUS, as Niecy would say.

I told you I was bored.

I feel like I’ve been to a theme park.

But no, just a little field trip. My first post-op appointment with the plastic surgeon was today. Percoset aside, I am going to sleep GREAT tonight. My post-op with the GYN doc is supposed to be next week. Hopefully, a field trip won’t take so much out of me by then. After hearing the news that the cysts were all benign, the GYN appointment will be very anti-climactic.

Here’s the latest:

One drain removed!!!! THANK YOU GOD! I HATE the drains. My doctor placed one running from the upper left side of my incision to the upper right side and a second drain running from the lower right side of my incision to the lower left side. The upper drain (the one exiting on my right side) had stopped producing any fluid so it was removed today! And again – THANK YOU GOD! I HATE the drains. The (lower) left drain is still going strong, so I have an appointment a week from today to remove it – UNLESS. Unless it slows to less than 30ml per day for two days in a row. If that happens, I can call the doctor’s office and come in earlier to remove the left drain. Oh, please, oh, please, oh, please!!!!

The steri-strips removed. Owwwww. Pulling tape or adhesive bandages off of skin is one thing. Pulling tape off of stitches is quite another. Owwwww. Especially since the doc and the nurse were double teaming me, each on one side. AND they didn’t tell me what they were going to do! One second they were “looking” and the next . . . DANG! Give a girl a head’s up will ya?

Stitches removed. The stitches around the right drain – gone. The stitches around my belly button – gone. The stitches around the lipo points – gone. All knots on the main incision – gone. Felt like tweezing. Not painful, just not my favorite Friday afternoon pastime.

Percoset prescription refilled. Have I mentioned I love my Percoset? It keeps me walking. Doc still prefers no ibruprophen or naproxin due to blood thinning and healing, so still no driving while on the Percoset. That’s okay, getting into the van today wasn’t all that smooth anyway.

In other news, FavoriteSon twisted his ankle at spring football practice yesterday. We did the ice/heat/ibuprofen thing last night and FirstHusband took him to the doctor this afternoon to check it out while following up on his allergy stuff. Doc sent them to get x-rays and the radiologist said there’s no break. Doc says no activity, so he won’t be playing at his basketball game tomorrow. He needs to heal before Saturday May 16th because he’s running in the middle school STATE track meet! He placed 2nd and 3rd in his races at district – the only middle school student from his school to go to district (and now to state). He runs the 100m, the 200m and the 400m. That’s what a lifetime of idiopathic toe walking will get you – a very FAST kid. As his football coach said, “You can’t teach fast.” (Can you tell I’m slightly proud?)

My ladies circle brought dinner tonight and FirstHusband and I had salad before FavoriteSon called for his ride home from basketball practice (he just watched). Then PinkGirl needs picked up from a birthday party at 7:30 p.m. FirstHusband made four round trips to school yesterday. I think he’s empathizing with me this week. He said he has a new understanding of this “mom chauffeur thing.” It’s always good when your man finds your work schedule annoying when he has to assume it. Mmm hmm. Yes it is.

The best news today? Instead of flowers (which would be eaten and then soon vomited by our cats), my in-laws asked FirstHusband to come up with something else. He picked a chair massage. Isn’t he the BEST? Aren’t my in-laws the BEST? When you read all read this – Thank you SO much!

at FirstHusband’s request.

It has been suggested to me (more than 50 a few times) that I should confess the “real” reason I was not discharged from the hospital until late Sunday afternoon.

I, of course, choose to believe that had I NOT spiked a fever on Friday night, all would have gone much more . . . smoothly.

(FirstHusband. Are you happy now?)

In all fairness, here’s what a great guy I have:

1. He has been THERE for me, really THERE for me, through everything. A CONSTANT support. EVERYTHING I need. Random doctors and nurses said things like “He’s a keeper.” and “You’ve got a great guy.” to which I replied, “oh, I KNOW I do.”

2. He and I have developed an excellent system to get me out of a hospital bed when my gut is full of stitches. Easy and relatively no pain. This system is borne from experience. He’s been there for me before, more than a few times.

3. He ordered all my “food” in the hospital and turned my cream of wheat into choco-wheat every time. Brought me good coffee from home every day and successfully doctored the one cup of Starbucks I had to drink with a packet of hot chocolate mix.

