So I've been a little pre-occupied lately. But here's some of the stuff I've been up to:Got some more intestine removed. And my appendix. Fun times. Actually, I always knew I would eventually have to have additional surgery after the last time I 'spilled my guts' because the previous instance was an emergency situation (my intestine had perforated and was leaking into my abdomen.) They couldn't take out everything that was messed up because they just had to keep me from, y'know, uh, dying. But this time I had been receiving medical treatment for the previous six months which gave them time to reduce the inflammation and study the problem thoroughly before plunging in.
They removed the appendix as a bonus. They should have taken it out last time, but, y'know, the emergency thing and sometimes things get overlooked in an emergency. Was there anything wrong with my appendix? No. It was perfectly healthy. But, oddly enough, surgeons tend to be, as a group, pretty smart folks. Go figure. See - if they can avoid having to slice you from stem to stern on multiple occasions, they do so. But the appendix can kill you if it breaks and it doesn't really appear to do much in the body do they yank it out just to be safe. In my case, still having my appendix created problems for the doctors studying me because my Crohn's affects me primarily in my terminal ileum. Now your appendix hangs out where the small and large intestines meet. That's where my Crohn's presents itself. So having to differentiate between my disease and my appendix presents a problem. The doctor's can't always tell on the CT scan if it's my appendix that's inflamed or my intestine. So now - problem solved. I ain't got no appendix getting in the way no mo'. And I'll never suffer an appendicitis. Yay for me.
Since they had so much time to prepare for this one, they really did it right. Which has it's downside - I have a perfectly straight, neat little scar that will probably heal so well you won't be able to see it in a few years. That kinda sucks. I really dug my old raggedy scar. I wanted to be able to tell my kids about the 'monkey knife fight' I was in when I received it. I guess I'll just enjoy the scar while I can.
Initially after the surgery it looked like a giant earthworm stapled to my belly. Which was cool:
The shitty thing about the surgery happening when it did was that I missed my beautiful baby sister's wedding to some German guy. In Tuscany. Woulda been a dream vacation. Stupid rotten intestines . . .
She said she'd send pics but so far all I've gotten is one of her and her bridesmaids making poo faces. C'mon, Rob! You've already been married two weeks! Get it together! LA is old hat by now. Focus on entertaining your brother!I got outta the hospital on June 17th and have been home recovering ever since. I wish I had exciting viking stories to tell you but I have basically just been watching videos, playing video games, writing and slowly but surely rehabbing myself. I now take walks that last for several hours and have gotten my stamina up pretty good. I'm down to 165lbs so I really need to find an extra 30 lbs or so, but progress is being made. Been watching all of Man vs. Wild and that has kept me motivated.
Also just saw Pineapple Express and that really got me fired up about my book. It's a little more over-the-top than my story, but the energy is the same. You should watch it.
Wish I had something exciting to report. The party foe Belgian National Day is this weekend and I'll be dancing with the Flems. So that's cool. Next week I'll being going to the wrong coast for a week of California shenanigans from Tijuana all the way up to San Fran. Donkey shows and Alcatraz! Just what the doctor ordered. If I don't come back with at least one good story of mayhem and hijinks I will be sorely disappointed.
