Monday, January 9, 2017

Kind of a strange day


Today seemed really strange. Getting up at the crack of dawn, taking two Valiums, and then being anesthetized for surgery all by 8am was a bizarre beginning. It was seriously cold outside, too, 19°F (or -7°C). For this area, that's low. The ground was crunchy under our feet and everything sparkled with ice and frost. I was glad of the cold when we left the office because it helped to clear my head a little bit. I don't remember very much about the ride home, though. A nurse told Gregg to get me a milkshake right away so I could have something on my stomach. Milkshakes are cold and don't  require chewing so apparently they're the ideal food when you have fresh stitches in your mouth. He went through the Burger King drive through and ordered a strawberry shake for me to eat while he headed to the drugstore to fill my prescriptions. It  was kind of surreal, riding around in the bitterly cold early morning sunshine, eating spoonfuls of ice cream while avoiding the right side of my mouth (which was packed with gauze) and still pretty high from the anesthesia and valium.

As soon as we got my antibiotics and painkillers, we headed home. Gregg gave me a Percocet, a cold ginger ale to wash it down, and tucked me into bed. I spent most of the day dozing and reading by turns. Gregg kept checking in and asking me what I needed or wanted. He stayed home from work to take care of me and was really sweet about it. How I love that man!

Late in the afternoon, Marco started calling for me from the other room, so Gregg brought him to me for a little visit. He put him down on the foot of my bed, and quiet as a mouse, Marco crept up close enough to peek at me over the quilt:

"What's going on, mom?"

Luckily, I haven't had much pain. Gregg has been adamant that I stick to a strict schedule of taking pain medication. After all of his health problems in the past, he's a big believer in staying on top of pain and not letting it set in if you don't have to! So I've been comfortable. I tried to make progress on a new novel I'm reading, but my concentration wasn't very good. I finally put it down and stuck to two old familiar favorites: Rumer Godden's In This House of Brede and Elizabeth Von Arnim's Elizabeth and Her German Garden. It was almost a treat to spend the whole day in bed, reading and napping and being waited on and pampered. It was odd, though.




24 comments:

  1. Poor you. I hope you're already feeling a bit better. Best wishes.

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    1. I'm feeling okay. Not great, but better than expected. Thanks Cro!

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  2. I love the picture of Marco quietly creeping up close to check on you! And Gregg knows what he's doing, from your description, he took care of you very well without smothering you or making too much of a fuss when all you really needed was rest and pain medication.
    I know what you mean by it feeling almost like a treat. It was like that for me when I was ill as a child, and my grandma came down to our house (she lived 3 blocks further up the road from us) and looked after me as long as my Mum and Dad were at work.

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    1. You should blog about your grandma, she sounds wonderful! I'd like to hear more about her.

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    2. My grandma has been mentioned a few times on my blog already, in various contexts. For instance, the plates and glasses I use daily are from her, as is most of my living room furniture - all this appears in blog posts. But maybe the sweetest one about her is a guest post my Mum wrote about her Mum in 2015, when you were not yet reading my blog (as far as I know):
      http://librarianwithsecrets.blogspot.de/2015/10/guest-post-by-my-mum-else-and-king.html

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  3. Marco was worried about you, bless him.

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    1. He can be sweet when he wants to be. And he's always curious about any break in routine!

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  4. Hope you are soon up and about and pain free.

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  5. How I understand Gregg understand you... get well soon Jennifer x
    Greetings Maria x

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    1. He's very good to me. I'm lucky.

      Have a good day, Maria!

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  6. The photo is so cute. Rest plenty and doze a lot. I think your husband is right about pain relief, up to a point. I think you should at least let it wear off so you know how your body feels and how much pain returns.

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    1. I like the photo a lot. Marco's a cutie! :)

      I agree about the meds. It was just the first day that I tried to stay ahead of any pain.

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  7. Dear Jennifer, you have indeed had a couple of strange days. Hoping the healing begins and continues steadily. I still remember having the experience of having impacted wisdom teeth removed...back in the 1960s...long time ago. Some of my facial skin cancer surgeries also resulted in some painful aftermaths, but I also tried to do without any heavy medicine. All healed well. Gregg sounds wonderful. xo

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    1. I had my wisdom teeth out 10 years ago at the same office. Not a fun time, that's for sure!

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  8. Lying in bed like that being waited on by your man servant, I bet you felt like Britney Spears. I hope the healing process continues successfully.

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  9. Hope you're soon better, Jennifer. The visit from Marco would cheer you up.

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  10. I hope you're feeling much better. Gregg sounds wonderful. That's what love is all about. And Marco is just so adorable!

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  11. Crikey Jennifer ... Thankyou for stopping by my blog today. That sure was nice of you. I hope you're feeling better soon but that resting in bed and getting waited on hand and foot sounds pretty good to me. That's how I spend most of my days but I don't do any of that reading stuff. I hope we can be friends. I'd like to get to know you better. You sound like a nice lady.

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  12. Wishing you a speedy recovery and minimal pain. That shot of Marco is adorable and would make anyone feel better.

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  13. Marco's little head peeking at you over the covers is the cutest thing; I am sure he got a smile from you. By the time you read this I hope you are all healed.

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