The Big Dipper?

Well, I did it! Yesterday was the day, and I would say that overall, the experience exceeded my expectations. I went from being prepped to having a nurse say, "Jennifer, you're all done! Surgery is over!" - I have no recollection of going to the O.R., hence had no time for a last minute freak-out. Excellent!

I woke up and rated my pain a 6 on a 1-10 scale, not bad really - and had an immediate shot of demoral to bring it down to a spacey, loopy 2. From there, I was in my room by 10:30 a.m., slept until 2:00, had some "food" (broth, popsicles, juice...a proverbial carb-fest after the past two weeks!) and just rested most of the day. I took 1/2 doses of the liquid vicodin, which I tolerate well, and had various shots and IV drugs like antibiotics, blood thinners and insulin.

The good news: no nausea at all, just a little dizziness, no scratchy throat, no dry lips... The not-as-good-news: definitely sore belly, the CO2 trapped in my chest cavity has had its moments (no escape route, so you just feel a bit like a bloated whale), and overall I've had a low-grade headache. Oh, and it's hard to differentiate gas, headache and hunger - I'm sure my discomfort is a little of each, but I'm never quite sure what to do to resolve it....

Now, I'm on a liquid diet for a week which I will survive and overall, I'm really happy to be done with this part of it. I had a great experience and feel I got my money's worth - the hospital staff was fantastic, organized and I felt well-cared for.

So when I got home, I looked at my belly. I have 6 incisions - 5 of which are 12mm, and 1 that is 2 cm. What's funny, though, is that they are in the shape of the Big Dipper, minus one. I mean EXACTLY - I found this somewhat odd, but it made me happy in a twisted Jenn sort of way :)

p.s. Thanks again for all of the well-wishes! The cards, emails, text messages and calls and even "missed calls" have made me feel very loved :)