As of last night, I no longer have a stomach. Still kind of crazy sounding. But apparently my great runner-generated health kept me in awesome shape during the surgery.i am truly blessed.

My epidural for pain management seems to be working well. I got my yucky nose tube out this afternoon.

Ironically the two most painful things right now are:
1. My throat, and
2. My right shoulder.

I was told that at the end of surgery, my doc does an endoscopy to ensure everything looks good. But the kicker is that you already have an intubation tube in, so they must shove both in. And can I say ouch!

I was trying to adjust my position in bed last night and all of a sudden got extraordinary pain on my top right shoulder muscle! It was hurting so bad that then I had trouble breathing which further hurt my gut. Then you get scared because your oxygen levels plummets and you’re chattering from the pain. Doc thinks I pulled a muscle. Guess you could call that our first night scare. Glad that’s over.

All in all, I think I’m on some pretty good drugs and able to keep my pain under control. Was able to do one small lap early this morning and walked a double at lunchtime.

They have this thing they call an “Incentive Spirometer.” I’ve used them before after my c-sections, and you’re just trying to keep up your lung capacity. I’ve been trying to keep up with them, but at first it just didn’t work. Turns out, you’re supposed to suck air in, not blow air out. Go me! That thing makes a lot more sense now.

At the end of the day, I can feel the power of prayer wash over me. There have been so many people praying for me and can’t explain how I feel it, but I just do. Hopefully I can remain calm and positive and show my appreciation to the nurses here.