Yesterday was Valentine's Day, and surgery day. I woke up hungry in spite of my huge spaghetti dinner the night before. I showed mom where to find the dog food and where to direct the dog to go outside to "do her thing" and then I went back to bed to try to sleep through the hunger for a while. It definitely helped. I got up around 10am, showered, changed, and then checked email and called Bob before we had to head to the hospital.
The surgery was scheduled for 2pm but it didn't start until about 4:30pm. In pre-op they hooked up an IV, and drew blood to test my blood type. About 30 minutes later they came back to repeat the bloodwork - apparently it's required by law now that they do this twice to be absolutely sure they have the right blood type readied for surgery in case its needed.
They were finally ready to get started so I got a paper hat and was wheeled into the OR. They administered a spinal which I had been so afraid of but it turned out to be a breeze - just a slight burn when the numbing shot was given and then I didn't feel the spinal and suddenly my legs were warm and I lost all feeling from my belly button down. I was totally alert/awake but couldn't feel a thing they were doing. It was so strange. The surgery was quick - about 30 minutes, and performed by the perinatologist I saw earlier in the week. I spent about 45 minutes in recovery and another 30-45 minutes in post-op receiving medication to prevent contractions and waiting to speak with the doctor.
When the doctor finally emerged he told me that my cervix was worse than he expected but that he worked hard to get it closed up as best he could and he's hopeful that it will help me carry the baby to term, but no guarantees. ugh. He said I'm going to be really sore for a while because he really had to work hard to stitch it closed (oh lovely). The serious risk still exists that my cervix may not hold as the baby grows so I've been put on immediate bed rest for the remainder of my pregnancy (5 months to go). It's like a strict house arrest - only allowed to leave the house for doctor's appointments. While home, I'm required to stay laying down in bed most of the time. I can get up to use the bathroom and to take a shower every other day and to sit up briefly to eat. I can go up/down our house stairs only 3x/day, to get food, answer the door, or let the dog out (as long as I'm not on my feet for very long). No chores, no lifting, no exercise other than very slight stretches of my feet/legs/arms to help prevent blood clots from all the laying down. Doc said that if my employer allows me to work from home using my laptop and phone then he will permit that - but only if I can abide by the bed rest rules while doing so. Monday I will call my bosses to explain the situation and hope they can agree to let me work from home - at least for the first few months. That would really help time pass so my fingers are crossed on that one.
They released me last night after they verified my blood oxygenization levels were normal and baby's fetal heartbeat was normal (152). Within a few hours of getting home I was in pretty bad pain (cramping) which lasted through this morning. All I could take for it is Tylenol which really didn't do much. Thankfully, the pain really subsided by this afternoon so I'm just achy and tired but not in pain like earlier.
Mom has been wonderful - bringing me food in bed and feeding the dog and putting her outside as needed. She's helping me think of all the things I'll need help with - the things I can't do myself (housework, dog walking, etc.) so that I can start figuring out where I can get help lined up. My biggest challenge will be not having Bob around but it will be ok because I'm going to really plan it out so that I'll be as self-sufficient as possible.
Tonight I decided to order a small refrigerator that we'll put in the nursery upstairs so that I won't have to go downstairs for food. I ordered it online through Sears for store pickup and my mom is going to go get it tomorrow and when Bob gets home Sunday he and a neighbor will bring it up to the nursery and set it up for me. Tomorrow we'll try to figure out more planning that needs to be done. Time to rest.
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