Fern,

I'm glad this surgery is over, and wish you a quick recovery. That had to be scary, knowing they wd be operating close to the already unhappy nerves! I hope that the reduction, along with the TOS surgery, brings you GREAT success in relief of TOS pain and sx!! You are one brave lady, and I'm sorry you felt neglected - think many of us don't read the board every day, and others are having a really bad week due to weather. But we CARE, of course!! Please let us know what the surgeon has to say, ok?

It's also somewhat common to feel a little blue post-op, maybe after-effects of anesthesia? The RNs on here may know why, I know it's hit me a couple of times.

And Moms - what is it when they come to help - they seem to immediately forget you're an adult, stop respecting any boundary lines you've previously come to agreement on, then act offended if you try to call them on it. You need assistance recovering from surgery, that doesn't mean you've reverted to age 7, for heaven's sake! I believe they mean well, and they even look forward to "mothering" again, by caring for us when we're down, but it's hard to separate lending a hand from the rest of the "Mother knows best" routine we outgrew decades ago.

And, while I love my Mom and enjoy spending time with her, there's no way we could live under the same roof - we end up rubbing each other the wrong way. I think it's that way for a lot of moms and daughters. We're alike in a lot of ways, but grew up in such different times, with such different experiences and expectations, we have very different viewpoints on a lot of subjects.

Grin and bear it as best you can, you will have your place to yourself again one of these days!

Best wishes,
beth