Joy through this weeks journey

I can't believe that Saturday is already here. I get to be released from the hospital today and needless to say, I'm really excited to be home with Nathan and the little ones. My stay here at University Hospital has been an enjoyable one. On top of everything going so well with my surgery, I have been amazed at how quickly our bodies are able to heal, and how my medical team has really tried to push me along to get me out of here. If it were up to me, I would have been happy to stay in my nice hospital bed...and sleep the week away. The GAS prevented that for sure! (I had terrible gas build up from the surgery itself, and it made any incisional pain or locational pain obsolete. I felt for the first three days, that whenever I stood up that I was having a heart attack..pain would radiate through my shoulders and my chest. The nurses and doctors told me that the only thing I could do to feel better would be to walk..so I walked.....and walked. I was told that 14 times around the nurses station was a mile. I wish I would have kept track how many times I walked around the nurses station....Me, my IV pole and a loved one. I don't like to make gas a topic, but if I could pin point any one thing that has made my ordeal a challenge, it has been the gas.)
My sisters, Andrea and Ashley and my Mom, Diann each took a turn to stay with me one full day and overnight during my recovery. They are all mothers and you can tell that even though they haven't had formal training in nursing, they are all nurturers, and they assisted me like pros. I really reverted back to a toddler in my ability to take care of my most basic needs, and my sweet sisters and mother really stepped up. Those hours just with my sisters and mother were special to me and we had fun talking, joking, and of course walking the hall.(With Andrea, it was more like a shuffle about 10 feet, but by the time my Mom had me, it was multiple times around...I even passed another patient. He said he would catch me around the corner):0)
My babies came to visit me on Wendeday night. I loved their careful kisses and to watch them play with the cute little hospital kit, that was given to us by our neighbors, the DeMilles. The kit included tons of coloring supplies, silly putty, and other fun things to keep busy kids happy in a small hospital room. I noticed the two youngest kiddos would walk carefully over to me and stare at the IV tubes and other equipment surrounding my bed. They looked curious and concerned all at the same time. They would snap out of it though and smile at me and get excited to show me things just like normal. Emma and Dallin spent the time drawing pictures for me: Emma made me a picture of her hand and a cat. Dallin made a "Get well" card and Nathan drew a picture of a helicopter for Porter, who pretended that there was a real helicopter flying around the room. (Just outside my hospital window was the life flight heli-pad and we got to see the helicopters take off and land multiple times during my stay. Way cool!) I can't wait to give my babies a squeeze.
I know that may stay wouldn't have been bearable without knowing that the fort was being held down at home. Thank all of you for supporting Nathan in getting kids to school, babysitting, bringing meals, and for your continued thoughts and prayers. Every offering in our behalf has not gone unnoticed. Thank you all again and again. I know we will miss someone if we try to thank you all individually and we will still try to do our best to show our gratitude in that way, but please forgive us if we fail to do so. I want to say that for me, your prayers and the prayers that that have been offered in the temple in our behalf, have done more for me personally than anything else. I have felt them. I have so much gratitude for my Savior through whom this is possible, and I'm grateful to all of you who have put this power into practice. I know I will never look at prayers the same. I shared this with many individuals before my surgery, that no matter what happens, as long as I am able to have the hope and peace I feel now, accompany me always, I'm going to be okay. Along with the prayers, I have received comfort in knowing that my sweet husband and my sweet babies are being taken care of. This allows me to go forward on my journey-and to go joyfully! I know this isn't easy with everyone being busy with your own families, but know when we get out of this, we are the first to pay it back and to pay it forward!
Please forgive the book, I haven't been able to speak for myself these past few days, so I have alot to say. Most of all, I want to say that so far through my journey this week, I have learned so much about compassion, gratitude, humility, pain, patience, family, the plan, prayer, the priesthood, service, our Savior and joy. These are things we all have to learn about for ourselves. We all learn in different ways. I feel I am getting kind of a crash course, and that's okay....I hardly feel the pain for the Joy. I wish you all a wonderful weekend!

Love,

Tiffany