4. Made sure my water bottle always had room temperature water in it and kept my ice chip cup refilled, AND got me to the bathroom on time, every time. Painlessly.

5. He read aloud to me for days.

6. He walked and walked and walked with me as I pushed my IV stand around the hospital floor.

7. Made me the homemade coughing splint Linda told us about.

8. He helped me take a shower, helps me empty my drains, and rubs my back in just the right spot.

9. Is tracking every single medication I’m taking on a computer spreadsheet because there’s just too much of it and some of it makes me forget things – like what I took and when.

10. Called me last night to ask what color nightgown I wanted when he was out at Target, picking up a few things.

11. Selflessly and immediately released any claim to his bonus this year to finance my tummy tuck add-on surgery.

12. Keeps telling me how good I’m going to look and how happy I’m going to be the the results – and how happy HE’S going to be with the results – when I’m healed, stitches-free and walking upright.

I’m HOME!

Surgery was Thursday at 9am. I was in recovery from about 3pm to 9pm because there weren’t any beds available, but I think it was the best thing. My recovery nurse, Kay was SO wonderful. I got so much of her time and attention because I was the last one to leave recovery that day.

I was supposed to go home Friday, but my doctor postponed that till Saturday, giving no specific reason. Then Friday night, I developed a fever. It came on fast – I felt fine at 6:45pm but by 8:15pm I was at 102 point something. They took lots and lots of blood, loaded me up on IV antibiotics and by midnight I was feeling much better. My sister and her husband had arrived around 8:30pm and stayed with me for all the blood draws while FirstHusband made a quick trip home to pick up stuff so he could stay the night with me. I’m very aware of the fact that I was originally supposed to be HOME by Friday night. God is good.

After all that, the doctor was not letting me leave on Saturday, which was calm and restful.

The kids both stayed with friends and we are SO grateful. PinkGirl’s friends are twins and their parents are LIFE SAVERS. The original plan was for PinkGirl to stay the night Friday and go to softball with them Saturday morning and get picked up by FirstHusband. After all that happened, PinkGirl ended up with them till Sunday afternoon, swimming in their pool, going to a neighborhood barbecue, borrowing a dress and going to church with them, swimming in their pool . . . she was wiped OUT when she got home Sunday evening. We plan on buying them a restaurant gift certificate and taking their girls for a night or two sometime over the summer. Their kindness can’t be repaid with dinner and babysitting. The gift they gave me was the comfort and peace of knowing that PinkGirl was cared for in such a way that she felt wanted, accepted, comfortable and safe. It was such a huge load off my mind and heart.

FavoriteSon stayed with what we call “the parents he never had.” The mom had a hysterectomy last month and their sons stayed with us. I pray that we were for them that weekend, what Pinkgirl’s friends were to us this weekend. FavoriteSon stayed with them this weekend, but he actually wanted to see me on Saturday (how sweet is that?) so FirstHusband picked him up and we spent some time together Saturday night. He slept in on Sunday while FirstHusband came back to the hospital around 8am Sunday morning.

We got home on Sunday after 6pm and all four of us were just wiped out. Today (Monday), I helped PinkGirl get ready for school from my reclining position in the bed (thank goodness she didn’t want braids today), FirstHusband drove the kids to school and when he came back, we turned off all the phones and slept for 3 hours. My new praise team family brought me dinner tonight and it was a true gift! We are all so tired.

Thanks for all the great comments!

Linda – that homemade splint pillow has been SO GREAT! They had given me a regular old pillow and it didn’t do much good. Coughing was so much more than painful! FirstHusband made me a splint from your directions and I haven’t let it go yet.

JanMary – “don’t make me laugh” is right. I’m not ready for it. Laughing leads to coughing. Coughing still hurts.

Heidi – I accidentally read your joke. Thankfully, It didn’t hurt.

Kristin, Tina, Lisa, Elle and everyone! – thanks for the prayers. They are working! I feel better than I expected to at this point. I hope to go outside for a walk tomorrow. Big talk, I know.

More later. I wrote this in spurts, but I just took a Percocet, so I’m winding down. I love Percocet