This was the first Christmas I can remember when I didn't drive myself crazy in the stores, looking for just the right present for each family member that I love.  I shopped a whole lot online, made one out-of-town mall trip with Steve, and kind of had that attitude of "good enough," with the knowledge and hope that next year would be better.  I even sent Steve out shopping with a list...he picked my dad out a shirt, my mom a crockpot, and gift cards for his parents...this was the first time in 21 years of marriage when I gave him that responsibility, and he totally rose to the occasion.  I used gift bags for the majority of my wrapping, decorated the house in steps (one floor/room at a time), and really enjoyed our holiday decor more than any other year.  We loved our tree so much this year that we kept it up until the second weekend of January.... That's never happened before!

My drain tube was killing me, though.  It was extremely sore, and on the Sunday after Christmas, even though it was set to come out two days later, I couldn't stand it any more.  It had kept me awake that Saturday night from the pain of every time I moved...I called the surgeon on-call, and he gave me permission to go to the ER to get it removed.

Keep in mind, this was the height of flu season.  The hospital itself was full, they were using ER rooms to admit patients, and I had a wait of 3 1/2 hours before I got called back.  There were people around me who were obviously very sick, some vomiting into little bowls, others in wheelchairs as they were too weak to walk in.  It was a pretty depressing scene, and I hoped so much that I didn't catch anything while I was waiting.  At least one of my former students was there with her sick little girl, and we yakked for about an hour.  Anyway, they removed the drain tube, and it was the most liberating thing that I'd ever felt.  It was awful to be so encumbered by that tube...showering was a pain, and I had to wear long tops, which I only had one, so I had to shop for a few more.  Anyway, it was out, and that was great.  When I went to see Dr. Frantzis for my follow-up appointment, he gave me a 6 month reprieve until I had to see him again.  I was given a 2 week waiting period before I could take a bath or get in my hot tub...he warned me the "pruning" effect of the water could cause my incision site to split right open!

I think having that entire week off before my normal 2-week vacation at Christmas, giving me in essence 3 weeks to convalesce, was just right.  I was ready to go back to work, healed enough to not have to have the bandages on, my sutures had magically disappeared, and my energy was returning.  I started to feel like I was coming down with something, and by Wednesday night, I knew I was getting sick.  Like a miracle, school was cancelled on Thursday.  I laid on the couch with my upper respiratory sickness.  It was cancelled on Friday.  I was still sick.  I was sick on Saturday, and feeling better by Sunday.  When we went back to school on Monday, I was feeling much better.  I didn't have to miss any days!  I was so happy!

I've still got a lot of sick days banked...I think I still have like 35 or so...and I've tried really hard to not use any that aren't necessary.  I started radiation...more about that in the next post.