Jess,
Hope is a good thing.
I know about the kids, although I only have four.
My youngest is four.
My oldest is 18.
They can be, "me, me, me".
Usually it is can i have some money.
The two oldest are girls and the two youngest are the boys.
It is quite different between the two. LOL.
They were the biggest help after my surgery in 2008 and they do get IT after you are at home recovering.
I was thinking about Dale (DShobbies) saying about meditation because that is what I do and started that when i was a young athlete.
It really helps to put your mind in a good state and you can do it as little as a couple minutes a day. Just close your eyes, shut out everything, and take some deep breaths.
It is very calming.
I did that before my surgery, especially right before the anesthesiologist said it was time to go nite, nite.
It can be so overwhelming because you know once you have the surgery, you are not in charge anymore for a while. You have to take care of yourself.
Your family will survive. I think i drove mine nuts because I wanted things done my way.
I did find it helpful to have a hospital bed for a few months downstairs (we have a two-story house) and I "ran" the house from there. Yeah, alright. I really didn't but the little ones knew not to jump on the bed and i didn't feel like I was put off somewhere else in the house where it was more difficult to get help when I needed it (and at first i did need help, like with dressing and stuff.) You have got to remember this is major surgery. BTW, the lidocaine patches were great for incisional pain.
I got up and walked but when i wasn't walking, I was laying down, resting. The surgery was exhausting to my body and I needed to rest.
That's it. You will get through it fine.
Think positive thoughts.
Runner