Bouncing Back

Nine days post op and back to nearly 3 miles walked in one
time period. Determination showing on my face.

Nine days ago I had life changing surgery. I had a full hysterectomy. As many of you know I was officially diagnosed via first an ultra sound and later an MRI of having fibroids, the largest measuring approx. *cm and my uterus was very enlarged and swollen.  They took everything; my choice based on family history . No more "lady parts" as my daughters would say.  I ended up having the DiVinci Robotic assisted surgery. My journey began at 5:30 a.m. in the registration office of the hospital, and at 7:30 a.m. after a while spent in pre-op, I was wheeled into surgery. I only remember being asked to scoot over to the operating table and then waking up in recovery.  I awoke to some pain, which at the moment, was not nearly as bad as the nausea. I do not react well to anesthesia, even with the anti-nausea medication they gave me. I apparently spent some time in recovery before being wheeled into my room that I was to spend the night in. 

Waves of sleep and nausea came and went for several hours past being wheeled in, and even resulted in getting quite sick at one point, but that was not a bad thing, it was welcomed as with doing so, the nausea passed. I had a morphine drip and that was a lovely thing as it took the edge off. I shall not say pain free as that would be very much a lie. Tolerable, that is a good word.   My husband and middle daughter stood by for a few hours till I finally sent them home, wishing to dose on and off without witnesses. Sleep was never far off, but also never for long.

My hospital stay was a good one as far as hospital stays go. I can not say much for the food, I was on liquids till the morning, meal when I was finally allowed soft, but solid foods. I had passed all the tests, I had walked around my floor with the nurses help, after many hours of trying and nearly being put back on a catheter, I was able to empty my bladder, and then there was no stopping me as I was up each our or even sooner to do the same as fluids were being pumped in via IV as well as pitchers of water, cups of broth and juice. Towards the mid part of my stay I was able to get up and down on my own and even go through the process of taking off my leg cuffs ( devices that kept circulation going in my legs to prevent clots) and unplugging my IV and then reversing the process to get back into bed. I did not get much sleep, as I was checked on by both nurses and nursing aides pretty much every half to full hour. I was always either getting new pain meds pumped in or my vitals checked. Bright overhead lights and cheerful, and at times a bit to loud voices made sure I was awake. Five in the morning brought blood being drawn, and sometime after six brought in the doctor for her post op visit. Soon after food... which hurt to swallow ( due to a very raw throat that occurred with issues with inserting the breathing tube; I have a small throat opening apparently), but it was welcomed as my tummy was grumbling. Soon after I was check on and brought breakfast two more times by orderlies who had not known I had already been fed, a hospital manager to get my thoughts on my stay so far and eventually my husband who had been called and told he could come at any time. I was finally released just shy of the noon hour and home within minutes and glad to be so. 

The first few days were not easy, it was hard to move, it was hard to straiten upright when walking and bouts of nausea from the pain meds were quite a bother. Each day was better the first three days, then I would have a bad day, when apparently my body decided it was time to clear out all the waste and water retention from the previous days and I lost five pounds in one day! Four of which I have managed to keep off, even with less exercise and a normal diet. Day five saw me once again feeling better and I had already gotten out to walk twice with this day marking being able to walk just under a mile all on my own. I was getting in and out of bed just fine as well, though sleep was another story... there has not been a lot of that happening and when it does, it is fitful with odd dreams and even horrible nightmares, of which I have now learned is normal. Even when after day four I was able to "sleep" once again on my side, the odd sensation of all that remains of my insides sliding about and the knots under the incisions "hanging" like heavy pouches of sand within me stole comfort from me as each hour passed. 

Despite the ups and downs, I have made myself get dressed, do my hair, put on a bit of lipstick or gloss, and even dab cologne behind each ear. It was important to me and my emotional health to do this each day once I was able to shed the night gown and robe and tolerate pants. I even managed to go grocery shopping on day six and not feel completely exhausted.  When speaking to the follow up "Welcome Home Nurse" on the phone, she was very impressed by my progress, but warned as many have no to over due it and listen to my body, which I assured her I was... yesterday was an example, after a rough night the night before, I got up at nine in the morning and by eleven I knew I was going to nap the day away, and that is exactly what I did. My body told me what it needed and I listened. Today however is an "up" day, and I managed nearly three miles round trip and a couple of errands in the middle and though I feel a bit tired, it is nothing more than what I normally would feel when not sleeping well. I know that after I write this, it will be time for a nap. 

