Great Son, Great Surgery, and the Greatest Scrambled Eggs EVER!!!

I have so many blessings that I could not even finish counting. But I can begin to count. I am blessed to be a child of God, and I am blessed to be the mother of a terrific son who loves me more than I can fathom.

When we found out I had cancer, it rocked us to the core. My heart immediately leapt to my son to assure him, but I knew I could do very little. He just lost his father 2 years ago, and now his mom is battling cancer. I can't even begin to imagine what he was experiencing mentally, emotionally, spiritually. AND he was finishing up a semester of graduate school! He didn't need this added stress. Despite all of this, Jadyn remained gentle, supportive, encouraging, protective, loving, uplifting, and present. No, he didn't move in with me and stay with me 24-hours; he was present in the ways that counted.

Jadyn and I have a great relationship. We talk about everything. We give each other space to live our lives, but we always come together to catch each other up on how our lives are going. I was not surprised when I knew what I was facing that Jadyn said he would be with me every step of the way. And he has been. He went with me to see the surgeon. He took me to the hospital for my surgery. He stayed with me at the hospital as I recovered. My friends and I would have to convince him to go get something to eat or to do something fun with his friends, and he would always make sure someone was with me because he didn't want me to be alone. He finished his paper for the semester sitting in a hospital room. And he NEVER complained.

When we were on our way to my house after I was discharged, we stopped by his apartment. He walked out with his recliner to take to my house in case I couldn't sleep in the bed. What a great guy! I asked if he were going with me to see Dr. Baltz, and he said, "I'm going with you every time you do anything. I am with you every step of the way, momma." God provided for that, too, because graduate school does not have classes in the summer. But God!

The surgery had a couple of surprises. First, Elmer Fudge was a lot bigger that anticipated; the size of Dr. Marotti's fist! I also had some diverticular disease. But the biggest surprise is that I had a redundant colon. Yes, God provided for this procedure over 56 years ago by giving me an extra-long colon that had to loop and twist in the front where the colon isn't supposed to be. The surgeon had a lot of colon to work with and was able to reattach with no problem! Also, Mike Perkins arranged a private family waiting room so Jadyn wouldn't be alone, and boy he wasn't! Between my GSFBC choir family, my friends, and my cousin, Jadyn was surrounded by love. But God!

Initial stages of recovery were rough. I've never been nauseated or vomited in recovery...until now. I felt nauseous but was awake enough and had enough wherewithal to turn my head to the side before filling my oxygen mask. I knew I must not aspirate that or things would have been much, much worse. But God. When I was taken to my room, I still was really nauseous and in a lot of pain. The incredible nursing team at Baptist Health in LR continued to work with me until my pain and nausea were controlled. By Saturday, I was a new person. I was up walking, sitting in a chair, and managing pain with just anti-inflammatory. By Sunday, I was sucking down that liquid diet like a pool vacuum. Monday, I came home and am doing remarkably well.

This brings me to the last part of the title of this post. I had been on a liquid diet since April 27. It was May 8. I really wanted to hoover everything I could think of, but I was wise. My friend, Kara, brought me some groceries, and all I could think of was scrambled eggs and toast. While she and Jadyn were going over what she had brought and were figuring out where to put things, I had my skillet and butter and was scrambling not 1, not 2, but 3 eggs. Put those on a plate, added a little salt and a lot more pepper, got 2 pieces of dry toast, and prepared for my first food in days. As you can tell by my face, it was a joyous moment! And she bought a carton of 18! Bless her!

Once we were home, Jadyn was ready to do some physical work. I knew he was out messing with some stuff he wanted to do to his Jeep. What I didn't know is that sweet man child I have also almost finished tearing down my deck that had been started months ago but never finished. He's not quite finished, but he is determined. I love him. (Psst...you can start on tearing down the old privacy fence any time you want!)