Carotid Artery...The Surgery plus 48 hours....

The weather has stayed warm, in fact another record by tomorrow of 80 degrees....of course, in my case, not much chance to enjoy it....the past 48 hours have flown by, much of it in a fog.....and the recovery is still on going. Not fun feeling this way, with a swollen lumpin a tight throat....ah well, recovery it is, how it is.

Friday March 16, 2012....my 63rd birthday_____

The last time I spent my birthday in the hospital was, even though I cannot recollect it, was on my actual birthday, March 16, 1949....and then only for the final 6 hours or so, because I was born about 6pm that cold evening, in Van Wert, Ohio. 

Patricia and I headed out about this time Friday morning, arriving at Lima Memorial Hospital well before the scheduled time of 11 o'clock check in... as the wait began.  I was schedule to be in surgery at 1pm, but my surgeon was across town at St. Rita's working there, so we would wait.  Along with Patricia, my friend Rick arrived.  Of course Rick and I were best men in each others weddings, and have been best friends since High School, but even this was beyond the call of duty...Rick arrived about an hour before the surgery began.  Patricia began a photo taking review of the pre and post game surgery.

A couple of final photos of me and Rick clowning, and off I went, and out I went.  The last time I was put under was back in 2003 when I was wheeled into surgery at Coldwater for the emergency appendectomy explosion....that time I didn't really have a chance to take it all in...this time around I had plenty of time to think and observe...but that didn't last.

After the male anesthesiologist nurse and the doctor of same told me what to expect, the knock out drops in my IV took effect as I switched tables....I don't remember another thing until I started to come out of it.  The actual surgery went from 2:35pm until 4:05pm....I groped through the fog for another 70 minutes or so....they let both Rick and Patricia in to see me, with Pearson presenting me with a yellow stuffed chick for companionship, before he made the 60 mile trip back to northern Indiana.  Meanwhile youngest son Hal had arrived and took his mom out to supper, as they were finishing up, I was finally wheeled into my post op room.  The surgery was a little rough, so they say, because of the Plavix blood thinner that I had been on for the past couple of weeks. Patricia headed home, and Hal would stay through halftime of the Duke NCAA Tournament game, as we watched out favorite team get upset in the first round of the...what a disappointment!  although that was softened somewhat by Ohio University knocking off Michigan, and Ohio State surviving the weekend with two wins.

Hal needed to get back to Centerville, and I was left in the hospital, alone, but really didn't mind at all....I was pretty much out of it, but couldn't get to sleep.  The nurse was good, and checked on me and brought me plenty of ice chips and water, after a supper of chicken broth, applesauce, and yogurt...which tasted good, just because it was food.  I was finally allowed into a chair at 4am, where I finally would get a couple hours of restless sleep.  Seriously I thought I had no chance of getting out of the hospital yesterday, and made plans on staying through Sunday...but the doc had different ideas.


Patricia arrived at 11am after the outdoor fog lifted, and by that time they had given me the word that I could go home, with plenty of restrictions....frankly another day in the hospital, watching basketball and eating hospital food wouldn't have been the worst thing in the world, given how I felt, but coming home was always the preferred option.  So I sat around, watched plenty of roundball, even drank a beer, for the throat of course, and went to bed at 11...where I got a pretty good night's sleep, except for the few wake-up calls to rid myself of the excess fluids from the IV treatments.


Sunday______

Today I will continue to rest, and hopefully start the road to get my body functions, back to normal....although that may be a hope rather than a given....more basketball watching on the horizon to say the least.  Tomorrow I will call to Lima and make the appointment to get these staples taken out, which is probably 2 weeks down the pike...and then decide how many more games I will need to cancel before getting back into the swing of my upcoming baseball season...frankly though, that is the least of my concerns, as much as I hate giving up games, I realize, that at this time, I am in no condition to walk out on the diamond and umpire.


Back Later with more as the week goes>>>

Photos-Top, still out of it back in my room(2) "X" Marks the Spot (3) Me and Rick as Patricia takes the photos...easy for him to smile...(4) Thumbs Still Up, but I sure the Hell didn't know where I was at this time...(5) The "Mark of Frankenstein"...(6) Going Home....and the way it looked on this Sunday Morning...the mark to the right isn't a scar, but tape and magic marker which hasn't washed off just yet...one step at a time.  And (7) Never miss a chance at a cup of Dunkin Donuts Coffee, even on the way out the door....what the Hell, I gained 8 pounds in 24 hours, water weight from the damn IVs stuck in me....so what's a cup of joe gonna hurt...?