Home

When I got home,I remember sitting in the chair in front of the TV,looking at my books,desk,lamps and how strange they seemed from the universe I had been in,but it was all there ,all mine, it was my world and my fate was in my hands. I am a little blurry on the first few days, I still had stitches in me. I was so thankful for my sleep comfort bed that I could adjust as I wished, and believe the first few weeks I slept in some positions I could have imagined.

I missed walking, I was grateful to co workers who paid for a meal. I was so happy my mother didn't have to cook,at least for one night. Of course the first thing I wanted to do was get back online and report back I was home. Several pages on the Sinatra forum talked about me and my progress as Mary had faithfully recorded. I wrote simply "I'm home and tired , more later." then I read the backlog on the thread and came to Nancy Sinatra post minutes after I wrote I was home "Thank Godness" it said with an angel avatar.Several people said the place "Moonlight Sinatra" for me the day of the surgery.

Things to conquer in the coming weeks
-walking downstairs with stitches inside of me. That was easy , sheer will.
-going to the store, I went to Wal Mart and drove one of the carts, that was surreal.Everything I wanted seem to be on the upper shelf. Thank God for the charts and those who need them on a daily basis.
- my step father has a walk in shower and I went there several times in the 7 weeks I was off, it was there I got a first look at the scare that begins just under my belly button,curves to the right of the button and continues up my mid section to the sternum. and the stitches.

Every activity the first weeks tired me out, the first trip to the doctor where I believe the stitches were removed maybe the second visit. I was thin, at the hospital I swear I weighed 150 something once. I was horribly thin, I knew that. Clothes hung off of me. I do know it was the first doctors visit , we were in the waiting room and a woman smiled at me, she had bags under her eyes and wore PJ bottoms, I knew she was a patient and the smile reflected "I'm happy to be alive, how are you ?"

There was still the issue of the drains, one needed to be emptied every 4 hours or so,the other less so. I was told to squeeze them so they got suction. An appointment was made for early April to have it checked,I'd go to sleep again and the whole thing took 10 minutes or so. I was taken to the same room as before and the table was not 100 feet in the air surprising enough. I was shocked it was same room. This doctor,different then the surgeon told me not to suction the drainage bottle. The difference in the amount was dramatic. as the every 4 hours turned into maybe once a day, I knew I'd be going back to work.

Driving was not a problem, but my first outing did tire me, Wal mart, the mall.walking around with the drains tucked into my shirt. I loved how wet and rainy it was, laying in bed listening to the rain.

After 10 days,Mom went home, I had to do this on my own, I had to drive over there to get the shower.It was 6 weeks before I went to work, what did I do ? watched TV, I should have kept a list of the movies I watched ,either buying or on TCM, It probably goes into the 30's or so.

One day a FedEx trucked pulled up, a package had been forwarded from the hospital. The address was boots enterprises,Beverly Hills CA. I opened it and found a nice card from Nancy Sinatra, signed "Feel Better-Love,Nancy" and a CD, the most recent Frank Sinatra "Nothing but the best". I already had it, but not as a gift from the daughter of the artist. Priceless.

Finances-
I knew early on I'd be eligible for Family Leave Act, that would keep my insurance going, the question was would my request for Shared Leave be approved. When Leslie (supervisor) came to visit in the hospital she brought the form and agreed to fax it to the doctor to fill out. About a week after I got home , I found out it was denied. I knew I probably won't return until the end of April. I was horrified and asked our HR directer for numbers of someone downtown .This was just plain wrong. The person was in a conference and returned the call the next day.

The surgeon had not mentioned the Gallbladder at all, I was still weak in voice and emotionally down as I explained everything that happened from the Er visit to the surgery to the drains and very emotional . Hours later I got a call from HR that it had been approved. Shared leave is where people donate sick leave hours, this can be donated from anywhere in the state,any state employee, the reaction was quick , enough had been donated to cover me into May. All for my state agency. They did not need to use any for other agencies. I'll never know who did it,I don't want to know, but I think in the scale of me getting better I shot up about a thousand percent that day.

The drains came out in late April, I could stand up straight and not be burdened,It would time to go to work. I took a week for myself and returned on April 30th, for 4 hours. Good I was tired and lay in reading .