My Convalescence.

And just like that, I find myself at the end of medical leave.  A lot of people have asked me what I've done during my time off. The short answer: sleep. That first week was really hard. I didn't know what to expect and it was definitely much harder than I would have imagined.  I was in a lot of pain (5 hours of laproscopic surgery makes your abdomen very sore).  After I was released from the hospital, I basically slept and read back issues of Better Homes and Gardens for the first three days.  In between walks around my grandma's house.  That's one thing I definitely didn't expect.  They insist that you walk A LOT post surgery.  (In fact, they had me up and walking probably an hour after I woke up after surgery.)  It keeps you from getting blood clots and fluid in your lungs and helps your systems get back to working again.  It was really cold that week, so I couldn't go outside.  So, I did laps up and down the hallway and up and down the stairs.  (Then I needed a nap.)   After that, I started to come out of the fog a little.  But still slept a lot.  I think my body was just taking time to heal.  I didn't like it one bit, all of that sleep is really not like me.  Sometimes, you just have to listen to your body and try not to feel like a complete sloth for sleeping for a 12 hour stretch then needing a 3 hour nap in the afternoon.  I am happy to report that those days are now behind me.  Finally, by Thursday morning, the pain had subsided a lot, I really felt more like myself and I officially started to feel pretty bored.  The fact that it took me almost two weeks to feel bored is truly a testament to how much I needed this time to recover.  Thank goodness this whole ordeal is over.  I had my post-op visit with my doctor just this afternoon and can return to work on Monday, a whole week earlier than expected.  I am so thankful for my quick recovery and especially for my heath! 

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But since there was quite a bit of downtime, I did watch quite a bit of TV and a few movies. 
-I watched almost the entire series (thus far) of Elementary on CBS.  Such a good show!  I had been DVRing the series but hadn't had time to watch yet.  I highly recommend it!
-I watched "Letters to Juliet", from ABC Family that I had also DVRed.  Certainly not an academy award winner.  In fact, a completely and totally predictable plot and screenplay.  But a good light hearted romantic comedy.  The perfect thing to watch while cooped up inside. The cinematography was unbelievable.  I must find a way to get to Tuscany.
-I also watched The Perks of Being a Wallflower.  It's based on a novel of the same name by Stephen Chbosky (he also wrote the screenplay).  It's about kids in high school in the early 90's.  (Not unlike me.)  They went to the Rocky Horror Picture show.  They exchanged mix tapes.  Ahh, the humble mix tape.  Those were the days.  There were some great quotes in this movie.  "You see things and you understand; that's a perk of being a wallflower."  "We can't chose where we come from but we can choose where we go from there."  This was a great movie although a bit dark and a little sad.

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When I wasn't sleeping or watching TV, I was reading.
-I read lots of magazines.  (I think I was given 5 different ones.)  I adore magazines and happily read them cover to cover.  It was the perfect thing to read between naps.
-I also read "Hearburn" by Nora Ephron.  I had watched and loved all of her movies but had not read any of her books.  This book was written in 1983.  Apparently it was adapted for the screen, although I haven't seen the movie.  It was also a precursor to her Academy Award winning screenplay and one of my favorite movies of all time "When Harry Met Sally."  I even recognized a few lines from the movie in this book.  And it's sort of fun to read a book where someone types on a typewriter.  This book was just like Ephron's screenplays, funny, sad and true.  Here's an article from the Huffington Post where the late Ephron discussed her divorce and writing Heartburn.
-I have started reading "Paris in Love: A Memior" by Eloisa James.  I think that memoirs may be my favorite book genre and this one has not disappointed me one bit!  It's about a women who sells everything (after her recovery from breast cancer) and moves with her family to Paris for a year.  I'm only about half way through, but I highly recommend this memoir!  (And I must get to Paris.  Apparently recovery has given me a serious case of wanderlust.)

I also had my fill of crafting.  Months ago, I purchased this embroidery pattern from Pam Garrison's etsy shop.  It's a rather intricate design, so I've only almost made it through the script in the center.  I only hope that I keep at it when I return to work! 
I also made (and promptly forgot to photograph) a set of Olliblocks for a friend's baby shower that I sadly cannot attend.  Before my surgery, I took the downloaded file to a print shop to have printed onto good paper with a laser print (a home printer would not have stood up to the decoupage process).  I had also previously ordered the actual blocks on line.  So all I had to do was cut up the papers and decoupage onto the blocks.  It took a little while for the glue to dry between layers but it was very simple!  I can't wait to see these stacked on a bookcase in her nursery!

As I told my doctor today, I feel better today than the day before my surgery.  I honestly didn't realize how horrible I had felt and how much pain I was in before surgery until just a few days ago.  I am so happy to have all of this behind me.  A big thank you for all of my friends and family support during this ordeal.   I hope for this blog to return to regularly scheduled programming next week!