Day 10. I’m numb. Haven’t left the house or stepped outside. Nothing to do. No motivation. Sleeping all the time. Pain not bad. Very tired of managing this contraption. 11 days to removal. I think I’ll barely make my show on the 20th - plus the rehearsals.

It’s an important show. We were hired by the city as Austin’s premiere all star band. High stakes. We want a relationship with them for this big dollar gigs so we need to blow them away. We are already over budget. But we are pulling all the stops out.

Sleep is good; large swaths of time pass. While awake meditate. Think about driving the Vette on a small road circumnavigation of Galveston bay, jamming with BB, Mudslide Slim, or whoever you emulate. Listen to some of your favorite recordings and just breathe. Take a sledge hammer to the original NCC1701 model and bask in the knowledge the next iteration will be vastly superior when you have the time and energy to finish it. Talk dirty to the wife. Have her talk dirty to you. Live a bit on future plans and the time will pass.

Another good thing about sleep is that most of your healing from surgery occurs during that time...so if you're tired, catch some Zzzzzs or at the very least, go lay down and rest :seasix: your body has been through/is going through a war, it desperately needs this time to heal. :yesnod:

That old model is long gone. I used a lot of the parts for paint and structural tests and rough building. I haven’t had the ability to focus well enough to work on it. I’ve got a wiring problem I need to track down but it requires a lot of mental energy that I just don’t have.

I have been painting a little at a time.

Don’t know if I’ve shared these here

The first is my dear friend Pat who died last week. I’m giving this one to his drummer partner of 30 years.

The next is one I am refining. Getting the detail right and anatomy, proportion, etc. I’m working my way down, torso and arms are good, legs and face need work.

The last one I’m trying to save. It’s off the rails.

You are amazingly talented - on several levels. WOW!!!

Just a quick update. I’m exhausted. Two weeks in and a week to go. Then I’ll need to retrain my bladder. And get Crohns back under control. I think my body is using a lot of energy even though I’m sleeping a lot. Pain is 24/7 now bit manageable. Not as bad as I thought.

I’m terrified of the ripping this cath out appt. next Thursday. I’m asking for sedation.

Hang in there Fred.:seasix: I've said it several times, but you are one tough dude.

Day 21. Tomorrow is my sons birthday. He will be 19. I’ll be getting this device removed and a good friend is going to prison. Good day indeed.

I’m weary. Exhausted. Got two liters of IV fluids today which really helped. Tomorrow will hurt. It will likely hurt for several days. But I’ll be back on to some sort or normality. My incision is sore like crazy I’m sure the doc will inspect.

Part opened up and I glued it back together. He probably won’t like that. I expect some Novocain and a stitch or two just to make the whole thing as fun as possible.

At the cancer center they took one look at me and came with a wheel chair! And here I’ve been walking like a sucker. I’m amazed at how physically weak I am still.

But that should get better rapidly. Doc said essentially there is a foreign body in my body and my immune system is going nuts both on attacking my gut, joints and muscles but trying to expel the catheter. ****ing hell.

Maybe I should video the debacle tomorrow.

:willy:


:kimblair:

Hope and pray all goes well for you. May God bless you.:angel:

You made it this far, you'll do fine :yesnod:

You got this Pete :angel:

I'll pray for you tomorrow

Jeff

Hopefully things go well and you start a rapid improvement man...

:angel:

You got this, you are truly on the uphill swing now!

You got this Pete!

looking forward to hearing good news soon.

Yesterday was intense. Today I’m free of the tubing and sore like a mofo. Burns when I pee. Knee shaking, teeth clenching pain. Should lessen in the next day or two.

Lots of pain in my nads. I honestly feel like somebody hit me with a nine iron in the jewels. Not sure how long that lasts.

But I’m doing very well considering it’s only three weeks out. I wore jeans today for the first time in three weeks. My bladder is used to being empty so it shrinks and gets its nerve function all screwy. I’m peeing every couple of hours and sometimes can’t tell if I have to go. That will take a couple weeks to reset.

Overall, I’m glad I did it. Things are swollen on the inside so I still pee like an old man but in a week I should be able to do long distance snowman contests and win.

Sounds like you're on the mend :angel:

:dance:

I am! I really don’t see any more surgery in the foreseeable future. I’ve never had surgery before except to remove some bullet fragments. Four times in 2.5 years is way too much for me. I swear, there is less pain getting shot.

:hurray: