Post Op Update #2

Hey we moved! Tracie finally got to move yesterday afternoon the only draw back is that you get one on one attention in the I.C.U. and here you have to compete for attention a little bit. Last night Tracie got a little frustrated and was mad at everything even little old me. The kids were able to have a short visit last night for kisses and hugs and Tracie seemed to like that (it was before the anger). I left her alone for the evening which benefited the both of us.

Thursday-more of the same.
Today has been a lot like yesterday except the epidural drug that made her itch has worn off and the great cycle of itch has ended, alleluia! We have spent the day on a training schedule. We do laps around the floor of the hospital. Everyone here does laps, it looks like the nearly dead are having a parade. They all push fancy stands with lots of tubes hooked somewhere on their person and every entry has an escort. During the laps we stop five times to do breathing exercises. She takes in a big breath then tries to get more and more air in, as much as possible, count to five, and slowly let it out. We do the exercises to prevent Pneumonia. It really looks like a fish in a desperate search for water. I call it the guppy exercise. Michael Phelps must do these same exercises. When we finish each lap we stop at the room for a refreshing ice cube and then two breathing exercises with an apparatus that measures results (too much pressure). We started with one lap around the nurses station. We are now up to two laps around the floor and one lap around the nurses station. Tracie still hasn't met the requirements for food yet but every lap we get a little closer. There isn't much new to talk about so I'll fill in some of the gaps. Tracie has nine tubes hooked up to her right now. Two are small and run to the incision site and brings Lidocaine from a pressurized ball, which comes with it's own purse for the parade. Two are I.V. lines, one for the pain medication and one for the fluids. Two more are drains that run from the wound and are hooked to little pressure sacks that reside outside of the body. Two more run from a small little compressor at the foot of the bed to two air bags that hug Tracie's calves to prevent blood clots. The last one drains the bladder. We are hoping the last one can be removed today. Tracie's incision runs from her sternum down to her bellybutton and over about 8 inches to her right side. There is a compression bandage that resembles a back brace that keeps the under-dressings stable. It covers most of her mid-section and also helps to keep her insides in the right spot. So if you combine a c-section scar and the big "L" scar she now has she looks like a battle savvy warrior. I'll be honest, I am now more frightened of her kicking my butt than ever. This looks to be a pretty hard recovery, maybe even a little harder than we thought so keep up the prayers. We love all of you and can feel the support. Thanks, we appreciate it all. Please leave comments for Tracie I read them to her every day. Talk to you soon.