Pam Update - Twas Battered and Scarred (by Pam)

I keep starting to blog about getting Andie here but my heart is so full it's hard to put words to paper. I've written a few pages, but they would bore everyone else, so I haven't posted them.

I'm so grateful for the love and support we have felt from so many this past week.

You are all so generous and kind and I'm working on individual thank yous, but they won't be done today cause emotionally it takes a lot out of me. This post may be boring to most as well, but I'm going to write some things so I don't forget them. Read on or skip if you like.

We Love you all,

THANK YOU!

Pam

People keep asking how I'm feeling.

I admit at moments I feel, sore, tired, and like a little person was cut out of my tummy.

But 95% of the time I feel GREAT and overwhelmingly blessed.

Time to brag a bit.

My recovery this first week has been amazing. The morning after Andie was born, I was feeling surprisingly good and asked if I could get up and shower. The nurse wanted to get me up first and see how it went, she got another nurse so they could help me stand, but when I did it wasn't near as painful as I'd expected/remembered. So she said she would go grab some towels and something to cover the C-Section incision, then I could shower.

When she came back she had the doctors with her, and they all started asking me questions like; Do you feel sick? Are you Dizzy? Is the room spinning? Do you need to throw up? Is your vision blurred? Somewhat confused, I assured them all I felt fine.

Then they proceeded to tell me, that when they checked my blood level results from that morning, they were at critical levels. They spouted off some stuff about hemoglobin and numbers that didn't mean anything to me and said bottom line... the numbers were saying I needed a blood transfusion.

We knew I was anemic going into the C-Section, but this wasn't surprising because I almost always am. With me showing no symptoms of problems, the doctors agreed to let me try to eat, watch me closely and if I really was doing okay, they would just let me build up my blood levels on my own.

When they let me eat, I was super hungry and the food tasted amazingly good. They kept offering pain medicine, and had to convince me to at least take Ibuprofen, so I did, but that was all I needed.

With Dan by my side we took lots of walks around the maternity ward, and when that got boring Dan took me down to the courtyard to get some fresh air.

When we got back, the doctor and nurse were waiting, and said "There they are!" as we stepped off the elevator. They joked that they had never lost a mother before and weren't sure what code to call.

Convinced now that I was okay and doing better then even their non C-Section patients they agreed to let me go home, but not before 48 hours.

So Andie was born by C-section on Sunday and Tuesday we were home.

I continue to be extremely blessed, and stopped taking even Ibuprofen Wednesday.

I'm sore, but can now cough without feeling like my insides are being split open, and the first time I dropped the soap in the shower, I had to finish washing with shampoo, but yesterday when I dropped it again (sigh) I was able to bend and grab it just fine.

Yesterday Dan removed an internal row a stitches as instructed, and it was pain free.

My incision is sore inside but looks almost totally healed outside.

I wish I could take credit for the super healing I'm experiencing, but I know it's coming from a higher power and the awesome blessings from Dan and my Dad in the hospital.

A true testimony of our Father in Heaven's gifts and power.

I'm so in love with Dan and our THREE kids!