Home again

11 days after my original surgery, I am thrilled to be packing up from the hospital room and heading home.  First agenda item is to connect with Lizzie who I have not seen, in person, for months. We often chat on the Portal, but meeting in the flesh has become so hard this year. 

Every step of my discharge felt incredibly detailed and excruciatingly slow. However, Gene and I persevere and by 3:00 pm, I have been showered, disconnected, medicated, taught, and loaded up. You feel like you need balloons and a band to mark your exit through the double doors, but you get a few waves and roll past the incoming gurneys on your way out. A whole new parade of naso-gastric tubes are rolling in. 

I tried hard not to have the "hospital look" when I arrived home. I even tried to wash away the hospital smell (harder to get rid of than the look). But despite my efforts, Lizzie found me unapproachable. 

Slipper the cat was delighted.  It feels great to be home. Jess prepared a wonderful light dinner for us, and sitting on the back porch in the afternoon sun, cat in my lap, while the little ones played in the yard, was the best. 

There is a bit of a path ahead, but the "detour" is now over and I am back where I was on March 4th, recovering from surgery. Some of you were surprised by my "I'm discharged" text yesterday, imagining that I was discharged 10 days ago. Sorry to surprise you, but you can go back to the beginning if you want to know the saga. I even got a card today that was intended to arrive after my first surgery, but was perfectly apt and timely related to my complication. Some messages of good will are never too early or late. As I have become accustomed to saying, "The surgery results are good, only hints of possible cancer, but the complication of bowel obstruction has been a nightmare."  Complications happen, that is why we all sign a million papers explaining all of the possibilities. My past 10 days have been spent dealing with a complication. 

Tonight I will get back into my silk pajamas and begin to journey forward again. 

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