The Day Has Arrived

So, I had my hernia repaired this morning. Since they do hundreds of thousands of these surgeries a year, it is a fairly quick and standard operation at this point in medical history. They used to gash people open and keep them on bed rest of six weeks, but now it is a small incision and you go home once the anesthesia has worn off. Well, as soon as you feel like you can leave - I wasn't entirely sane when I got in the car. I've had general anesthesia twice now and I've thoroughly enjoyed both experiences. I do have to be careful, though, because I have no filters at all when I am coming out of it and I have said some rather off-color things. First time it happened, I talked about a character I saw on Saturday Night Live that shot diarrhea from his mouth. And, this time, I declared how I hate a guy named Randy. Randy happens to be a nurse in the NICU at the very hospital I had my hernia operation done at.

In any case, despite some apprehension going into the procedure, everything worked out great. I don't remember much, frankly. They gave me a sedative prior to wheeling me into the OR, so everything is foggy from that moment until I woke up in recovery. From what Audrey says, the doctor came out to see her within 30 minutes and said that everything went very well. So, within a period of two hours or so, I filled out all the paperwork, got prepped and wheeled into the OR, they repaired my hernia, and I recovered and got back in the car to go home. I wish everything could be so easy.

Audrey drove me around a bit, got me a coffee and a snack, picked up my prescription, and brought me back home to rest. I've spent the rest of the day just lying in my bed, basically. I am getting antsy because I'm just sitting around, but I'm doing fine otherwise. I can get out of bed and move around...very slowly. The pain isn't too bad, but there is a lot of pressure and soreness. It feels like bad constipation and a severe muscle sprain, although it is localized and I don't really feel like I have to crap at all. Interestingly, peeing has not been a problem at all. I think that a full bladder actually makes it hurt more, so I get some relief by going to the bathroom. But I expected the act of urinating to hurt and it doesn't at all. I had a few bouts of lightheadedness earlier in the day, but my last foray out of bed was just fine. I made it to the kitchen for a moment and then came back to the bedroom without any dizziness at all.

So, that was that. I'll take it easy tomorrow and Friday as well and I'll be back in the office next week. I am going to try and walk a good bit more tomorrow and hopefully get outside for a stroll on Friday or Saturday. I'd like to jog a bit late next week, but you never know. I know that some runners have gotten back on the trails within two weeks, but I am planning on it taking more like three.