Week 2 of recovery

I somehow forget about how terrible recovering from abdominal surgery is. This most recent surgery is my 4th abdominal surgery (minus C-section) since 2015. Actually, this recovery already started out with a lot of positives compared to some of my others. For example, I didn't have to have any surgical drains or nasal-gastric tubes or stay on a special diet since the tumor was not invading the bowel.
Things that I forget about recovery are the simple things...trying to wipe your butt, being able to stand in the shower without being exhausted afterwards, and being able to lay on my stomach or sides for that matter.

After coming home from staying at my parents I got settled in at home. I was struggling the most with pain in my abdomen and not taking too much Dilauded for pain. At the beginning of the week, I was having to take 2 Dilauded almost every 2 hours to keep the pain settled and I really didn't think I could weaning myself off it. I slowly started to go a little longer during the daytime between doses and by the end of the week 1-2 dilauded a day was all I needed. I am still having to give myself heparin injections daily which sting so bad and hopefully I can switch to ibuprofen for pain soon.

Sleeping has been rough...at first I was only able to sleep 30 min to 1 hr at at time before having to get up and walk around at night. My bowels were still not wanting to work but slowly with some help they did and I felt much better. I am still struggling to sleep all night because I have to lay on my back which is not comfortable for me.

On Monday, Dr. Werner wanted me to start my cycle of Palbo which concerned me a little. I really was starting to heal over well and didn't want the medication to slow this process but so far it has been ok. At this time I am still waiting for my pathology to get sent to Huntsman for review. This part is soooo slow but is one of the most important steps in determining the correct treatment path.

After being cooped up in the house with no ability to do any projects, yard work or deep cleaning, I needed to get out and decided to start driving again to the grocery store for a break.

Tulip Festival

About 1 1/2 weeks after surgery my Mom wanted to help get me out of the house so she took Shannon, me and the girls to Thanksgiving Point's Tulip Festival. Since I could not walk very well and was still wearing a stomach support brace, we paid extra to ride on a golf cart, which was definitely the way to go!

Later that weekend the weather was beautiful and the kids enjoyed riding their bikes around the circle.

Since I have been home from work, I have had the girls stay home from daycare so we can play as much as possible. I wish I had more energy for playing but the girls loved being able to ride their bikes to the park in the morning and gave me a good reason to walk.

Surgery Day and recovery

I went in for surgery at St. Marks Hospital on  Monday April 15th in the afternoon for a tumor debulking surgery for ovarian cancer. The surgery itself was 6 hours and according to my family and Dr. Zempolich, it went very well. She was able to remove the new tumor on my bowel along with a few others we have been watching over the past year and found a few new little rice specks in the mesentary of bowel which were also removed. Unfortunately because I had so much to look at, a laproscopic surgery was not able to be performed and my old vertical incision was opened back up. Due to the previous surgeries I have had, it took Dr. Zempolich 90 minutes to get through the scar tissue. She also spent an extra amount of time looking carefully through my bowel and areas where I had previously had tumors.

Since my surgery was so late in the afternoon, I didn't get out of recovery until 9 or 10 at night! My mom and dad stayed with me overnight at the hospital because I was having a difficult time breathing and coming out of the anesthesia. I remember that I would sort of wake up and say that I needed to breathe. My mom and dad took turns all night long reminding me to breathe. I stayed in the hospital until that Thursday afternoon and went to stay at my parent's house while Jeff took care of the girls at home. Easter was on Sunday and I was able to be back at home to celebrate Easter morning with Brynn and Aubrie who were so excited about the Easter Bunny coming to visit.

I felt like since I have been through this surgery it would be an easier recovery for me but each day I was home I felt like I was going downhill. I struggled with breathing due to the pain it caused, I was unable to bend or reach down to get dressed and the part I somehow forgot about was how difficult it was to sleep. I usually sleep on my stomach and could only tolerate laying on my back with knees bent all night. I don't have much appetite either and was concerned about having a BM since this was my major struggle before. The day I got home I returned to drinking green pressed juices and protein drinks and the magic happened! The pain has been difficult at times to manage since right after surgery I had a morphine pump in my back and dilauded that I feel I was constantly pushing into my body. The nurse took my IV pain meds away and straight onto Toradol only which was a mistake, since I spent the entire day trying to get pain under control. I asked Dr. Zempolich if I could stay on 2 mg Dilauded every 3-4 hrs which seemed to work great. I also took Zofran and gas x and have a whole 28 days to have the painful Lovenox injections I have to give myself to prevent blood clots.

This picture was taken the night prior to my surgery... I wanted to document before and after my surgeries.

I hated wearing oxygen and was so glad to get that off as well as have the IV taken out of my hand!

My family has been great to encourage me to walk and stay hydrated. Even the girls will ask me to go on a walk with them. I continue to feel foggy, tired, and talking in my sleep- very random things apparently.

Today (one week since surgery) is the first morning I woke up feeling somewhat ok. I am still waking up about every 30 min all night but am trying to get some normalcy back. I have felt such a peaceful feeling and a strong comfort and assurance that I will be ok and almost feel "lifted up" in my struggles right now. It is difficult to describe the peace I have felt but I know all the prayers in my behalf have helped me heal!

On the day of my discharge from the hospital Dr. Zempolich told me that the new tumor has tested as low grade cancer but it will be getting sent to Huntsman for a second opinion. The plan is to start back on Palbo/letrozole today until further genetic testing can be done.

In the meantime, it is nice not having the stress of work and just focusing on healing. It is so hard for me to just sit around at home knowing all the organization projects that I could be doing!

Happy Easter

This Spring has been quite cold and we have had snow storms almost every week. 

The cold didn't stop the girls from having fun outside celebrating Easter

Easter Egg Hunt at Grandma Bath's house

 Easter Egg Hunt in Sandy with the Firestation.

The girls had a fun Easter morning at home as well. Since I had only been home a day since my surgery, it was more low key than normal. Luckily the Easter Bunny was already prepared with baskets all done and eggs colored. We had an Easter dinner on Sunday night at my parents and the girls had fun seeing all the family.

My Sweet and Sassy Girls

  Aubrie: 6 years old

Funny things about Aubrie:
- Says the pledge of allegiance and instead of statue of liberty says "statue of liverty"
- Loves playing soccer and is very competitive
- Her favorite restaurant is Olive Garden and loves the shells with sauce
- She loves to play with LOLs and loves playing outside and in the water, no matter how cold it is.
- She is a very good reader and picks up on new words so quickly.
- Favorite colors: Pink, red and white
-Calls the Statue of Liberty "Liverty"

                                                       Brynnley: 3 years old
                                                  
Funny things about Brynnley:
- At the end of a prayer, she says "The End" and when finishing a book says "Amen"
- Loves to carry around toys and stuffed animals
- Loves to play with little toys and figurines
- Knows her days of the week, counting to 10, and knows her colors
- Loves to cuddle and wants your arm around her when laying in bed.
- Says "holy moly guacamole" and " chicken mugget"