Monday, January 19, 2015

Thursday, January 15

I go in for pre admission testing at Roger Williams Hospital today at twelve thirty.  Even though I had my ostomy operation here in June, I never had pretesting done. We were in a bit of a rush back then.

All of the people I deal with here are very nice.  Two of the nurses remember me from my June visit, but I admit to them I can't remember them.  One of them is named Maria, and I do remember that name, but not the face.

In the span of an hour, I am interviewed for admission, meet with someone from anesthesiology, get blood drawn, have an ekg, and get a chest x ray.  It all seems so quick and efficient. I am back home before two.

The anesthesiologist wants me to stop taking the echinacea I started yesterday.  She tells me they are not sure how it interacts with the drugs they will need to use to put me under.  I am still worried about getting a cold, but I will stop taking it anyway.

Friday

A new little boy comes to visit us at daycare.  He will start coming in a couple of weeks.  It will be nice to even out our girl heavy roster.

Kaileigh comes by to have dinner with us, salmon and salad.  Probably not the heaviest thing I could eat as my last solid meal before who knows when, but it is what I had planned for dinner before I knew the date of my operation.  After dinner go over to the Bucket Brewery in Pawtucket to see my friend, Jane Hesser, play her guitar and sing a few songs.  There are a bunch of families here from daycare, past and present, so it is a little reunion.  The kids have such a great time running down the hall, into the brewery and around again.  They are transfixed when Jane starts to sing, all lined up in front of her swaying to her music.  This only lasts a short time before they are off and running again. It is a great place to be tonight.

Josh is coming in on the train, so Kaileigh leaves me to pick him up and brings him back to the Bucket.

 It is a different atmosphere to enjoy music in with metal brewing tanks and kegs in the background, but it is fun.  The Noble Knots food truck is parked outside the door, and people keep walking in with yummy little bites of food.  Beer is available inside where it is warm, and filled with people.

Katherine Quinn plays after Jane finishes, but it is time for my crew to get going.  Dinner is waiting for Josh back at my house, and I think I should have a bowl of ice cream before I need to cease with the solid food. 

Saturday

This is my first day of a clear liquid diet.  I need to get my insides cleaned out to get ready for my operation on Monday.

Anna picks me up to go to the grocery store.  We haven't been shopping together in a few weeks, and it is nice to catch up. At the end of our trip I look at what I have purchased.  Not much in the way of clear broths or beverages.  Hopefully what I have will get me through the weekend.

Once Steve and I get the groceries put away, we get a zip car to run a few errands.  I want to make some pho soup base, and need some marrow bones.  I couldn't bring myself to get them at Stop and Shop, so we find some at Whole Foods.  We have some extra time on our car, so we stop into Blick Art Supplies to get some paper.  This will keep me busy during my recovery.

When I get home, I start the soup.  It needs to cook for six to eight hours, and I know I will be very hungry by then.  I try some coconut water, which is supposed to be good for you, but discover I don't like the way it tastes.  I think I can drink the can I have opened, but it doesn't take long to discover this is not going to work.  With each sip I like it less.  It looks like white cranberry juice is my drink of the day.

Ayla texts me that she and Chauncey would like to come over for dinner.  I think this is a great idea, until I taste the broth I have been making all day.  It is not very tasty.  It calls for fish sauce, which would improve it greatly, but Chauncey is allergic to fish sauce.  I tell Ayla the bad news about dinner when she arrives, and she orders from Pho Horns down the street.  I end up having a rich, flavorful broth for dinner.  She and Chauncey have pho with all of the fixings, and some appetizers too. Ayla has saved the day!

Sunday

Day two of clear broth diet.  I have left over pho broth for breakfast, with a glass of white cranberry juice.  This fills me up well enough to get through to lunch.

We start out in the big church today, remembering the teachings of Martin Luther King.  There is a story called Don't Sleep Through the Revolution, which has lots of visuals and youth involvement.  The kindergarteners are interested the whole time, until we need to leave.  As I walk with the children up to the classroom, Martha stops me and hands me a bag.  I am expecting it to be mittens for our tree, but it turns out to be hand warmers from Lucille.  I feel lucky and loved having so many people watching over me.

We get back to our classroom where snack is already on the table.  Being in the big church always seems to make some of the kids extra hungry, so we combine sharing time with snack time.

Marie and I talk about Martin Luther King Jr. and ask what the kids know about him.  They know quite a bit from school this week.  We make unity flowers, using our hands as petals.  By the time the flowers are done, there are colorful hand tracings from each of the children in class, along with the hand of our minister, James.  We try to come up with some dreams for the future of the world to put on the petals, but the kids are not really wanting to do this part of the project.  Instead we write the name of each person on their paper hand petals , and decorate them.  Sometimes you just need to go with the flow.

On my way out of church, I share the news of my operation with a few people, and get hugs and good wishes for tomorrow.  

When we get home, I fill up on more broth, the stuff I made yesterday.  I put fish sauce and a little soy sauce in it, and it tastes better, but not as good as the broth from Pho Horn's.  I try to eat enough so I will not feel hungry at the birthday party we are about to go to.

Kaileigh comes by to pick us up at one, but by the time I am all set to go, we are going to arrive a  late.  Things are in full swing when we walk in, and since we are at Brian and Renee's house, the food looks amazing.  The broth at least keeps me full for a while so I am not feeling hungry, but I know I am missing out on some great food.

I keep busy talking to people and don't miss the food too much.  There will be another birthday coming up in April, so I will look forward to eating their good food then.

We are the first people to leave, my feet and legs are starting to feel fizzy, and as I walk out to the car, I realize my head is a little woozy.  I definitely need more broth.

6 comments:

  1. You are in my thoughts today, Katherine, and I hope your next post will be full of good news.

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  2. Kathy, I am thinking of you, and hoping that recovery is swift and smooth. What a joy when this is over!
    Get ready to be well again.

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  3. The Naps are thinking about you today too Kathy.

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  4. Hope everything is connected again and all is going in the right direction! And the blog has caught up to real time! How exciting! God bless
    The Dooleys

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  5. Thinking of you this evening and imagining you resting comfortably and on the mend. Holding you in my heart Kathy. Lots of love, Cynthia

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  6. You are the "one" in my love and kindness meditation.

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