Today is Sunday. . . .I think. It's hard to keep track of the days when you aren't doing anything besides laying around. It's been a long week, but I am glad it's over and I'm finally home! The surgery went well. Tuesday night and Wednesday are pretty much a blur. I did start getting up on Wednesday and they took me off the pain pump (mainly because it was making me itch!). We got home from the hospital yesterday. I think they would have let me go Friday, but I was nervous about the 2 hr ride home and lack of intravenous pain killers, and I decided it would probably be best to wait another day. And the drive still like to have killed me. We had to stop in Searcy to take a break and I took a nap at Jarrod's mom and dad's house! I think we got home about 6-ish last night. There were a lot of things I was expecting to be worse than I imagined, however, I didn't imagine the pain would be as bad as it is. It's been tough! I am feeling better everyday though, so I know it won't be long and I will be as good as new!
Here are some pics from Stratton's visit to see me in the hospital. . .
Stratton had a pretty fun week. He stayed with Uncle Dillon and Aunt Brandye Monday night thru Thursday night, he stayed in daycare which was probably the best thing for him. They brought him to Little Rock to see me and then he stayed the night with my mom in her hotel and on Friday they came to visit me again and then they went to the Zoo! Then Margie and Terry came to get him Friday evening and he stayed with them until this afternoon. I am afraid he is going to have a hard time this week back to rules and not getting everything he wants!
I am going to try to take it easy. It's going to be hard. They told me "not to lift anything over 5lbs, no driving, or vacuuming, take it easy and just rest. . . .BUT don't just lay around"?? So if I can't lay around but I have to take it easy what exactly am I supposed to do all day??! It's going to be a long month!! The surgeon's office is supposed to call tomorrow with the follow-up appointment information, that should be in about 10 days or so. I just hope the next month goes by really fast! I can't pick Stratton up for 6- 8 weeks so that alone is killing me! I am ready to being back to normal. . .or as normal as I was before!
I always say this, but I wish I had remembered to take more pictures! Stratton was mesmerized by the whole thing! He hardly moved at all. We had a good day, which included Stratton's first stroll down Beale Street, some shopping and a trip to Gigi's for cupcakes, of course!
Seriously. When did he get SO big?
He really looks like a little man. He likes wearing his belt and boots and anything else that he has that is "like daddy's". I love seeing him learn and grow, but sometimes I wish he would just slow down!! My favorite part of the day these days is in the morning when Stratton comes and gets in bed with me to "Nuggle mommy". He always has to "get under covers" and we watch the Disney channel while he drinks his "choc-it milk"for a few minutes before we get up to get dressed. I really do treasure those moments, as I realize that I am going to blink and he's going to be all grown up. I put this poem I found in his 2 year pictures/photo book. It's quite fitting for how I feel about Stratton these days! It's so sweet . . .
Little Man
Little Man, just two feet tall,
You're really not a man at all.
And yet you try so hard to be,
Just like the grown-ups that you see.
You want to be like daddy,
and maybe Grandpa too.
You want so, to be big,
And do the things they do.
Well, dream my little man,
and let your mind have wings.
Pretend you are the captain,
of ships and planes and things.
But when the day has ended,
and your make-believe is done.
Come home to where you're loved,
and for awhile just be my son.
I had my pre-op appointment with Dr. Mizell Wednesday and then did all the “fun” pre-op tests. . .blood work, x-ray, EKG, anesthesia analysis. . .it only took 5 1/2 hours!! We got there a little before 9am (we left J’boro at 6:45am) having not had breakfast and didn’t get to eat till almost 3pm!! We were starving!!
The appointment went well. It wasn’t nearly as scary as I thought it would be. I was a little encouraged by the news I got about the recovery. He said if I felt like it they would have me up drinking a little on Tuesday night. Then if all goes well they will gradually move from liquids to solid foods and by the time I go home I should be eating normally again! He went over all the possible complications, but reiterated how rare they are and in my case it is even more unlikely. Which did make me feel a little better. They also told us that the surgery would be between 3-4 hours long. However, we didn’t get to find out an actual time when the surgery will be. Apparently since the hospital is also a trama center they can’t tell you till the evening before! They are supposed to call between 3-6pm to tell us what time the surgery is and where exactly it will be. We had planned to go to LR sometime Monday evening anyway, so it’s not that big of a deal. I just hope it isn’t at 4pm or sometime late in the afternoon! I am on a clear liquids diet the day before and of course can’t have anything after midnight the night before, so if it’s too late I’ll be miserable! Plus, who wants to be in surgery with a Dr that has been at work all day- I’d rather it be in the morning when he’s fresh! Ha-ha!
