Day Two - Walking on Sunshine

     It is officially Tuesday and I have been in the hospital 24 hours. I was doing my best to sleep but it seemed every time I would drift off into peaceful slumber someone was knocking on my door to check my vitals, empty the drains in my back or give me the necessary medicine. I felt good this morning and the nurses recommended that I start going for walks around the hospital wing.

     It was during one of these early morning walks that a nurse in scrubs walked by me. As we were passing each other she paused a moment to look at me. She took a couple more steps before turning around and stating my name in question form. I confirmed that I was Charles Aquilino Wearne and which point she seemed confused. She asked me if I was the Charles that had surgery on my spine Monday morning, I confirmed I was that person. Her entire face lit up with the biggest smile I have ever seen in a hospital. She informed me that she was one of the nurses in the operating room during my procedure and was in shock that I was not only in good spirits but that I was already up and about.

     I walked back to my room and ordered breakfast and was once again amazed at how delicious the food was. Trust me when I say I have been to plenty of restaurants/diners whose food was nowhere near as good as my hospital food!

2 Texas Sized French Toast, 3 Strips of Bacon, 3 Scrambled Eggs, a Fruit Cup and several juices

     I think for the first time I can remember my appetite was bigger than Alex's. I finished everything on my plate, yes the garnish too! I brushed my teeth and settled into my bed for a little snooze, it had been a productive morning and it's only 08:00. I awoke around 09:30 and to my surprise Tony stopped in for a visit on the way to his follow up appointment from his surgery. As he was leaving the nurse came in for our every other hour routine as she finished up Mr. Percoski stopped by to visit as well. Physically I was feeling fairly good which I admit was partially due to being constantly medicated. Mentally I was feeling great, its awesome how something as simple as someone stopping my to wish me well was so encouraging and made me feel so much better both physically and mentally.

     My Orthopaedic surgeon came in to check on me and explained what he did and didn't do during my procedure and said I was a great patient and everything went smoothly with him and  the Cardiovascular surgeon who performed the displacement of my organs and major vessels so they could get to my spine. He was happy to see me in good spirits and  like most everyone surprised to see how well I was moving around.

     The rest of Tuesday was fairly quiet until after dinner time. For lunch I ordered the Buffalo Chicken Sliders as well as the Chicken Parmigiana sliders! Rebecca woke up with one of her debilitating migraine headaches so her and the kids weren't able to visit until after dinner.

Chicken Sliders, Prune Juice and Angel Food Cake

     Seth and Sara made a trip up to the hospital to pay me a visit today as well. They brought a big pumpkin pie which we immediately sliced and devoured. They hug out for quite a while we we talked about anything and everything. I was surprised that they were able to stay so long knowing that Seth was still in a lot of pain from his surgery the week before. While being out of commission is never enjoyable it is refreshing to have someone with a similar injury at the same time because we have been able to encourage each other through the difficulties we are both experiencing. I have had an amazing outpouring of support and prayer from so many people some of which I have never met before. I can't help but give Glory to God for how well everything has gone so far and the urgency of getting repaired before the new year.  


          Throughout the day I would go on jaunts around the 2nd floor of the hospital all the while obsessing about having a healthy BM. The first of two physicians assistance was very surprised at how well I was doing and actually looked into sending me home. I was surprised that she would even consider this as an option and initially I was excited about it but it didn't take long for reality to set in and I prayed that the doctor would deny the request. Later that afternoon they informed me that my surgeon said I needed to stay at least one more day. Not only did they recorded everything I drank throughout the day they also measured how much urine I passed. They were confident with my data and removed the IV leaving only the catheter in my hand just in case I needed to get connected up again.  The pain I was experiencing was much less than I expected but as the day progressed I felt like I was hitting a brick wall.

     Rebecca finally recovered from her migraine and brought the kids up to visit  me. With all the medicine they were pumping into my body I found myself not wanting to eat dinner so I ordered stuff to share with the family. They all concurred that the food served to me was better than some of the area restaurants. Eventually the room would be filled with visitors when my cousin Kimberly and Debbie showed up with fresh cannoli's from La Fiorentia! During the visit I continued to feel exhausted all the while feeling blessed with all outpouring of love expressed to me by friends and family. I ended up giving in to the effects of the medicine and closed my eyes to get some much needed sleep once everyone left. I also had a BM during the evening which not only reduced the gas bloat I was experiencing but also boosted my morale about taking the medicine, I am a regular schedule type of person and was struggling with the side effect of the pain medication. Some times it's the little things!

     As I drifted in and out of a light sleep I noticed that the wing of the hospital I was staying in started getting very busy and noisy. Around 23:00 hours the nurse and evening aide woke me up to move me to another wing of the hospital where I would would be more comfortable and it would be much quieter allowing me to rest between nurse visits.

A selfie while they were packing up my room

     In no time at all my belongings were packed up and I was getting wheeled to the maternity wing! The part about this which made me smile was listening to the multiple nurses and aide's arguing over moving me. While I tend to be a baby when I'm under the weather everyone that was providing the care were proclaiming me the best patients they had. I was pleasantly surprised with the room they moved me into, it was like a high end hotel room with all kinds of amenities, I would get a better look around in the morning right now I was ready for some healing sleep.Wednesday was going to be a challenging day.