I am on a low dose of estrogen replacement pills, and with that comes a slew of side effects... all minor, and not as bad as if I was dealing with sudden, surgically induced menopause all on my own. I have had emotional highs and lows over the last nine days , both normal as the body adjusts after surgery, but also to the adjusting hormone levels. I have had hot flashes and night sweats, but nothing so bad that I feel I have to camp in front of the open freezer door or toss ice cubes down my top, but I do feel as if it all has me on a roller coaster of symptoms and will be glad when eventually it all levels out. I am in my own way embracing it however as it means no more monthlies from Hell, no more money spent on feminine products and gee, I can wear white pants and make plans without fear ! THANK GOD! 

I am far from 100% and I know that full recovery takes weeks, even months and I will take it day by day.  That is all any one can do. I will have good and bad days and some days may be both. It will take time to get my system balanced and to find my daily rhythm, but as each day passes I can feel myself bouncing back to where I was before surgery, at least with my exercise and strength/endurance and determination, and look forward to seeing and tackling whatever is ahead of me. It might bring somethings that I am not too pleased to have to deal with. I am sure my body will go through changes as I age that I am not expecting and some that I do, but I will face those when they come and hopefully with a positive attitude and education about what I can and can not control I will bounce back each time and be ready to tackle anything that comes my way.  That is all I can ask for of myself and of myself.  My next doctor's appointment will be at the end of May and I am hoping for only great reports when that time comes. 

Hard Hat Adventure

Got my hard hat on and
ready for an adventure! 

After what was an early start to the day due to needing to go have my pre-op MRI ( surgery is just over a week away now... a hysterectomy if you have not been keeping up) at a bright and early 8 a.m. , then also needing to get the bi-monthly grocery shopping done, we still had nearly a full day of which to do something with and not waste the beautiful Spring weather. After much debating, my husband decided a drive was in order through the beautiful foothills of our local gold country, and to have a destination, as well as mark another adventure off our "to see/do" list, we programmed our gps to lead us to California Caverns in Mountain Ranch Ca, or as it is more commonly known to be located, Cave City. 

The drive was beautiful ! Blue skies, bright green and rolling hills, wild flowers, gnarled oak trees greeted us mile after mile, even a chipmunk or two and much to my surprise a coyote on the side of the road as we drove along. Back highway's and one lane roads, expansive farms and historical main streets were all part of the journey that eventually took us to our chosen destination.  Barely a word was spoken as we just soaked it all in and let all thoughts of my surgery and tests leading up to it slip away, guilt over a lawn left un-mowed dissipated and a smile and a sigh were all that was left in it's place.  In just over an hour, we arrived... just in time for the next tour. 

California Caverns is one of many caverns that are within the foothills above Sacramento, you may recall recently I shared our visit to Black Chasm  located in Volcano Ca., California Caverns was next on our list. I believe there is still one or two left to see, each one is unique in it's own way, although the history is very similar and all around the same time period within what is known as the California Gold Rush. I shall not go into the history here, as it is wonderfully recapped on the web site for the caverns HERE , and I certainly could not put it any better... so I shall just get on with the picture show. 

Unusual greeter *giggle*

Sadly the recent rains prevented us from seeing the whole cave tour, much was under water.

A five minute stroll was required to get to the
helmet hut and entrance to the cave. We
did not mind one bit. 

impressive amount of cave straws and flow stones 

Draperies 

I wish this photo came out better... but you can see the railing slowly
descending into water... needless to say we did not take this trail.
The rocks you see below the railing is a mirror reflection of the ones above. 

More straws.. each one takes thousands to over a million years to slowly form... drip by single drip of water. 

cave bacon 

Sorry for the grainy appearance, my camera is not truly made to take
very clear photos in the deepest and darkest of cavern rooms, and to
see any detail I had to brighten the image way up.This does give you
an idea of our decent route. 

Much to the relief of all tour takers, this bat was not real... apparently
bats do not really like caverns. 

Back outside once more ......

On the trail back to our car. 

From California Caverns to California poppies on the drive home.

New Discoveries and Revisiting Favorites

image via google search for vintage road trip

Yesterday hubby and myself decided to go explore and make new discoveries for our daycation road trip. We got up early, got ready, filled the gas tank and headed to San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. The destination within the park, the California Academy of Sciences. We had never been and wanted to see what it was all about and of course make new discoveries. Plus it had been on my list of daycations for quite some time. 

