2-17-14 Hernia Surgery Fun

      Dad's hernia surgery went well this morning. (I am sure he will appreciate this picture ;) ) All of the doctors and nurses at Gilbert Mercy were excellent.  They let him sleep for an extra hour and a half after the surgery because he has a hard time dealing with the effects of anesthesia.  After that they almost had to use a cattle prod to wake him and get him dressed so he could go home.  He seems to be doing well at home- just laying on the couch waiting for all the side effects to wear off.  He will probably be sore for the next few days.  And no lifting over 20 lbs for the next 2 weeks - he might need some reminders about that.  We don't want to have to go back to repair anything...
All the dinners this week are truly appreciated.  It's going to be a long week. 
    * Mom's surgery is still on schedule for tomorrow morning.  She will be having a ureteral stent put in to help with the tumor that is growing in that area.  We are really hoping that that will help with some of the back pain she has been having.  We aren't sure that's what is causing the pain- but I guess we will find out!

     Just a little more info on mom...  Sometimes its hard to explain everything that goes on from an outside point of view.  Mom has some good days and some bad days - everything fluctuates, and we expect it to continue to be that way for some time.  We will deal with the bumps and ups and downs as they come.  When I say that mom has "good days" - that mostly means that she can get up and maybe get dressed, do a few things around the house that day, has a decent appetite, doesn't cough a lot, and the pain is mostly manageable with the morphine and hydrocodone. 
"Bad days" may accompany a bad night where she didn't sleep well or switched several different beds during the night because of her back pain.  She has about 4 diff places she rotates sleeping :)  On bad days more meds are needed to numb the pain, especially if she is coughing (the coughing really sends her back into a spasm) - so she might sleep most of the day, or be nauseous from some of the pain meds.  Sometimes on good days she tries to do too much and we have to remind her that she might pay for it the next day.  We (her family) will continue to rotate cleaning and grocery shopping so she does not have to go out- this is why the meals are truly appreciated!  It relieves some of the responsibility :)
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