Angel food cake-powered
Sunday August 09th 2009, 2:21 pm
Filed under: Crohn's flare,Knitting a Gift,Life

I love Romi’s *roving badge touring Sock Summit!  So much for Monty Python: “Badges? Badges! We don’t need no stinkin’ badges!” Yes, we do.  What a cool idea.

I tried to catch up on my email yesterday and found it too big a job, but I want you all to know how much I appreciate every note and every comment. I didn’t say things too well on the blog, though: they took me off the IV painkiller, but oh goodness, I am definitely still on vicodin.

The roommate I’ve had all along got discharged this morning and came over to say goodbye before she left. She couldn’t quite stand up straight yet, she said.  She was wearing bluejeans and I winced for her and silently wished she had a jumper to go home in too.  But I realized afterwards that I’d let that distract me and I’d missed my chance to tell her something far more important: that when her husband and family had come in every evening, the joy and the love that radiated through the curtain was just wonderful to hear and a real blessing to me that I’d needed.  I’m too deaf to have overheard any conversations, but the part that mattered, that came through loud and clear.  The caring. The joy.

My abysmally low blood pressure was getting in the way of my healing–there’s a risk of pneumonia if you don’t get moving post-op, and I did just enough coughing to realize I surely didn’t want to go there.  But at the same time, they didn’t want me walking if I couldn’t get that top number to 80.  One of the surgeons on duty decided last night to try infusing me with albumen to see if that would help.

Boy did it.  I was walking for ten minutes soon after, with the very last of the IV bottle bubbling up–Richard said it looked like angel food cake batter being worked up. So now I can say I’ve mainlined angel food cake (still waiting to be able to claim that on chocolate.)  Pass the whipped cream.

I asked the nurse where the albumen comes from; she didn’t know. Richard promptly googled from the laptop and answered, Cows.

Cows?

Cows.

So does this mean someone who’s allergic to eggs could still have angel food cake? (Notice the one-track mind.) Freeze some crushed Heath bars to sprinkle in that whipped cream, okay?

Meantime, nobody’s been able to find that ziploc stuffed with scarves since I arrived. I’m sure I’ll find them immediately once I’m the one looking. But I managed to sit up long enough to finish a nearly-done one this morning, and the nurse I’ve had for the last few days was not comprehending as I explained how to rinse and lay it out to dry for the lacework to stand out and the thing to lengthen. It matched her shirt pretty well.  It was fun watching her face light up when she realized I really meant this thing she’d seen me working on was for her. Elann Baby Silk yarn, baby alpaca/silk.

Seeing someone’s face light up at being knit for.  Reclaiming Real Life in that moment.  Getting better is a cakewalk now.

*Roving is the word for fiber that has been washed, carded, and is ready to spin. I just needed to let Don in on the pun here.


28 Comments so far
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Yes, food for an angel.

What a wonderful post!

Comment by LynnM 08.09.09 @ 2:59 pm

it is so good to hear you closer to fine :-}
I had a lovely visit from Sean today, and introduced him to the joy of a ball of cotton yarn LOL. Yes, his mom took photos :-}

Comment by Diana Troldahl 08.09.09 @ 3:08 pm

Getting better! Hurray.

Comment by sherry in idaho 08.09.09 @ 3:18 pm

Since getting better is now an Angel food cake-walk, I hope it is paved with a yummy chocolate ganache!

Comment by TripletMom 08.09.09 @ 4:00 pm

I love the post and happy to see you are doing better and I hope that you find the ziploc stuffed with scarves soon:)Hugs Darcy

Comment by Darcy 08.09.09 @ 4:08 pm

These posts are better and better every day. Don’t worry too much about keeping up with emails. . .just let us bless you the way you have blessed so many along the way!

Comment by Pam 08.09.09 @ 4:21 pm

You’re sounding more chipper with each day. That’s good to hear. Keep up the good work.

Comment by Jody M 08.09.09 @ 5:27 pm

So much joy around you! No wonder you’re feeling better so quickly! Keep walking, keep mainlining that angel food cake, and keep improving!

Hugs and prayers!

Comment by Pegi 08.09.09 @ 5:41 pm

Prayers and positive thoughts winging your way.

Comment by Mickey 08.09.09 @ 6:12 pm

Yes, indeed, infuse that gal with some BIG molecules and get that blood pressure up! Whoopee! Hall walks all around!

I am so pleased to hear of your progress. Hugs!

Comment by Barbara-Kay 08.09.09 @ 7:14 pm

Am I the Don for whom you are letting in on the pun? So solly, but no comprende.

Angel food cake, is it? Well angel food for an angel of a person. Keep getting better.

Humor:

“Normal people believe that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Engineers believe that if it ain’t broke, it doesn’t have enough features yet.”

