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dcnovice -> DC Update: "Once more unto the breach ..." (5/23/2014 6:39:05 PM)
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May 23, 2014
“Once more unto the breach …”
Dear Ones ---
“Once more unto the breach, dear friends,
once more.” | HENRY V (III.i.1)
King Harry’s stirring words bobbed in my mind all afternoon today, no doubt because I’d met this morning with my surgeon at Georgetown. After months of infection and impatience, the breach beckons once more. Or, in plain English, I’m slated for surgery on June 12th.
The operation will be an all-day affair with a trio of sawbones performing. A urologist will install a catheter and somehow mark/protect key bits of plumbing to ensure they survive the operation intact. The surgeon will remove dead tissue, clean and disinfect me, dismantle my ileostomy (thank you, Jesus!), and replace it with a permanent colostomy (not my ideal outcome but said to be a huge improvement). A plastic surgeon will remove tissue from my leg (probably) and use it to create a “flap” that fills the space once occupied by my dear, departed rectum. Mercifully, I’ll be asleep through it all.
The surgeon estimates that I’ll be in the hospital for seven to ten days. Depending on how things go, I may then be released on my own recognizance (perhaps with the aid of visiting nurses) or dispatched to rehab. Unfortunately, I won’t know that till after the operation, which makes planning a bit tricky. The doc estimated I’d be back to work in a month; unfortunately, I forgot to ask if that included hospital time. Given my past complications and genes—my family is the medical embodiment of Murphy’s Law—I’m guessing it will be more like six to eight weeks.
Needless to say (and then saying it anyway), your prayers and good vibes and positive energy and well wishes and so forth are deeply appreciated. Aside from hoping for general healing and health, I have one particular prayer request. The surgeon warned that there’s a 10 to 15 percent chance he’ll slice me open and discover that I’m still too inflamed to operate. Waking up to that news would be a big downer, so please keep your fingers crossed that he can operate swiftly and successfully.
Or, as dear old Harry would put it, “Cry God for DC, Georgetown, and St. Margaret!”
Cheers,
DC
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