Datcat

Don’t worry, I am not going to post icky wound photos …… LOL

I am very aware of the whole “internet diagnosis” and the problems it can cause, although if I had listened to what everyone on various online forums said, plus what I read online about gall bladder issues, I would have been more demanding of the doctors, earlier. Still, I don’t have to go back and do it again, so all is well.

GP visit today went well. The operation wounds are healing well, and my internal pain is as expected, with no surprise stabby spots. He was concerned about the drain wound, as it is quite big, and he didn’t like that it was left open. He has put a special dressing on it, and told me to leave it there for 5 days, to give it a chance to heal over without infecting. He has given me some more strong panadiene, but he expects that I will be able to wind that down over the next couple of days, and I agree with him. I am doing plenty of moving around, as well as little walks outside to get a bit of sun and fresh air. Also I am focussing on my diet. The last couple of months, I gravitated towards high GI foods, stuff that would be digested quickly and therefore not cause as much pain. So I need to switch back to my low GI diet, lots of fibre, more fruit and veg, low fat and sugar. I have already lost 5kgs since the surgery, and I am hoping that eating properly will help that process along. So …. the last couple of months have been harrowing ….. but hopefully, a nice quiet few months will be good.

I am back after being offline for a bit over a week. I have been moaning for ages about my stomach and back pain, and finally last Wednesday it got too much to cope with. I had started investigations with a different GP (as mine dismissed my pain as muscular), but hubby packed me off in an ambulance on Wed night. By Thursday lunchtime it was discovered that I had a badly inflamed gall bladder, alone with gall stones, one huge one about 1/3 a size of the gall bladder. That one was mobile, and so moved around, irritating everything as it went. They were astonished that I could have coped with it so swollen and painful. I was admitted into a ward, and put on somd drug therapy to see if it would settle, but the minute I ate, I was back in the world of pain. So on Sunday afternoon, I was rushed into surgery to have the gall bladder removed. After a few days recovering, and a truely stomach turning experience of having the drain removed yesterday, I am home, sore, shakey and definitely feeling very ordinary. But, I eat food, and don’t get this excruciating stab of pain through my stomach and back ….. so its worth it.

I have been sick for months, so I plan to be gentle on myself for a few months, and just cruise until I get back to full health.

I have been away for two weeks, getting a concentrated dose of baby and toddler, helping my sister with her new little man. In the process I have perhaps endeared myself a little more with Nephew#1, and the name “ninny” has been firmly entrenched in the kids vocabulary. I don’t think I will ever escape it.

So I am home. Hubby of course missed me, just as much as I missed him. Of course there is the practical aspect …. single parenthood is not an easy path, and he struggled with a lot of things (mental note: the fridge needs cleaning out). But there is also the emotional aspect…. I got lots of cuddles, he watched telly with me last night (rather than being off on his computer) and other such *ahem* unmentionable things.

Naomi missed me ….. every spare second is spent talking at me at top volume (great when I have a post flight headache), and she seems thrilled I am home.

But most of all ….. Nathan has missed me. He has been super keen to talk to me about his games and tv shows, tell me about what he did at school for the last few weeks, along with a detailed discussion on the things dad did, that I don’t do (good and bad). LOL But along with that is the “presence” things ……. When he is talking to me, he stands closer, and rather than being focussed on the tv or computer, or just generally distracted, he is looking directly into my face (when you parent a teenager you get used to them talking to the floor constantly). Every time he looks at me, his face lights up, and if I say something he likes (ie: would you like a milk drink when I go to the shops), the sheer joy in his face is infectious.

Being loved that much is humbling, and kinda daunting. It makes me feel that I need to tread carefully in my parenting choices, and be just that little more gentle while handling this emerging adult. He really is a special boy ….. my son.