Milestone: I drove today

It struck me odd that I felt compelled to write about this milestone. It had little to do with my health but more to do with what I enjoy. I recall that stunned feeling when the hospital discharge instructions said "no driving". Say what??? Okay, whatever... (They obviously were not aware of my acquiring red just a few days before my surgery.)

But there she sat, waiting...

I checked on her repeatedly when I would come and go. As my friends came to visit, I would point to her. When I went for a walk with my son, I looked again and again but it wasn't time.

But today, it was time. I had been off my pain medication for several days now and my mobility was no longer an issue. It was time.

Despite sitting for 2 weeks, there was no hesitation to start. I wasn't surprised just silently pleased to confirm that we were both ready. As I casually drove down the street, Pon De Replay was playing lightly in my speakers. "Come Mr DJ, please Mr DJ, won't you turn the music up..."

Yes, indeed. And up it went. And for a moment, it was a brief moment I reached heaven. So much so that I pulled over to close my eyes and enjoy every little bit of it. And my son, bless his little heart, just laughed and said, "dad, you're weird."

With a huge smile on my face, I agreed, and we were off to finish our simple errands.

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Milestone: I can smell again!

It has been 10 days since my surgery and while I had the packing removed from my nose after the second day, I had no sense of smell until about 2 days ago. Sadly, all I smelled at the time was ammonia. It was fairly strong and followed me everywhere I went. When it occurred, I just took note of it. I didn't think there was anything I could do about it and since I had other issues, this was the least of my concerns. When I awoke this morning, I smelled breakfast, the bacon and eggs. What a relief! I still smell a hint of ammonia but either I'm getting used to it or it's fading on its own. My taste buds seem to be coming back as well. It feels different, almost like they have changed also but at least they are coming back.

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Milestone: No pain meds

Well, today marks another important milestone for me. Despite my other adventures, I did not need to take any pain meds today. My activity level was light, all in all a good day for pain. To contrast, yesterday my neck pain was exceptional yet again and so was the headache after about mid-day. By evening it was time for some relief. But not today.

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It's the little things

So I had to take a break from my normal thread to interject today's revelation and important milestone. Today I moved my bowels. Let me say from the beginning that I do not generally speak of such things and I do believe these are truly private matters. But, if I could help even one person by documenting my ordeal, it would be worth all my tribulation and embarrassment. What you need to know Bowels need to move, regularly. If you don't, it's just a matter of time before something goes horribly wrong. Percocet (my pain med) has the side effect of hardening your stool. While I was at the hospital I was given a daily dose of stool softener. After I left the hospital I was not, nor was there any mention of it. It was not on my prescribed list of drugs which also includes over-the-counter meds. In short, I didn't think about it. While I was at the hospital, they checked my urine output every hour, measuring how much urine I was producing but there was no mention of bowels. Well today, it reared its ugly little head, 9 full days after surgery. I'll be brief but to the point They were like little rocks the size of marbles and they were stuck together to form a giant rock, solid and immovable. It did move to a point but then it got stuck, in between, something, somewhere, I don't know. All I know was that it felt like I was trying to pass a large object and the pressure was well beyond what I could tolerate. My head felt like it was going to explode, I couldn't stand up, I couldn't sit down, I was in bathroom hell. After about an hour I realized I was in big trouble, I finally called for my wife. She was horrified (as was I) and she blames the hospital but we discussed our options calmly. We could go to urgent care (but I didn't think I could make it through the requisite waiting room) or we could call the pharmacist to see what they would suggest. The pharmacist suggested an oral stool softener and in the meantime I could sit in a hot bath to hopefully soften things a bit. So I did, for over an hour, but it wasn't helping. My wife in the meantime had enough time to drive to and from the pharmacy twice, the first time returning with Senakot (a laxative), the second time with Senakot-S (stool softener). I took two and waited. I didn't know what I was waiting for, I just waited, in the bath. The ugly I went ahead and removed this portion since I didn't see how it would benefit anyone but a very select few. If you would like to know how this story ends, I'll be happy to email it to you. It's sufficient to say that after 2 1/2 very long miserable hours I ultimately found relief. The lesson is simple, be aware of your meds and make sure to include a stool softener if you are using pain killers.

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