***
I was in the express lane at the store quietly fuming. Completely ignoring the sign, the woman ahead of me had slipped into the check-out line pushing a cart piled high with groceries. 
Imagine my delight when the cashier beckoned the woman to come forward looked into the cart and asked sweetly, ‘Which six items would you like to buy?’

Comment by Don Meyer 08.09.09 @ 7:16 pm

Alison, so glad you are seeming to be on the right track! missed alot of your week while i was on vaca and not at sock summit either!
keep on knitting…the nurses are bound to spring you soon!

Comment by marcy 08.09.09 @ 7:24 pm

Those scarves? They are hiding. Look under the extra blanket on the left side of the cabinet facing the door.

(Yeah, I know they aren’t there, but I got you up and moving and looking didn’t I? 🙂

Comment by afton 08.09.09 @ 8:05 pm

Yay for Vicodin and angel food cake! LOVE the crushed Heath bar idea! Gotta try that myself.

You just keep sucking up whatever they give you that helps. Walking around looking for your scarves is a good incentive. (smile. That odd little not-smiling face seems to pop up when I try to put the text version of a happy smiling face.)

So keep on steppin’ out girl!

Love & Hugs & Prayers,
Gretchen

Comment by Gretchen 08.09.09 @ 9:24 pm

Glad the albumin did the trick. Keep walking. Pneumonia is a nasty thing. I’ll keep a look out for that scarf. Maybe I’ll find it!

Comment by Sheila 08.09.09 @ 9:43 pm

I am glad to read that you are knitting. To me it means that you will be OK.

Comment by Henya 08.09.09 @ 10:40 pm

You have been missed at Sock Summit and people have been asking each other for news of you. As someone who is just a couple weeks out of abdominal surgery herself, I can say that the Summit was so huge and overwhelming that it took all my stamina to attend. Hope that you are feeling better by the minute and that you’ll be ready for the next event.

Comment by Joy Schulenburg 08.10.09 @ 12:14 am

Love, laughter and knitting have always been the three best medicines I’ve known. I’m so glad you’ve got all three!

Comment by Genny 08.10.09 @ 4:10 am

And again, you make me smile! How do you manage that?!

Please make sure to take great care of yourself… Sounds like you are doing good in that department – keep it up!

And if you can at all, try to smile yourself. That will relax some muscles for you and have a wonderful effect on your brain. Even if you’re only smiling to your scarf. 😉

I’ll be smiling with you, from across the border and the country!

Comment by Suzanne in Mtl 08.10.09 @ 5:24 am

What a happy post! Keep healing and those scarves will turn up.

Comment by Channon 08.10.09 @ 5:39 am

Thrice the length of the post; clearly you are doing much better. Hooray!

I asked Lucy to say prayers for you this weekend; she was clearly much more concerned about the Red Sox, as her response (repeatedly) was Youk! Youk! Youk! (or she could have been saying Luke, who is the eldest of my three brothers, but given the weekend the Red Sox had, I’m more entertained by the first option. [Kevin Youkilis being the third baseman who got stuck out in left field this weekend]). Clearly, she feels you’re doing well at this point, so no proving a sweet little girl wrong, okay?

Comment by Kristine 08.10.09 @ 5:52 am

Love your sense of humor, as usual. You are amazing, hon. Glad you found something in an iv to perk you up.

I went to my pain Dr last week. A Greek Orthodox priest came out of the exam area, dressed in black robe, etc – high as a kite. Was a very funny site as he was very silly and animated and “blessed” the whole planet while checking out. His companion/driver “crossed” herself and smiled as she left. All of us in the waiting room, waiting in pain, laughed our heads off! Was like a mini comedy! We all remarked that we never came out of the Dr’s office looking like that. What did they give him?? 🙂

Comment by Bev 08.10.09 @ 7:13 am

Glad they found a solution to get you up and walking and listened to your post op requests. Heal, heal, heal!

Comment by Michelle 08.10.09 @ 8:19 am

Happy and chirpy you do sound — Hooray! And, how about some berries on that whipped cream and angel food cake? Or, is that way too healthy? Better for the chocolate and frozen heath bars (cool idea that).
Hugs, Nancy

Comment by Nancy 08.10.09 @ 9:05 am

Hi Allison!

Could you please send me your address? Sock Summit gave me something for you. 😉

Comment by Nancy MM 08.10.09 @ 4:01 pm

I’m glad yo’re feeling better enough for some puns (it took me to the end of this post to get the roving part….)

Comment by Ba 08.10.09 @ 8:05 pm

Glad you’re getting better! Hang in there!

Comment by Wendy 08.11.09 @ 8:06 am

The scarves did finally get found on Monday, by the way.

Comment by AlisonH 08.13.09 @ 10:42 pm



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