Searching for Lost Time

Today is my one month post-op anniversary.



And I don't know where the time went. Seriously, each day has blended into the next. While in the hospital, it was hard to develop a timeline as to when what happened.



I've been told that for each hour a patient is under anesthetic, it takes a week for it to leave the system. My surgery was supposed to be only 4 hours, it last a little more than eight.



Which means I'm only halfway to being "clear". (Not to be confused with $cientology's concept of being clear. Crazy Tom Cruise)



Anyway, here I am one month later and I have my good days and bad days. Much of it comes form the medication and some comes from the anesthetic. When they finished replacing my heart valve, they had to open me up and stop some internal bleeding I had. Basically I had two invasive surgeries in the same day.

Luckily thy found the problem: an artery got torn during the surgery.

But again, here it is a month later and it seems like yesterday. I've had a whole month of basically sitting at home doing squat. The first week home was the worst. Couldn't read, walked around like a zombie, couldn't sleep and couldn't taste anything. The pills I was taking made water taste like blended rocks.

But as I mark one month post-op, I'm now trying to make better use of my time. Yeah, I've lost about a month of my life in a medically induced stupor, but now I'm looking forward to the second month.

This week I can start driving again, at least to the corner store.
My medication has been reduced to ten different pills three tiems a day, to five pills, once a day.
Kelly and I are going on a small vacation Up North for a week at the end of June. Time to recouperate someplace different than my living room.
I'm reading a book a week now.

While I've lost a bit of time, its time for me to make up for that by looking forward to times in the future. The Fall fishing trip is only about three months away.

Next time: My Time In The Hospital or Fainting on the Loo.