POD #5

A hump-day like no other. Post-operative day 5 is always the one that surgeons fear. And when the surgeon is the patient, that fear is doubled. After the assault of any major surgery, the body undergoes endocrine, immune-mediated (inflammatory), cell-mediated, metabolic, and nutritional responses to injury that culminate on or around Day 3, and reach homeostatic balance by Day 5. Day 5 is the day that many surgery-related complications will present. Wound infections, dehiscience, evicerations, small bowel obstructions, anastomotic leaks, stump blowouts…the first hints often show on POD#5.

Probably why I feel so horrible today. Every time that I laugh, cough, urinate, especially urinate, I feel like they’re doing the operation again, with me wide awake. Like my pretty healing bikini-line Pfannensteil incision is being torn open again and some ungodly retractor like a Balfour or O’Connor/O’Sullivan is being used to hold the edges wide open and apart. Ouch. And we won’t even discuss the gas pains… in shockwaves, from my pelvis to my eyes it hurts. No relief. Am I doing too much, or not enough? What should I eat? High Fiber, to make the BM’s softer, or Low Fiber to not produce so much gas? Take more pain medicine and walk around more, or stop taking pain medicine because of its constipating effects? Dunno.

Maybe I should just be happy. Cancer’s out, and you can’t die from gas pains. It’s Post Op Day 5 and I don’t have any of the major complications listed above. The Yankees have another chance to beat the Red Sox tonight. My vote for Taylor went through. I watched “Love Actually,” last night and remembered how cute Hugh Grant and Liam Neeson are. Yeah, I should just be happy.