Home from the hospital

Hello, all! I'm writing to let you know that I'm home from the hospital, and that all is well.

I had a very restless night last night - I felt okay but was unable to sleep much. Fortunately, I had a gorgeous view of the Seattle skyline and even glimpses of West Seattle and the Sound out my window, so I was able to stare out at that and feel peaceful, even if I'd rather have been sleeping. I spent part of the night walking in circles around the ward, as suggested by the doc and PT (though I doubt they thought I'd be doing this at 2am!) to help my body to recover.

During the surgery, my abdomen was pumped full of carbon dioxide, and this is the most uncomfortable part of the whole thing at the moment. Fortunately, the pain meds are very effective and I don't have much to complain about. I have four very small incisions, and I feel pretty functional, though a bit tired. Walking is fine, sitting is fine, but the process of standing up or sitting down is uncomfortable as those motions use the abdominal muscles.

After leaving the hospital, I met up with Lori, and she drove me to the Breast Cancer 3-Day Kick-off Event at Ingraham High School. We watched an inspiring video, got some fundraising tips, and viewed various products (hats, shirts, walking shoes, etc.) for sale. I'll bet I was the only person there who'd had a hysterectomy in the past 24 hours!

Thank you to all of you who have called and offered support...I know how blessed I am to have you in my life.

Love,
Kristina

PS One thing I'm not thrilled about: I GAINED 8 pounds in this process!!!!! It's probably fluid retention and gas from the surgery, but I can't believe that I literally didn't eat solid food from Wednesday night to Saturday morning, AND I had organs removed, and I somehow gained weight. NO FAIR! The docs say that it will probably disappear within 3 days but still, I'm not pleased with my new, bloated self. Yuck!