Nurse Mom & Recovery (the Coles Notes Version)

Sleeping in my own bed feels amazing! Mom has stayed with Ashlyn and I the entire time. Some home cooked meals, snuggles with Ash and Charlie, FaceTime with Bryson (he's currently away at school), Christmas movies and Coronation Street is is just what I needed.

A day after coming home, and its time to tackle my hair. I can't even get the scrunchie out of it. I cut it out. As a bath is out of the question, I wrap my incisions and sit in the shower. My hair is basically a helmet. It stayed exactly the same as if I kept the elastic in. Forget the shampoo, I'm going to need a lot of conditioner and some help. Ash to the rescue. Armed with a wide tooth comb, it takes 3 different condition/comb/rinse's to make it manageable and a lot of laughing (which still hurts).

The next few days kind of blur into one another. But, 6 days later, and dad is getting out. His received damaged kidney is doing great, almost like the little engine that could. The doctors can't believe it. They weren't sure it was even going to take at all. Its been a few more days and he's ready to come home.

As he walks through the door, I hug him. It's over - but is it really? I have many mixed emotions now that we are on the other side of this. We start to compare incisions.....I feel like I got the short end of the stick. Although dad has one large low abdominal incision (his is stapled), I have 4. They are healing well but man are they really starting to itch now. Mom makes us lunch, we both take our meds and its time for a nap. Watching him walk through the door WITHOUT a bag of dialysis solution and his machine makes it

worth the pain, worth the waiting, worth all of it.

I watch my mom run around after us, making us meals, checking our vitals, taking Ash to school, taking care of the dogs, making sure we take our meds and that were comfortable. A mom and wife wears many hats, but this lady has kept us healthy! Not just now, but she has been on top of all my dads health for the last 4 years (actually his life - but critically the last 4) , and if it wasn't for her, he probably would have died. Everyone has been praising me, but it in the end, it shouldn't be me, it should be her everyone should be thankful for.

Recovery has been slow. And for a very impatient active person, taking it easy is just not easy. Over the next few weeks I have learned that I am stronger than I ever thought I was.

Coles Notes of the next few weeks:

*One week later and I'm a patient trying to recover, and taking care of another patient in recovery. No its not dad, that's moms full time job again. My boyfriend has been released from hospital as well and needs to be also cared for. So I take a deep breath and take it day by day.

*I'm itching to get back to the studio. So much so that I ask my Aunt to drive me there just to see my dance kids (all within 2 weeks of Surgery). Thanks Aunt T! It was just what I needed.

*My body is healing well. So well that I think its in good enough form to celebrate Ashlyns birthday walking around a goat farm.

*Follow up with Dr.Pace (my surgeon) was quick. I chose not to ask him what the hell happened in surgery. My dad is doing well and that is all that mattered. I choose to think he had a random eye twitch or too much coffee which make him jittery and that's why he nicked the artery. Its human error, and fortunately for us, it didn't matter in the end.

*My test results aren't as good as I was anticipating. The kidney that is left is slower to recover than what they had hoped. I will have to be followed closer than anticipated. See you again in another month.

*On week 3 of being home and I'm going stir crazy. Time to go back to work (and by work I mean teaching dance). I have a wheelie chair I can use and will only go in to continue choreographing. Not the smartest idea I have ever had physically, but mentally I needed that outlet again. A few weeks till Christmas, I will rest then.