Dangerously Delicious

A co-worker gave me a recipe for a cake, and out of boredom, I made it first thing this morning.  Unfortunately, I'll probably have it half eaten before everyone gets home.

Pineapple Cake

9x13 cake pan: 350 for 35-40 minutes

2 Cups Flour         

2 Cups Sugar

2 Eggs

2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp Salt

20 oz can crushed pineapple (juice and all)

1 cup chopped nuts

Mix by hand, all the above ingredients.  Pour into greased & floured pan.  Bake 35-40 minutes at 350.

Icing

8 oz cream cheese

1 stick margarine (I used butter)

2 Cup Powdered Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla

2 tblsp milk

Mix & Ice Hot Cake.  I let the cake sit for about 10 minutes.

Recovery - One week later...

Well, here I am, one week later.  Before surgery, I had prepared for the worst and hoped for the best.  I really think I'm doing great! 

I called this morning for my post-op appointment, and got approval to try taking Excedrine instead of taking pain meds.  She said it may be too soon, but I could try it.  Well, I'm trying it.  I don't like the fact that when I take pain meds, it takes like 10 hours to feel normal again.  They do help me sleep, but they make me feel so groggy.

I get to take the bandages off tomorrow.  I'm excited about that, because they are huge.  They pull at my skin, which just irritates further.

My neck is still sore.  It's like my head is too heavy for me to hold up or something.  The fusion was the bottom 3 neck vertebrae, but it's sore at the top near my head.  Go figure.

Other than that, I feel great.  I've been out a couple of times, which is nice.  Getting out into the sun helps the mood, but it does makes me tired.  Everything right now takes alot of energy, so I do tire easily.  I'm sure that will fade in time.  The doctor said after this week, I can start walking for exercise.  I can't run for at least 3 months, but I can walk.  yay me. -_-

Recovery - Day 5

Well, my mom's friend was right...day 3 of recovery is the absolute worst!!  On Thursday, I could hardly function.  I was in alot of pain that day, and I just felt bad in general.  I wasn't getting much rest because with my throat being swollen, it's created a sort of sleep apnea.  I wake up constantly.  So, my husband got yet another pain medication that would have more of a sedating affect.  It did have a sedating affect, but it did nothing to help me rest.  I still couldn't sleep worth a darn.  I was just a little more...well...sedated.

Day 4 was a little better.  I still stayed in bed most of the time, only sitting up for a couple of hours, but I felt like I got some rest.  I was finally able to lay on my side, which helps, because I don't wake up all the time unable to breath.  I didn't sleep the whole day, by any means, but I was able to just lay and rest.  AND, with Netflix, I watched the entire season of "Hot In Cleveland" in just a couple of hours!  Gotta love no commercials.

So, here I am on Day 5.  I haven't had a pain pill for 13 hours, I'm drinking coffee for the first time since Tuesday, and I'm having toast.  I've heard that starting the day with toast makes a person happy.  Can't argue with that, now can I?   If I didn't look like a hideous creature, I'd go have my coffee on the back porch.  However, I am quite a sight.  While they are cute, I've been in the same pajamas since Tuesday or Wednesday evening, I really can't remember.  Yes...I do know that it's Saturday morning.  On Tuesday or Wednesday, after I showered, I went back to bed with my hair wet.  I haven't run a brush through it since, so you can imagine what my chin length mop must look like now.  Then, there is the issue of the neck brace.  While I don't wear it all the time, I do wear it when I'm up and around.  The neck brace, in and of itself, makes me look sickly.  I look like one of those really bad actors from the old movies that are trying to rip off insurance companies..."oh, my neck"..."oh, the pain and agony"...yes, I do look like something else!

After a shower, and my hair is brushed once again, I may venture to the back porch to read or something.  Now that I've been up a while, I feel pretty good.  Makes me want to do laundry.  Yeah, I know...I won't...but I feel like doing something.  Sitting idle is really not my thing.

I am very much looking forward to Day 7.  That is the day I can remove the huge bandages that are pulling at my skin.  Yay!

Recovery - Day 2

Okay...so day 2 kind of sucks.  My hip was a little stiff, until I got up and walked around.  Now, it's fine.  However, my upper back between my shoulders are killing me, and the neck incision doesn't feel great.

I really don't like to take pain medication, because it makes me so groggy.  I'm tired enough as it is, without adding pain killers.  I made it from 5:15 pm to 3:45 am last night, without taking them, so I thought that was good.  It's 11:00 am now, and I haven't had any since 3:45. 

I've spent the past couple of days watching Netflix, which doesn't have a whole lot of new movies on it, reading, facebooking, and sleeping.  That is my life right now, which is just fine by me.  I don't feel like doing much else anyway.

Recovery - Day 1

Less than 24 hours after surgery, and I am already home.  I had assumed, by the way everyone talked, that I would be in the hospital at least 2 nights, possibly 3.  I had surgery at 12:30 yesterday.  They said I was doing well, and about 8:30 this morning, I was checking out of the hospital.

I am pleasantly surprised at how things went.  They took bone from my hip, and told me that would hurt for at least 8 weeks.  I didn't even know they had done it.  I had to ask which side they'd cut, because I couldn't even tell it was there.  While my neck and shoulder areas do ache and hurt, it isn't like I thought it'd be.  I'm quite thankful for that.  I was pretty healthy before the surgery, so I guess that helps.

I came home to lay down, and finally just moved to the chair in the living room.  I can't get comfortable enough to sleep.  Not sure what I'm gonna do there.  I may have to take a double does of pain meds tonight to help me sleep.