Monday, January 15, 2007

Hi everyone,

Well, there's not a whole heck of a lot to report just now, so I thought I take this opportunity to add some more of the hospital pictures to the Blog. It's hard to believe that I only came home on Friday. I feel like I've been home for a long time, even though I am still trying to get myself on a routine. Overall, I think I'm doing really well. When I get tired, I take naps. I'm still working on a regular routine for the pain meds, but haven't quite mastered that yet.

I called my doctor's (GP) office today and don't feel that I'm up for getting into/out of a car and going to the doctor's office, so he is going to come to my apartment either today after his office closes, or tomorrow at lunch. He has to keep an eye on the incision, as well, we will discuss pain levels, etc. I also have some questions that I'm sure the surgeon answered, but darned if I can remember asking them or getting answers.

Bridget came home from Ladner yesterday (Sunday). Thank you Judi and Darrel (and Lluke and Ellmo) for taking such good care of the little diva while I was out of commission. She is so totally secure in her routine in Ladner and her routine at home... she settled right back into apartment life when she got home. Of course, any of the neighbours who came over after she got home, she just assumed that they had come over to see her! I mean, isn't that the motto of ALL divas??? "It's all about ME!" (grin). Well, Bridget is definitely a purebred Diva.. she has been taught well! LOL!!

Ok... the following are some more pictures. Now it's time for a nap. The clouds are starting to roll in and they say we are going to get about 10 cm of snow (approx. 4 inches for those of you who speak American) by tomorrow. That means some areas of the city may get a foot, some may get 2 inches. :)

Will be back later!


Here we have part of the infamous "Friendship Wall". We couldn't get the whole wall in one picture, but you get the idea.


Here I am with Don. Don makes me laugh so much, which is NOT a good thing after surgery (grin), but this picture was taken pre-surgery, so laughter was not a problem :)


Not a good hair day nor a good vein day ;) My hair was in braids, which is very convenient when in hospital, but they were all falling out and looking quite messy. Meanwhile, my arms were on strike and had decided not to let the nurses poke any more veins... all my veins went into hiding. So they have both arms wrapped in warm compresses to try and encourage them to surface (grin).


Here I am with two of my good buddies (and neighbours), Scott and Tomas. It does make it convenient having the hospital basically in one's own neighbourhood. This way my buddies could all walk up to the hospital to visit. :)


Here we have Steve, who is a phenomenal caregiver! He was at the hospital pretty much every day and took charge of decorating my room, bringing me anything I needed and just being there.


This was a great visit!! Dad and his little Pedro came to visit at the hospital this one day. Pedro is quite the little traveller and is quite content to go everywhere and anywhere with Dad in his little travel bag. While we were visiting, Dad's sister, my Aunt Eileen arrived! What a great visit we all had. Aunt Eileen lives on Saltspring Island. For those of you who know the Vancouver area, Saltspring is one of the Gulf Islands, so for her to come visit and Dad was already at the hospital, it was great timing!


This was on my birthday, 3 days after the surgery. Although I was hooked up to the various pumps on Molly the IV pole and was on the morphine drip, I was feeling pretty spunky (or was that the drugs??). As you can see, I was having a good time even if I couldn't move very well. In the background is my friend Jo and my sister (in green), Erin. I am holding birthday gifts, the beige Gund dog from my sister, the pretty bathrobe from Jo and the brown teddy (that everyone wanted to steal) that came in the middle of the Palm Tree from my friend, Christina in Chicago.


Here's the view from the first room I had. This happened to be on a clear day so you could see the mountains. On cloudy days, the mountains are hidden ;)


Here's the view from my 10th floor room, the last room I was in... and left from when I left the hospital :)

Ok, this is back at home, but I had to show you a picture of the infamous Palm Tree that was delivered to my room at the hospital. My neighbours, Fern and Eric, who have a large van had to come to the hospital to pick it up (grin) to bring it home. It now has a place in the apartment thanks to Tomas, who rearranged a few things so all the plants have room (grin).

Cheryl