We started the day with a mini-flurry of activity. We wrote some notes, but the main activity was preparing for the big surgery.
Chris didn’t have much to add to the big ol’ “Stuff Bag.” The miracle after-surgery shirt that buttons from the side. Her jacket. A container for her glasses and watch. A notebook to take notes in. Her wallet. Why the wallet? She insisted on driving to the hospital. Kind of her last stab at independence for a while.
My contributions to the Stuff Bag were a bit more extensive, however. A book to read. My crossword book, in case I get bored with the other book. Phone charger. My long-sleeved shirt. My water bottle. Oh. And did I mention a plethora of snacks? Pretty wide range from a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to some bite-sized Mounds bars. I was plenty set for some stress eating.
Well, add to that the timing of the whole thing. We had to arrive at 11:30. Yep. Lunchtime. And of course Chris hadn’t eaten since supper the night before. She was getting hungry.
Once we arrived and got checked in, we had some pretty special visitors. Cailyn and her friend Arwyn rounded the corner. (Hope I got the name right). They stayed and chatted even after they took Chris back to get changed into her runway-quality garb. They didn’t want to come all the way back in, though. Thanks for being there, girls (and for listening to my version of the famous Nana Falls).
Christina came after a bit, and Kel joined her. They stayed in until we were all run out so they could begin the anesthesia stuff. Kel hung out with me, and Christina went to get us some Whataburger.
We also got texts from Nathan (he’s in Colorado at a training thing). April, Josh, Lauren, and Diane also checked in.
The surgery took about an hour and a half. The doc explained that everything went almost as expected. It was a bit worse than he expected though. He repaired the biceps tear. He showed me a picture - looked pretty significant to me. He added an extra patch to help with healing the rotator cuff, I think (he wasn’t satisfied with the tissue available), but otherwise all came out well.
The pharmacy called me to explain her meds. Fortunately I had heard of all of them (I have probably taken all of them at one time or another). They said they would bring them to her in the recovery room. That was a plus, for sure. As it turned out, they delivered them to me in the waiting area. Even better.
The anticipated 45 minute stay in the recovery room stretched into almost two hours. Fortunately, when they did finally call me back, April swooped in to save the day. By that I mean she stood quietly by - an awe-inspiring … presence. It was so good to have another set of medical ears for those discharged instructions. Thanks so much, April.
We finally made it home somewhere around 5:30 or 6. Chris settled into the recliner, sipped on some potato soup, and gradually drifted back to sleep. What a day!
Matthew 5:10 says, Those who are persecuted for righteousness are blessed, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
Father, bless Chris’ doc and his team. Ease her pain over the next few days. Amen.
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