And so, the journey begins!

Most importantly, the surgery went as expected and I came out of anesthesia without an issue, like nausea or vomiting... just a VERY sore throat. It's that burning sensation like breathing in freezing cold air when running outside with each breath and swallow.

It's been strangely quiet in my home since we got home a few hours ago. Andy appears to be mouthing and signing back to me and not talking as much. Maybe I've initiated most of our conversations in the past? I guess all the talking to Garith, my 3 year old, paid off 'cuz he appears to know exactly what has happened and hasn't asked for me to speak. When he was playing doctor with Andy today, he put a piece of Theraband over his mouth! He's currently sitting quietly behind our rocker where he has put all of his pillows and watching TV out the side. We were up most of the night with coughing, so that's part of it! That said, even the nurses caught themselves whispering and signing back to me! It's like feeding a baby, when our mouths MUST open when we're feeding them!

Last night, I went into the office for 4 hours to make 4 overlays for a low tech device. I got to record my voice onto 32 buttons per overlay. My goal was for Garith, my 3 year old to 1) hear my voice 2) hear my typical phrases (good and bad) 3) keep some normalcy while I can't talk. I made one for morning, after school and night time for Garith. And one for Andy with adult messages like "Whose going to go get beer?" and "You're a hottie McGillacutti!"

Garith's surprisingly good at reading my lips, but Andy's still getting used to that and my MANY signs, so I'm writing on a pad of paper for him :). Both Garith and Andy are using my TechSpeak: Garith selects "Do you wanna go get a big prize?" and "You can watch Wubbzy tonight you get to sleep in." And Andy hits "No" and "No playing with toys" over and over to get Garith's reaction. ANDY IS MAKING IT VERY HARD NOT TO LAUGH AND IT HASN'T BEEN 3 HOURS!! I should've made a button that says "NO ANDY" fo sho!

Funny story: I'm a hard stick. After quite the production to get my IV in with a new nurse who couldn't seem to understand why I was bleeding profusely after she had blown a vein, I asked if it MAY have something to do with the tourniquet she left on (my whole arm was purple!). After that, Andy and I were alone and I wanted to have the serious "If, God forbid, anything go horribly wrong: I need you to know..." talk. So, as soon as I uttered those words, a new nurse came in. We busted out laughing! When she left, I was able to finish my thought, "I want an open casket, a surprised face put on, make-up and shaved legs with my zebra-print dress." Andy's worried people will judge him for the suprised look, especially since if it's not done just right, could be interpreted as offensive. Of course, I got myself choked up making sure Andy and Garith knew how much I try to be the best wife and mommy I can and do better when I know better. And that the ONLY reason I was getting this procedure done is because my voice and singing equals my JOY that bubbles up from within... God put it there and I am just now recognizing the power of it all!

So... there's the beginning of the current story: not near as bad as I thought it would be! Of course, it's only been a few hours and I haven't had to venture out into public. Life without a drive-thru is an adventure in itself, but maybe there will be less of a need with me home?? Crazier things have happened!

I love you all and thank you for your prayers, love and following my blog!

Hugs!
Snow