BOGO Surgery

Too bad Duke didn't have a Buy One Get One Free sale on surgery this week! Graham had surgery for his tracheostomy on Thursday and I (Liz) had my gall bladder removed on Friday.

It started with a stomach ache Tuesday afternoon, then an intense upper abdomen pain, then an intense middle back pain. I was with Graham at the hospital and by the time Matt got there after work I was barely able to stand. He wheeled me down to the ER in a wheel chair and then went back to be with Graham. The pain lasted a few hours and then let up. The doctors say I must have passed a gall stone and did they did an ultrasound of my abdomen and said my gall bladder was full of stones. My blood work showed that I had pancreatitis. Passing the stone made my pancreas very angry. They wanted to admit me until my pancreas calmed down and then remove the gall bladder. Well Thursday morning my pancreas was completely recovered and the surgeon said it was the quickest recovery from pancreatitis that he has ever seen. I told him my family had a lot of people praying for us. They wanted to do surgery on Thursday but I convinced them to wait until Friday since my son was having surgery that day. I spent all of Thursday with Graham and family, wandering the hospital with an IV in my arm.

Graham's surgery went well. He is still pretty sedated because they want him to be still and calm until the site heals. He may have gotten an infection of some sort because he is snotty and having some breathing difficulty and has a fever. We are hoping that this trach will be a good thing for Graham but right now its hard because he went from a smiling boy playing with toys to sedated and swollen with bloody bandages on his neck. 

My surgery went well too. But I underestimated the pain and recovery. Just because a surgery is "routine" and "outpatient" doesn't mean its not a beast. I am hoping the pain will subside soon so I can get back to caring for Graham and the babies but right now I am taking plenty of oxycodone and snuggling with the heating pad. I was discharged late Friday night and got to see my babies Saturday morning for the first time since Tuesday morning.

Both sets of grandparents are in town for the weekend. Thank goodness. We continue to pray for God's nearness and strength and healing.