Yesterday

 

I was a hero.  Today, I realize I got hit by a truck!  I thought I was over it, but that was just the narcotics talking.  I’m moving a little slower today and I’m noticeably less smug.  It’ll take a couple days to get back to where I was a couple days before the kidney stone hit!

 

We never left the building today.  Bo and Colleen came for a visit.  They brought a couple of their kids with them, so we got to chat with everybody.  I got in an afternoon rest before Becky and Brian showed up with dinner.  We continue to live the life.

 

Last week the doctor said it was time for the bandaging to come off.  As soon as anything starts to come loose in the shower, go ahead and peel it off.  For all the stuff they did to me for the heart surgery, there aren’t any stitches anywhere.  They wired my sternum shut so the bone would heal back together.  I guess they put in some internal stitches, but for the major chest wound, and every other entry wound they made for various purposes, they just slapped a piece of tape on it, then put a layer of glue over it.  Everything is sealed up watertight to minimize any chance of infection in the healing process.

 

What I found out right away is that it’s really weird to have this long tacky bandage running vertically down your entire chest.  You lie down on your back at night and find the most comfortable position for your arms.  It’s not with your arms at your side; no matter where you start them out, they end up on your chest.  So you fall asleep with your hands crossed across your chest and everything is fine, until you wake up a few hours later, in the same position.  It’s time to move.  Your right hand moves away just fine.  Your left hand however, is immovable.  A couple hours of a nice warm hand, under the covers, lying across a sticky bandage, and you find your left hand now glued to your chest.  It’s a challenge to slowly peel your hand off your chest without disturbing the bandaging below it.  When you finally achieve separation, you fall back to sleep determined not to repeat that experience and place your hands and arms carefully at your side.  Guess where your hands are next time you wake up….

 

I’m happy to report that I am now bandage-free and that challenge in my life has been eliminated.