Week Three of Recovery

It's hard to believe this is week three of my recovery because the time has gone by so quickly. That's mainly because I sleep a lot! I typically get up with Jeff and Brooke in the morning to see them off, I have some breakfast and putter around for an hour or so. Then I go back to bed and sleep until lunchtime. I'm usually up for a couple of hours around lunch and then sleep for a few hours in the afternoon so I can spend the evening with Jeff and Brooke. What a change from what my days looked like a few weeks ago. On the days when I don't sleep as much, I've noticed I feel worse and the headaches start to set in. So for now, I guess my body needs a lot of sleep.

Last Thursday we went to Mayo to have my 23 staples removed. It pinched a little, but wasn't a big deal. They basically said all is well so far and they'll see me in 10 weeks - seems strange! They operate on my brain and don't want to see me at all except for a three-month check-up, but I guess that's a good sign too.

I've started to contribute to the household a little bit this week - helping Brooke with her spelling words and getting her valentines ready for the big party at school. I try to straighten the house during the day and can help with dishes a bit, but the smallest tasks are very draining. Jeff says I mostly "putter" which is very true. I guess I am a putterer now:) In the meantime, Jeff has done an amazing job of keeping our household running while working full-time and pretty much being a single dad.

I'm still on half a dose of percocet. I'd like to get off of them so I can start driving and can at least pick Brooke up from school in the afternoon. I'm going to try cutting my dose in half again this week and start using some ibuprofen instead. We'll see how that goes. I joke about being a fairly functional narcotics user, but I think I am:)

Many of you have asked how Brooke is doing, if she understands what's going on, etc. She's doing great! We haven't shared all the details with her, but she knows I went to spend time with the doctors so they could fix my ear, and she knows that I need to rest a lot and that I'll get better in time. She's been very patient with me and very accepting of my need to rest. Since my bedtime is now the same time as hers, we usually go to bed together in my bed and snuggle and then Jeff moves her to her own room when he comes to bed. She's also keeping really busy with play dates and she's received a lot of care packages from friends. Jeff and I joke that it's been like a second Christmas for her. She's on the go doing fun stuff and opening gifts every other day so all and all things don't seem to be too hard for her:)

Thanks again for the cards, meals, prayers and just all the support that everyone has given us. I know Jeff and I say that in almost every blog entry, but we truly mean it. Your support has been so encouraging and helpful we can't believe how lucky we are to have such a strong network of support! We hope we can pay it forward at some point.