The Rocky Road to Recovery/Ohio Basketball Madness

As I begin to type today's post, it has been almost 48 hours since my discharge from Lima Memorial Hospital.....at least I can now shower, talk for a few minutes, and move about without pain...but the road to full recovery, is still filled with things, that don't match up with my busy lifestyle.

Good things include...I appear to be coming out of the usual post surgery complications such as constipation...what a drag that is, and even a bigger drag getting over it.  Finally I said the Hell with pain meds, which contribute to that problem....I finally took a shower last night, despising tub baths to the nth degree.. then I.took another one this morning, and no infections appear in the surgery wound.  Also the lump in my throat that felt like a fist sized cotton ball, now only feels like a regular size one....and the swelling is down, but the bruise, wherever the Hell that came from, is now out in bloom on my upper chest and lower neck.

On the minus side, I still cannot drive, bend over, do any radical moves with the neck, etc...and although I have shoved my games back until next Monday, I may indeed have to push the starting date back farther....depending on the healing process, and when the metal "stitches" come out of my Frankenneck...which I just called Lima and found out they would be taken out on April 4th...nearly 3 weeks after surgery, another pain in the ass, er neck.

So this is what I face for the next week or so...then longer.  I suspect that in fact, the next month or so will be anything but "normal", but they, the days, are what they are....and this is what was needed to be done.  Sure, for all the distractions and complications,  it still beats the Hell out of a stroke....or something worse...

Ohio Basketball in the NCAA______

I did have plenty of time to watch the NCAA Tournament over the weekend, to say the least....and despite my disappointment in having Duke lose in the first round, other teams I root for, Ohio State, and Ohio University, came through in fine style....in fact teams from the state of Ohio were shining bright.

The Buckeyes, Bobcats, who upset hated Michigan, Cincinnati, and their hated arch rival Xavier, all made it though to the round of "Sweet 16"...the first time four teams from the same state have made it that far.  Ohio State and the Cincinnati Bearcats will battle it out on Thursday for the right to play on.....meanwhile the Big 10, including OSU, went 9 wins 2 loses over the weekend, and still has four of the six teams left out of the conference.  Joining the Buckeyes, are Indiana, Michigan State, and Wisconsin....while Purdue lost a heartbreaker to Kansas, and the Ohio U Bobcats knocked out Michigan.

So this is how the mend will go....baseball, working on my schedule changes, watching basketball, and sitting on the back steps enjoying this May/June like March weather...83 for the next couple of days, and no cold on the horizon for the near future.

back later>>>> 


Photos-"Frankeneck" the 3 inch or so scar with 8 metal clips is feeling better, but looking pretty gross....my ego still calls for it to be covered up when I venture out....The bruise on my upper chest, looks like I've been hit by a foul ball, but frankly, it happened during surgery, and I have no idea where that came from...much like the cut upper lip...what a mess!  And my old stomping grounds, Athens, Ohio, is celebrating as the Ohio Bobcats made the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1964....joining Ohio State, Cincinnati, and Xavier, as four Buckeye State teams to move on to the second weekend of March Madness.