I got to leave the hospital at 9am this morning, after my calcium level had come back normal. (They came in at 5:30 to take blood for the test - ugh.) The nurses on this visit all seemed to be more responsive, or it may just be that on a Friday/Saturday there were fewer of us on the ward to take care of.
Things this time are the same, but different. I feel a lot less fragile today than I did last week, and I think that's in part because I'm in less pain (neither my neck muscles nor my throat feel as sore this time), and mostly because this is familiar. I remember what it's like. I have to be careful though, because having just done this I have to remember that I'm back at day one of recovery, not day three or four.
The incision isn't any wider than it was. it looks a little thicker, and honestly a little bit angrier than it did at this point last time. The tape on my neck doesn't cover every single bit of the incision this time, which makes me a little nervous. I'm tempted to go and buy some medical tape and fill in the gaps. I did take a picture, but J's computer doesn't want to see the USB device, and I don't have the patience to find the software online right now. But this time there will be photos.
Mostly I'm grateful to be back home and not attached to anything.