photo via google search for the location's image 

I will start off by saying it was not all that I had hoped for, being one who loves to see Dinosaur bones and dioramas with reproductions, there was none of that, though there was a nice African Hall of taxidermy animals in natural settings, that also included  live Penguins, that we managed to be there in time to see get fed.... and I did enjoy that. The bulk of the museum was taken up with the Planetarium**, of which we thoroughly enjoyed the show that they put on, it was very impressive, and quite educational, and unlike any other show I have seen at a planetarium before.  **tip get your free passes immediately upon going through the front doors. Right after, we journeyed to the roof top to see the view from up there that overlooks the park as well as the living roof  that tops the next attraction, the other largest attraction was the combo of the rain forest recreated within the building.  Several stories tall and filled with the natural plants, birds and butterflies that one would expect to see in a rain forest. It was truly beautiful and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the butterflies flit about, though I must admit that at the natural history museum in Santa Barbara Ca, there were far more of the winged beauties flitting about and I felt a little underwhelmed once again. There was exhibits about earth quakes, one on Southwestern pottery and silver, we skipped those, and headed right to the aquarium after the rain forest. I always love aquariums and find them fascinating and relaxing all at the same time. It was not a large aquarium, but it did not disappoint, it was truly beautiful and very educational to be able to see all the aquatic life that reside there. We did manage to spend several hours within the museum and had a very nice lunch at the cafe ( though a bit over priced, but to be expected, and we were in San Francisco, the food was really good)  All in all we enjoyed ourselves, though I have to say the fact that it was 29.95 each and cost us 22.00 to park ( oh and the toll to get into SF) and of course then there was the photo packet that we chose to actually purchase before leaving, I am not sure it will be some place we will visit often, though we do not regret going and as I said we did enjoy ourselves. We do plan to visit Golden Gate Park again and explore other venues there, perhaps a bit less costly and easier on our budget. I would recommend it to families however, at least once. 

Just one of four photo backgrounds ..love the little guy in the corner *giggle* and of course the
guy with his arm around me. 

Taking a moment to enjoy the stroll back to the car... and watch a
squirrel or two *wink* 

Once we were finished at the museum, we headed across the actual Golden Gate Bridge and let the GPS guide us back to a favorite place, Bodega Bay. We had one thing in mind, a flight of wine at a little wine shop and tasting room/gift shop located there that we had gone to last August and truly enjoyed ourselves. Gourmet Au Bay, is the only bay side wine bar in Bodega and offers an amazing view from a quaint little porch. You can sip a variety of wine by the glass or go for the "wine surfing" a taste of three wines, red, white or a mix while relaxing and just soaking in the view and gentle sounds of the water lapping against the shore. We have found that it is the best way, at least for us to enjoy an hour or so on the coast and just "breathe" and let go. You can also get a cheese tray, though we did not get any this time, it was very enjoyable when we did. The prices are reasonable, the offerings are wonderful and this time around we even went home with a bottle of our favorite from our wine surf that we tasted.  We would have sat there for hours, but alas the owners were closing a bit early that day and we had showed up late, so it was decided to go revisit our next favorite in the area, and we headed to Santa Rosa for dinner. Our choice? CA' BIANCA. 

Relaxing in Bodega Bay 

The gardens at CA'BIANCA

We had first visited this amazing Italian Restaurant quite by accident while in the Sonoma Valley for wine tasting with friends, and have not stopped talking about it since. I shared our experience in a series of blogs about that daycation nearly two years ago ( you can find it under the labels, daycations, food, and wine). Nestled on Second Street there in Santa Rosa Ca, it is housed in a beautiful historical Victorian home, surrounded by gardens on the outside and impeccably decor inside. The service is top notch and the food is just beyond sublime! Our memories were not disappointed to say the least. It is not an inexpensive place to eat, but it is also not the most expensive, and you would not regret a single dime spent on a meal there. In fact I would drive all the way from our home here in Sacramento to Santa Rosa just to eat a meal and turn around and come home again. I know we will visit it again and again, and it was the perfect ending to a wonderful road trip/daycation adventure!! 

Enjoying a "Hugo" Sparkling Wine Cocktail 

Chicken with prosciutto and mozzarella wrapped in puff pastry,
baked to perfection.  

Roasted duck with a potato gratin that melted in my mouth! 

Chocolate flourless mousse cake, so creamy, rich and just simply
divine. 

Pana Cotta .. there are no words for how sublime this is.

Now you may be wondering where all the rest of the photos from this daycation are, well I decided to hold off till the end, as well as do something a bit more interactive. I did take a few photos.. but not as many as you might expect from me, and I decided to share via short videos our day out. I hope you enjoy.  I will be sharing more over on my FB page over the next few days, so if you do not already follow me there, hope you will do so. 

The living roof top to the rain forest recreation below

The view from the roof top.

Yet to be explored ... maybe next time . Located in the area between
the Academy and the art museum. 

The rain forest dome, with it's wrap around
path as seen from the museum's second floor.

Within the rain forest, look at the top and you can see the living roof. 

This Giant Owl butterfly landed on the walkway for a
rest. 

I managed to spot each of these beauties while within the dome. A few I was able to photograph and record. 

Live Sand Dollars... use to collect these as a girl growing up
near the Central Coast here in CA. 

A real live Sea Horse looking more like an alien! 

Can you tell which are the Sea Horses and which are the plant life?