I am eight weeks postpartum and one week past surgery. Life these days is all about our baby, motherhood, and recovery… so my posts right now are mostly just catch-ups on what these days look like currently.
The past few weeks have been a challenge. In the early hours of Sunday, January 25, a massive ice storm hit Nashville, leaving hundreds of thousands of people (including us) without power, and seemingly just as many power lines and trees down. Freezing temperatures that lasted through the week meant the ice stuck around, and power remained out. We stayed at a hotel for eight nights, along with many others. I’m thankful we had someplace warm and safe to be with our newborn, but it was tough.
Toward the end of this hotel stay, last Friday, I had surgery. It was originally scheduled for Monday but pushed back due to the weather. Even though we were still without power and staying at the hotel, I wanted to go ahead and get it done so I could begin my final recovery period. This surgery was to finish repairing some tears from a traumatic birth.
After the surgery, I was initially in more pain than expected, and very foggy from the anesthesia. Thankfully, the pain and fog have both eased and are more tolerable now, but I am still needing much rest. We ended up getting a generator that can power the whole house and coming home on Sunday, where I am much more comfortable recovering.
We just got power back yesterday afternoon, after 12 days without it. Our meter base was destroyed in the storm and replaced after the power had been restored to our neighborhood on Friday afternoon, so we waited on NES to come to us individually to restore our home’s power. I am thankful we had the generator in the meantime, and even more so that we finally have power again.
The effects of this storm will be dealt with for months to come. There is so much damage to homes, yards, and trees. We, among many others, have tons of debris (one huge tree uprooted and another few huge limbs down for us). Meanwhile, I am physically recovering — still from birth and now from this more recent surgery as well. I have been unable to lift my son for a week and cannot lift anything else for four weeks. But we will mend. The city, and me.
I look forward to the day when I can stretch up to the sun this spring and walk and move and feel comfortable in my own body again. When the days are warm and beautiful, the damage is healed, and the blooms begin to appear. For now, it is a quiet, restful winter of recovery.
P.S. Motherhood so far and looking forward to spring.
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