I had surgery on Wednesday and between the prep leading up to it and the wild day itself and the pain and recovery process I haven’t followed up here yet. Here I am doing that while my remaining guts gurgle and scream at me
Tuesday was all prep. Similar to colonoscopy prep but because they’re not trying to make me spotless to look at, just empty me out and get rid of all the flora and fauna in the area I was allowed a light breakfast and then spent the rest of the dauy drinkiny gatorade mixed with miralax and a series of laxative pills and antibiotics. Nothing I haven’t been through before and kinda nice not to have to chug 4 liters of slimy laxative without flavor.
Surgery scheduled for 6:15am the next day so shower and anti-septic full body rubdown and early bedtime. Woke up hangry for another wipedown and off to the hospital. Everything went so well and so fast in pre-op I didn’t have time to be nervous. Ellie got the “what do they do with your arms?” question out when I forgot. Answer: sometimes to the sides, sometimes splayed out on boards like a crucifixtion. In my case I got a half-Jesus with bonus stirrups. The anesthesiologist swore he wouldn’t use my arms like motorcycle handlebars but I don’t know if I believe him.
The plan was for a bunch of liver ablations and resections and the colon resection. Once they got in there with ultrasound it seems like they had trouble pinpointing the smaller lesions because the chemo was so effective, so it became a bunch of resections and an ablation. They really chopped my liver up.
I woke up to an incision from the bottom of mt sternum to my pelvis, held together with glue. It’s been a few days of shimmering brilliant pain whenever I have an unexpected cough or burp. Otherwise it’s just an ongoing general pain when I am awake, which is always.
The drugs help but they also stop me up which is causing new layers of discomfort behind the hotness of my abdominal muscles being pissed off.
One of the surgeons also took a biopsy of my diaphragm, so breathing hurts.
I got the catheter yanked out of my special purpose yesterday. Got 2 IVs removed today. Managed to fart convincingly enough that I am now allowed to eat jello and broth.
Life becomes small steps. I can get into a bath tub. I can put on socks. I can walk 150 feet.
Eventually I will do enough of these thing that they will send me home where my job is to heal up enough for more chemo.
I am very very tired so if this doesn’t make sense, take that into consideration.
Cancer sucks. Fuck Cancer.