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Hi. Greg here.
The moment I awoke from surgery, I rejoiced. It is scary going under, as this surgery is serious enough that some don't make it through. I was reciting Psalm 23 in my mind as I drifted into the deep sleep and the next thing I know I was emerging from the valley of the shadow of death.
I hear that it went very smoothly. The surgeon estimated I only lost about 5% lung capacity from this surgery. And that he got all four mets. With nothing else on the CT scan, I am now, really for the first time in four years, clear of any visible signs of cancer. I don't know if they'll want me to take more chemo. Time is the only way now to find out if there is any more cancer. OK, I'm getting ahead of myself.
With the epidural working, this has been a completely different experience than last time. Carefully and calmly, they adjusted the medicine to get me comfortable. I came into consciousness gently. No screaming or hitting. By the afternoon, I was in my standard room up on the 7th floor. I was determined to walk and did so later that evening. I also got special permission, unlike last time, to eat. They say that with the anesthesia wearing off, eating can make one nauseated or even vomit. What do they know? I asked (begged?) the resident and he said OK. I ordered dinner, had a few bites, then threw up. Hmmm. Maybe there was something to that warning.
I didn't get much sleep from the pain, discomfort, and tangle of tubes running in me from all directions. The pain is not too bad; it is just there. This morning, the nurse rolled in her laptop station to show me an instructional powerpoint presentation on how to breathe. I watched then took the opportunity to write you all.
Thanks for your support everybody! And thanks, Mark, Rollin, and Christine, for the blog entries to keep everyone up to date.
Posted by Greg at March 24, 2007 06:12 AM | Comments (23)