Tomorrow is Friday, so I am just thinking to myself- this time next week it will all be over and I will hopefully be looking at coming home soon!
This week has just been beyond crazy. I have a major project deadline on Monday, so I have been working really hard to get it completed by tomorrow. I am overwhelmed with things that I need to do at work and at home before we leave Monday evening! I know it will all get done somehow (probably involving some late nights this weekend) but right now I don’t really see the light at the end of the tunnel!
Please keep us in your prayers, obviously for me that everything goes ok, but also for our families that will be traveling! And especially for the next few weeks as I recover and Jarrod has to pick up the slack!
Friday night we took Stratton to the NEA Fair Rodeo. It didn’t start till 8pm, so we were a little hesitant to take him this year, but he did great. I just wish we had gotten tickets before we got there. We had to wait in line for 30-45 minutes (in the cold drizzly rain). He loved it for the most part. . .he didn’t like the calf roping! He kept saying “It get up??” I think he felt bad for the calves getting roped and tied! He also had his first taste of cotton candy, which he wasn’t sure about but after a taste decided he liked it. Now all he talks about is seeing cowboys. He got some new boots last week and has been loving wearing them. They look a lot like Jarrod’s so he feels like such a big boy!!
Saturday woke us up at 7:30, apparently staying up late doesn’t affect his ability to get up early. But that afternoon he took a 3 and half hour nap to make up for it. We went to Searcy Friday evening and took Stratton to the White Co. Fair. Our main attraction of choice was the demolition derby. We thought Stratton would love to see that. Unfortunately, there were so many people there (the fair does bring the people out!) that we didn’t get a good spot to see anything. We did watch it for awhile from the cow barn, and could see pretty good but there wasn’t anywhere to sit so we thought we’d try the rodeo- same thing, it was just packed! We had a good time, we went through the cow barn 3 times, he really liked the cows (I’m sure his Pa likes that!). I got a foot-long corn dog, I haven’t had one of those in 3 or 4 years! Yum! Then we got a candied apple on our way out and Stratton and I ate it when we got back to Jarrod’s mom and dad’s house. He really liked it, too!
Only stayed on about .01 seconds- we got our money back. . .
I think he had more fun playing on these blocks than anything else! Just like a boy!
He found a big rock and carried it around for a long time. Hey, it’s a free souvenir!
Stratton had the best seat in the house!
Time for the candy apple!
Yummy!!
We stayed the night in Searcy so we could get up and go to the funeral of Terry’s cousin, Wayne. After the funeral we headed back to Jonesboro, ran an errand, went to church, went to eat with some friends then went home and got ready for bed! Whew!
This week is going to be a really busy one. I will be trying to get my projects finished up at work and I am a long way away from being done! Wednesday I go back to UAMS for my pre-op appointment. We are also taking Stratton to see Mickey Mouse on Ice in Memphis Saturday afternoon! I think he is going to go nuts!! Then before we know it, it will be next week. . . I am nervous that my surgery is coming up so quickly. There is so much to do before next Tuesday gets here! I am just ready to get it over and done with!
We took Stratton to the ASU vs. Memphis Tigers football game last night and he did way better than I expected. I was really afraid that he would get bored and want to run around, but to my surprise he was enthralled! The only time he got a little restless was during half-time after the band did their thing and there wasn’t much going on.
Hal, the mascot came out on the field with the football team riding a motorcycle! It was almost too much for him to handle!! He was so excited!
He kept asking “Where’s wolf” or “Where’s Hal”. He would just wave when he saw the mascot! He got really into the game too, and would yell “Get ‘em!” and one time I think he was talking to the QB, he was yelling “LOOK!” and pointed to the open WR! Too funny!! He also learned how to HOWL, which I have got to get on video, it’s too cute! We had a really good time and I’m hoping that we will get to go to more of the games this year! By the way we won! I can’t remember the exact score but it was bad like 40-something to 3?!
