Full Release!

Greetings all you Amber Fans. This is a rare update from John, because I know you are all starved for Grundman updates. So the news is all about Amber.

TIMELINE of Surgical/Recovery happenings:
Thursday: Pre-Op. No X-rays, no blood drawn. We filled out some paperwork and were in and out. Nurses are so cavalier about Right and Central neck dissections.

Friday: Surgery. Arrived at hospital at 6:30am. We had a whole 'Hurry Up and Wait' situation. (What, you don't know this term? Maybe you should have a sister in the movie biz!)
Amber went under at 7:30am. The dr. performed another hour of neck ultra-sounding prior to going in. The surgical dissection began at 8:30am. The next time I would see Amber would be at 4:00pm. The dr. assured me that she was very thorough.
To calm myself I re-read my favorite book from 8th grade, Johnny Tremain. Still holds up!
Once she came out of recovery I was very relieved. Our girl did not look good. She was very pale and completely exhausted. Just to make her surgery experience all that it could be, she decided to over-rule the anti-nausea meds and had a good 2 hours of attempted vomiting. Attempted, as the only thing she had in her body was IV fluid.
The first night was rough.

Saturday: Recuperation. Visitors included Dennis and Judy, Amy, Eric, Scotty F., and a surprise visit from the Steinbucks. Too bad Amber was drugged out and exhausted, but I had a good time.
While Amber slept I began reading a book called Double Luck. A true survival story of a boy born in 1940s rural China. I got the book on a recommendation, and don't worry, it has a happy ending. Chi Fa, escaped a multitude of a$$holes and communists to make his way to America. He now owns and operates the Coffee Pot restaurant in Morro Bay, CA. Anytime you think your life is tough just remember that at the age of 4, little Chi Fa was sold to some commies for 500 pounds of rice - by his sister-in-law!
Scotty F also turned me on to a website (www.movie6.net) where you can see some of the current movie releases. Clearly this is not a Hollywood approved site. However Hellboy 2, Hancock, Step Brothers, and Underworld: Rise of the Lycans were all great time wasters. Don't worry they have other movies too, including (don't go crazy ladies) Twilight.

Sunday: Recuperation. Amber took a little step back. Her neck really started hurting her today and her nausea returned. They removed 1 of 2 draining tubes. I had her out of bed doing some hallway walking. They also had to start a new IV in her other arm as the original had gone bad. She looked pretty cute in her gown, what with the whole back door open.
To occupy my time I watched some Arrested Development on www.hulu.com. If you didn't watch this show during its original run: 1. We are probably enemies, 2. I personally blame you for it's cancellation, 3. Watch the show! By far the funniest show you have never seen.
Example of some dialogue. Tobias, the 'how is he not gay' brother-in-law, has just painted himself blue for an audition with the Blue-Man group (which he originally though was a male support group for depression).
Tobias: "I just blue myself."
Michael: "There's got to be a better way to say that."

Monday: Recuperation. Get me out of the hospital. Amber is doing much better today. The second draining tube has been removed but this one ended up hurting for a while after removal.
We are now at Uncle Eric's new condo. Amber has taken full control of his bed and bedroom.
While she sleeps, I blog. Thanks for all the well wishes. She'll be back online soon. Until next time...