When I started Peestrong I saw it as a diary – a day in the life type site where I could update people on what was going on as it was happening.

I didn’t take into account that once I had the surgery the idea of this following a day in a life was gone for good.  The time between when the needle hit my arm and until I was cogent enough to know what was going on – let alone post to this site – was stretched to Dr. Hawking proportions.

The fact is there was no way for me to do a daily post on my progress (or even a weekly post for that matter) when my biggest concern was finding that little button that gave me a jolt of Dilaudid.  Heck – it’s been three weeks believe it or not since the surgery (for you all that is – for me it still feels like last week.)

So – I’m going to try to pick and choose some interesting tid-bits that you may find interesting – or highlight a few of the things that ran through my mind during my “stays” (yeah – I had two stays in the hospital.)

Just don’t expect it to be diary-like for a while.

Once I catch up a bit I’ll try to get into the mode of weekly/bi-weekly updates.

As of Today

As of today I’m doing a bit better.  Getting around more (such as it is.)  I still have a catheter and a stint that drains all day.  My strength is coming back.  I definitely needed the carbohydrates – been craving fresh fruit ever since the hospital.  Starting to get back to a more normal diet but I am trying to make it more natural and more “restrained.”

Restrained means – one cup of cereal for breakfast with yogurt and some juice not a mixing bowl of Raison Bran Crunch, a ½ gallon of milk and multiple refills.

Working on eating smaller meals, more often with better quality ingredients.  However, I won’t lie – I had some KFC mashed potatoes and gravy during the Super Bowl.

I got my surgical staples removed last week – again – nothing easy for me.

A 20 minute procedure took 90 minutes and was about a 8 on a 10 point pain scale.  They underestimated my healing powers and the staples had started to fuse with my skin. Yeah – and no topical anesthetic to be found.  Anyway – got all 20 of them taken out and away we go.

This week I get to see if they will pull all the hoses out of me.  I will know on Thursday (fingers crossed!)

The Net Net

The bottom line is this was a huge surgery and I’m pretty frustrated at the time it takes to recover and start to feel normal.  Sleeping is tough, moving is tough, basic life maintenance is tough.  But for all of that it is still amazing how much the human body can regenerate.  I impress myself each day as I do one thing more than yesterday and two more than the day before.

I think you’d go crazy if you looked at this process in tiny increments – it really needs distance to be appreciated.  I have to look at how far I’ve come in the three weeks since the surgery – where I couldn’t get out of bed or walk.  Now I can get up, get dressed, shower, etc., etc.

I’ll let you all know how the rest of the week goes.  Soon I’m into “physical therapy” portion of my recovery.  That should be fun.