Well, I apologize for being so remiss for the remainder of my Arizona trip, but the hospital's network didn't want to cooperate with MoveableType and at the hotel....I was just lazy. So, in an act of contrition, here's an attempt to bring everyone back up to speed. I fear it might be a little long, so I'll tuck it behind the cut.
So Tuesday morning I went in for surgery, which was my first experience of the sort really. Other than the checking in and getting in a weird gown attached to a warm air blower (an interesting experience, to say the least), there really wasn't much to it I guess. I laid around, got my IV and everything else set, and that's about the last thing I remember before waking up in recovery and being wheeled to my room.
Surgery went well, by all accounts; Dr. Meltzer said everything went fine, I didn't need any skin grafts, and I didn't even bruise that much. Surprisingly, it was almost as "not painful" as I had been told; I only hit the pain button once (actually, the nurse hit it for me because I wasn't going to), and I was off narcotics by Thursday or Friday (I can't really remember which too well). Over the counter painkillers seem to be working just fine, thankfully.
Speaking of Dr. Meltzer, he, his staff, and the staff at the surgery center were excellent. Every day, I'd get a visit from at least one or two people from Dr. Meltzer's office (one of which was usually him), checking up on my progress and making sure everything was okay. Even after I checked out, Dr. Meltzer stopped by the hotel the night before I left to make sure everything looked good and to make sure any last questions I had were answered before I was going to be 1600 miles away. I have no trouble wholeheartedly recommending him, and I plan to go back when I need to have my next procedure done.
The only big hiccup for me came on last Tuesday, when they took the catheter out. If you've never had a catheter, I have to recommend avoiding it if you can. It wasn't so bad when it was in -- it took a while to get used to, and it was uncomfortable, but it wasn't horrible. The problem came when they took it out Tuesday morning.
You never really appreciate the ability to pee on your own until it is taken away, and I have to say that it is not only physically painful but also incredibly soulcrushing. You don't want to admit to yourself that you are incapable of doing something so pathetically easy, that you need medical assistance just to do something that everyone can do on their own without even thinking about it. After about four hours, I was in so much pain, and so worked up over it, I just lost it. I feel horrible for the nurses who had to take care of me that afternoon (and for my mom who had to put up with it). Eventually, I had to be recatheterized, much to my chagrin, and ended up having the catheter until Friday.
Despite that, however, my progress otherwise was actually above average, and I ended up checking out of the hospital a day early. Unfortunately, it was a good 100-105 degrees every day in Scottsdale while we were there, so it was really too hot for me to do too much outside, even though I was feeling pretty decent. We made a couple trips to the mall, just because it was huge and air conditioned, and gave us a decent place to get some exercise walking around without suffocating in the heat. Once the sun was going down, it wasn't nearly so stifling, though. We walked back from dinner on Saturday and Sunday, almost two miles each time, and though it was a little rough (and I got blistery feet at least once).
I want to make a special effort to thank everyone who sent me cards, flowers, and other well-wishes while I was in the hospital. I'm not really the most sentimental person, but it really did mean a lot to me to get all that stuff. The downside of having a private room is that you can trap yourself in your own little world and convince yourself that you're suffering all alone (yes, even with my mother there). Having that stuff come in every day or two was very reassuring.
Flying back yesterday was a bit exciting -- the turbulence coming into O'Hare that afternoon, during some storms, put a bit more pressure on things than I really wanted, but we managed to make it through okay. My dad picked us up at the airport, we got our bags without too much trouble, and we headed home. Unfortunately, we got snarled in some traffic coming home (after I bought them dinner at the Weber Grill), and we didn't end up making it home until nearly 2100 yesterday.
It is good to be back in Champaign -- I missed this place, and I hope being back buoys my spirits a little, which have been a bit low since the catheter problem and just the general lack of mobility. I'll be staying with the folks for a day or two, and will be back home home by Friday, when Marc is coming down to see me. Very much looking forward to seeing him for the first time in over a month!
Surgery went well, by all accounts; Dr. Meltzer said everything went fine, I didn't need any skin grafts, and I didn't even bruise that much. Surprisingly, it was almost as "not painful" as I had been told; I only hit the pain button once (actually, the nurse hit it for me because I wasn't going to), and I was off narcotics by Thursday or Friday (I can't really remember which too well). Over the counter painkillers seem to be working just fine, thankfully.
Speaking of Dr. Meltzer, he, his staff, and the staff at the surgery center were excellent. Every day, I'd get a visit from at least one or two people from Dr. Meltzer's office (one of which was usually him), checking up on my progress and making sure everything was okay. Even after I checked out, Dr. Meltzer stopped by the hotel the night before I left to make sure everything looked good and to make sure any last questions I had were answered before I was going to be 1600 miles away. I have no trouble wholeheartedly recommending him, and I plan to go back when I need to have my next procedure done.
The only big hiccup for me came on last Tuesday, when they took the catheter out. If you've never had a catheter, I have to recommend avoiding it if you can. It wasn't so bad when it was in -- it took a while to get used to, and it was uncomfortable, but it wasn't horrible. The problem came when they took it out Tuesday morning.
You never really appreciate the ability to pee on your own until it is taken away, and I have to say that it is not only physically painful but also incredibly soulcrushing. You don't want to admit to yourself that you are incapable of doing something so pathetically easy, that you need medical assistance just to do something that everyone can do on their own without even thinking about it. After about four hours, I was in so much pain, and so worked up over it, I just lost it. I feel horrible for the nurses who had to take care of me that afternoon (and for my mom who had to put up with it). Eventually, I had to be recatheterized, much to my chagrin, and ended up having the catheter until Friday.
Despite that, however, my progress otherwise was actually above average, and I ended up checking out of the hospital a day early. Unfortunately, it was a good 100-105 degrees every day in Scottsdale while we were there, so it was really too hot for me to do too much outside, even though I was feeling pretty decent. We made a couple trips to the mall, just because it was huge and air conditioned, and gave us a decent place to get some exercise walking around without suffocating in the heat. Once the sun was going down, it wasn't nearly so stifling, though. We walked back from dinner on Saturday and Sunday, almost two miles each time, and though it was a little rough (and I got blistery feet at least once).
I want to make a special effort to thank everyone who sent me cards, flowers, and other well-wishes while I was in the hospital. I'm not really the most sentimental person, but it really did mean a lot to me to get all that stuff. The downside of having a private room is that you can trap yourself in your own little world and convince yourself that you're suffering all alone (yes, even with my mother there). Having that stuff come in every day or two was very reassuring.
Flying back yesterday was a bit exciting -- the turbulence coming into O'Hare that afternoon, during some storms, put a bit more pressure on things than I really wanted, but we managed to make it through okay. My dad picked us up at the airport, we got our bags without too much trouble, and we headed home. Unfortunately, we got snarled in some traffic coming home (after I bought them dinner at the Weber Grill), and we didn't end up making it home until nearly 2100 yesterday.
It is good to be back in Champaign -- I missed this place, and I hope being back buoys my spirits a little, which have been a bit low since the catheter problem and just the general lack of mobility. I'll be staying with the folks for a day or two, and will be back home home by Friday, when Marc is coming down to see me. Very much looking forward to seeing him for the first time in over a month!
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