Surrounded by flowers

This is Ev again.

I just got back from Rosa's hospital room.  While I am surrounded by kids and the sight of falling snow, Rosa's bed is surrounded by flowers.  It is actually quite peaceful in there.  She can't even see the falling snow, so one can imagine that it's warm.

So, the update.   She definitely has some pain, especially when she has to get up.  And yes, she can get up and has to, but only to visit the washroom.  And I don't think she'd really want to do more than that at this point.  Strolling around The Mall is definitely not going to happen right away.  Although moving is good for the circulation and most of her muscles, it isn't actually that great for the muscle that needs to heal right now. 

And how's she healing?  Although it's hard to tell with no real reference point, the nurses all say she healing really well.  She's feeling weird pins and needles in her leg, but I would think that's a good thing.  Without being a doctor or at all knowledgeable, it sounds like that would be active nerves, nerves healing or maybe reconnecting.  Like when you hurt yourself and it later starts itching.  That's a good thing.  Hopefully that analogy holds true here. 

Comfortable as that tinting bed may be, I'm sure she'll be more than happy to go home tomorrow.  Home to her own coziness and her own quiet sanctuary.  It's nice to have tea when you want tea.  To have comforting soup when that's what you feel like having.  As long as there's no temptation to get up and get herself these things!  Resisting may take strength of another sort. 

All's Well

Okay, this is Ev blog-jacking on Rosa's blog, but it's been fully sanctioned by Rosa, I swear!  Plus, I'm a middle-aged gardener too!

I just received a very welcome call from Rosa in the hospital.  I didn't realize that she would be allowed her cell phone, but I'm glad of it because I got to hear all the news directly from the source.

Her surgery was earlier this morning, at about 9:30 so it's been a long wait for me to find out how things went.  Luckily, some of the words she used were:

• grateful
• peaceful
• worry-free

That's what we all wanted to hear!  That makes me feel grateful, peaceful and more worry-free as well. (And it's really all about me, isn't it?  No? Oh, hmm.)

I'm sure it wasn't altogether pleasant, but those are still comforting words to hear.  She went into the surgery with certain expectations based on a not-to-scale drawing by her surgeon, and we all go into things with past experiences on our mind or ugly web images.  There is the expected pain, but Rosa says it's manageable so far. The incision isn't as long down her leg as expected and the numbness isn't even as numb as she thought.  I'm hoping that's good news for the prolonged numbness that was forecast.  She was surprisingly chatty for someone who'd just had surgery.

I'm sure that all of the support of friends and family that she's gotten so far has gone a long way towards allowing peace to rest on Rosa.  It's nice that she doesn't have to think about whether the dishes are being done, or what to feed anyone.  It's great that she's surrounded by competent nurses and surgeons who she can trust to take care of her.  And she knows Who is really taking care of everything.  That's where the ultimate peace comes from.

I'll be leaving her with family visits tomorrow because she may be more tired tomorrow than she is right now.  If there's any more news, I'll let you know.  Otherwise, I'll get to see her on Thursday and I'm update you again.

- Ev