One Week Post-Op...

So I'm sitting in Jeff's office at the church at the moment, with 20 minutes until we need to head out to my next doctor's appointment. I'm sitting here because Jeff and my mom won't let me drive yet and it was way easier for me to hang with Jeff for a while before heading to the appointment than for my mom to load up all the kids in the van to drop me off.

How am I feeling? Glad you asked... I'm doing pretty good. For the most part I'm pain free or at least have very little pain. I've totally gone off all my pain killers, so that's great, and really don't feel a lot of pain unless I'm turning my head to far or trying to do too much. My brain has almost fully cleared up, although after sitting in front of the computer for about an hour I'm having a hard time focusing and am feeling a little "spiny" or "jumpy" as I like to call it. Basically I feel like my world is moving around slowly and that I'm having a hard time focusing my eyes and concentrating. I had been doing very good with this yesterday but this morning am having a bit of a harder time. I guess Jeff and Mom's no driving rule is justified! My energy levels are almost back to normal, though I still nap for a couple of hours each afternoon. But I'm going to have to cut that down as I'm actually starting to have a hard time going to sleep at night. I guess that's a good sign?

Overall I've been doing really good. Jeff and Mom are so amazing and keep getting mad at me as I try to do more than I'm supposed to. It's really hard not to just carry on when you're feeling pretty good. The hardest part is the taking care of the kids, or not taking care of them. Caleb will be crying and the most I can do is put the paci back in his mouth, turn the swing on if he's in it and it's stopped, or call for Jeff and Mom. That's getting a little frustrating. But in happy news, Caleb has started smiling. I have yet to catch it on camera because it's pretty rare but it has happened a time or two, especially when I'm out of sight but within hearing distance of the "look, Sydney, Caleb is smiling at you!" It is very cute though when it happens.

So after one week of sitting around and not being able to do a lot, I'm ready to get back in the game a bit more, but at the same time, I've really been enjoying the help and extra time with my Mom. She really is amazing! I'm not sure what I would have done without her. I made dinner last night (nothing special, just pancakes because Jeff was out at worship practice) and it felt good to get back, but then I got in trouble from Mom for trying to clean up afterward. I guess it's about small steps. But for one week after a pretty big, long surgery I'm doing great. I'd like my mind to fully clear up but well, at least I can still function decently and eat. Although I learnt a couple of days ago that I'm going to have to go on a low-iodine diet soon and after looking into that a bit this morning am not too excited about it. Thankfully after not eating for pretty much 4-5 days my stomach has shrunk and I'm not needing nearly as much food, so maybe it won't be too bad on this special diet?? Here's to hoping!

Well, my time has come to an end. It's time to head over to my doctor to hopefully find out how this whole radiation thing is going to go down and when. Thanks again to everyone who has been praying for us and for all the support! We love you guys!