Our New Year

Getting checked into the Hospital 1/2/1014

Life here has been pretty busy.  Not because we are running here and there (well maybe I am), rushing around town, etc., but because Taylor has been in intense recovery from his surgery.  We are quickly learning that major abdominal surgery is, well, major. 

Waiting and getting prepped for the surgery 1/2/2014

 Thankfully, now that he is 3 and a half weeks out things have settled down a lot.  His surgery took place on January 2nd, and then I believe we came home from the Hospital on January 10th.  I stayed with Taylor the whole time with the exception of a Sunday morning and Thursday morning to shower, repack my suitcase and visit with Mercedes at home. 

Our little visitor

More beloved visitors

 

The view from Taylor's room (and all of my stuff)

A snowstorm that took place during the stay

Getting ready to go home!

We were so happy to finally come home because we missed Mercedes so much.  But along with the excitement of leaving the hospital was a lot of anxiety felt by both Taylor and I.  It was similar to becoming a new parent and taking your new born baby home from the hospital for the first time, with the added nervousness of post surgery wound care, a scary ostomy bag to figure out and a lot of pain and other things to keep an eye out for.  Watching for signs of infection, dehydration, extra bleeding, extra drainage from incision sites, monitoring bodily fluid input vs. output, among others were all things that kept us on our toes, particularly in the first few days after coming home.  Not having nurses and monitors around 24/7 was nerve-wracking.  Thankfully, we had a home help nurse assigned to Taylor and she has come several times a week to check his vitals, give advice, etc., and that has been a huge help and relief.  We've called her multiple times when we had concerns and she is available practically any time. She is awesome and she has been a big blessing for us.  The third night we were home Taylor started to develop a small fever.  We phoned the nurse and she wasn't too alarmed at the temperature because it was only borderline concerning.  But she said to feel free to go into the ER if we felt it necessary, as it is always good to stay on the safe side of things.  So just after 9:00 p.m. I took Taylor into the ER here in Payson.  We were so worried it was an infection, and the memories of Taylor's 3-day ICU stay with a temperature of almost 106 two years ago kept running through our minds.  Thankfully though, all of the tests came back negative and he was able to go home around midnight with the relief of knowing things were alright.  The next morning his fever was gone.

Taken by Mercedes

We were so happy to finally be home with this girl!

His pain has decreased so much since the surgery and now his biggest obstacle is just exhaustion.  That will probably linger for months, including after the second surgery but he WILL get his strength back eventually.  He gets up several times a day (not including trips to the bathroom) and walks around the house to get some exercise but that's about all he can handle for now.  He does still have pain and muscle spasms, but it is much less than it was right after surgery.  And compared to the Ulcerative Colitis he had the day he went in for his surgery, he is doing SO much better.  The night he came out of surgery he went on and on about how grateful he was, because despite the major surgery pain he was having from having his colon removed, his colitis was GONE.  For the first time in years, he no longer has that sick feeling that lingered because of the colitis.  The change was as immediate as the removal of his colon.  That's what it took.  We still can't believe the Ulcerative colitis is finally gone.  It is such a blessing, and we are so excited to move on with our lives.  But the months ahead will still be a lot of work.  Within the next month or two Taylor will have his second surgery which will include another 6-8 weeks of recovery but then he'll be good to go.  He won't have an ostomy bag to work with and he is looking forward to that. 

Movie night with Taylor's brother Jonathan and his wife BJ

Mercedes and my dad walking to church while I stay home with Taylor

So yes, the past month has been quite a rollercoaster with a lot of high points and a lot of low points physically and emotionally.  One highlight was watching Taylor communicate right after his surgery while still having heavy sedation coursing through him.  He was hilarious and honestly very flirty and quite romantic.  With ME, not the nurses. :)  But the nurses were sure cracking up, and so was I.  Unfortunately I didn't record any of it but I plan to with the next surgery.  One thing he said was "You are SO BEAUTIFUL," in his extremely loopy voice.  I said, "How can you tell?  Your eyes are closed."  He said, "I can see you in my mind.  You're wearing a blue sweater."  (I was).  Then he opened his eyes and looked at me and said, "Whoa...  You're even more beautiful in real life!"  He was wondering what was in his nose and I told him it was the breathing tube (oxygen).  To that he said, "I want YOU to be my breathing tube."  I was cracking up!  He made comment after comment for probably an hour.  Another highlight, or technically low-light, was that our car broke down right next to the Salt Lake Temple after Taylor had a follow up with his doctor a week and a half ago.  We ended up being stranded for several hours waiting for a tow truck and all I could think of was "I need to get my husband home!  He needs to hydrate and lay down!"  As crazy and STRESSFUL as it all was, Heavenly Father really made the conditions around us the best I could have imagined.  If you're going to break down anywhere, the crosswalk between the temple and the conference center is the place to do it.  Very nice people and views.  And on top of that we had my mom with us because we were dropping her off to meet my Dad who was already there doing MTC presentations there near the temple.  My mom took Mercedes to the bathroom and got food while we dealt with the car, and my dad dropped by between meetings to give a couple of minutes of support.  And honestly it always helps a girl emotionally to see her dad at a time of crisis like that, even if for just a few minutes.  We worked things out so that when the tow truck came to get the car, Taylor, Mercedes and I drove home in my parents' car and they would get a ride home with some of my dad's co-workers.  So as hectic as it all was, the situation was perfect.  Getting our car fixed is still in the works but Jonathan (Taylor's brother who just moved here from Cali with his wife) and Taylor's great uncle towed our car last week from a shop in SLC to a place in Provo.  Thankfully, we're mostly homebound so we'll survive without a car until it is up and running.

Despite the fact that we hardly leave the house, life has felt a bit crazy but we're happy the first surgery is over and that Taylor is getting closer to the 2nd one.  We just want to say THANK YOU to everyone who has helped us through this.  Your prayers have benefited us so much and we are grateful for all of the help and support we have received.

Dinner and a movie

A common activity for the time being

 We are looking forward to the rest of this year!