Got home from University of Michigan Hospital yesterday. The surgery went well. I gotta tell you, 12 hours on a morphine pump (get a dose every 8 minutes if ya want) is very nice, even under the circumstances. Me and the guy in the bed next me spent a very long, but very "comfortable" night getting aquainted, talking, dozing and generally being comforted in the arms of "Morpeus". Big advance in hospital beds; very comfortable...or maybe it was the morphine. Interesting experience. We both volunteered to do another day, but we were gently but firmly told that we needed to come back into the real world. Sigh.....It's a three hour drive from Ann Arbor home via the freeway. Hydrocodone gives one an entirely new perspective on traffic. I drove a bit at first, until I discovered I was not really in the cadillac two cars ahead of me and the road was not a continuous curve to the left.. Swmbo took over for the duration.
Outfitted with a catheter for the next 7 to 10 days. Got a travelin' bag that attaches to the leg and a larger one that hangs off the bed for sleeping. The larger bag does not match my shoes, so I guess I'll wear the smaller one under my sweat pants. Not as bad as I thought. Not too uncomfortable, but a lot of rigamarole to empty and to clean. Soap and water, alcohol swabs, antibacterial salve etc. I have a new appreciation for the rather mundane chore of "taking a leak".
No driving for 2 weeks, no heavy lifting, gotta walk 4 or 5 times a day. For those of you who want to abscond with my Hydrocodone; remember, I am armed, ambidextrious and have a bit of time on my hands to hone accuracy in shot placement.
Get more info in a week as to how long I can malinger. Hopefully, I can stretch it into a month. Swmbo is already starting to look at me rather narrowly when I start to whine about bringing me a glass of water etc.
I've got 5 holes in my abdomen. The largest is about 2 inches long. I'm a little stiff and sore, but amazingly without much soreness. All in all, not very uncomfortable.
Thank you all again for your suportive words and prayers. Believe me, they were greatly appreciated and a source of strength, especially before the procudure. Anticipation is really worse than reality.
Again, thank you all.
grampster
