Sleeping on my back is weird. Getting into and out of bed is hard, and painful. I’m glad I’m in fairly good shape, I can’t imagine doing this if I were frail, weak, or obese. To get in bed, I sit on the edge, as far back as I can. J. helps my turn my legs onto the bed, I  then tighten my core muscles, stiffen my torso, and let J. help me lie down. Just before the last inches there is a horrid ‘tearing’ feeling in my chest, on the left side of my breast-like object, right where it meets the sternum. It brings tears to my eyes, its worrying.

I slept in fits and starts through the night — had to get up four times to go to the bathroom — until a little after 8 and then got up and walked a bit. With a little help, I got fresh clothes on and sat up in bed to eat breakfast (oatmeal and an apple!). The bed isn’t all the comfy, so I moved to an armchair (which normally lives in my office, but has been drafted for bedside duty). There, I promptly fell asleep again for an hour.

Last night Sasha was introduced to me again. J brought her in on her leash (to keep her from jumping), but she was great. She smelled me, wagged, smelled the room and then sat down. That was it. So we took her off the leash and she went to sleep while we watched TV. Such a good dog.

My mom left at 11am, it was great that she was here and helping. J. and I are quiet people, so it was sort of nice to have just us again for a bit.

The day was quiet, punctuated by meds every 2 hours.

I take a lot of meds, btw. Kalafex (antibiotic) every 4 hours, Dilaudid every 2, Sentocet (laxative) every 12 hours, and my vitamins. Here’s a picture of my daily meds:

(Note: this was taken a week later, when I am taking less meds than on 11/15)

I’m so glad to be home. To be in my space, on my bed, surrounded by my things. The smells are right here, as are the sounds. Even the light is what I am used to. It’s comforting.