Done deal!

I thought a lot about writing this first blog out of the hospital.  But as the hours and days dragged on I really couldn’t decide how to write it.

I could write volumes of the level of nursing care and how varied it is from one nurse to the other.  It’s just not something I choose to get into at this point in time.  I’m just glad to be home.

Over all the surgery went well, as expected.  My doc told me over and over again how well I did and how I was recovering quickly.  This despite my concerns right up to my discharge that I still felt so much pain and general discomfort.  He reassured me that it was completely normal considering what he did inside me and despite the fact it was done laparoscopically.  Throw in the gall bladder removal at the same time and you have the potential for discomfort for a few weeks.  Since it’s only been a few days, I should stop whining for now!  Buck up.  Soldier on.  Pop the vicodin “when needed” and get through it.  Speaking of painkillers…when you are discharged you are taken off of on-demand morphine and moved to vicodin/tylenol at the swipe of a pen…Javier will wheel you down to the lobby…have a nice day.  I didn’t realize how nice it was having that morphine button close at hand…until they pried it out of my hand!

So for now, I have a few weeks to get my act together about many things.  My biggest challenge is getting my head screwed on straight.  My attitude is pretty good for the most part, depending on my level of pain at any given moment.  As I write this, life is good.  I went into the hospital a grumpy old man!

All things such as surgery and medical issues are relative.  On one hand, I feel like crap and question “why me?”  On the other hand, I feel silly for having any feelings of self pity considering the incredibly heinous things other people have to endure beyond what I have been subjected to.  The short story is that I had my ascending colon removed (where the colon cancer was located), then reattached to my the bowel.  Check out this link if you are interested. Removal of my gall bladder was an unrelated issue but requested by me in light of other recent tests.

Regarding long term cancer treatment, we’re still waiting for the pathologist’s report.  This will determine at what level the colon cancer was and if I will need chemotherapy.  Yes, the CT Scan prior to the surgery showed no other tumors.  But the pathologist report will tell more.

Regarding all the well-meaning advice I have gotten over the weeks leading up to the surgery…let me put it this way.  I didn’t even see a dietician before my discharge.  However, I did get some useful and sage advice from the surgeon, “Look, you don’t need what I took out of you (ascending colon).  Eat whatever you want.  Concerning the gall bladder removal, be careful for a while with fatty foods.  Without your gall bladder you can get fat again quicker”.  Moderation is the mother of proper recovery.