The Only Way is Up

A week ago I was in the Critical Care Unit. It doesn’t get much lower than that. I have nowhere to go except up.

Fortunately, I only spent about a day in the CCU. The day before, I had surgery to repair a paraesophageal hernia, including a fundoplication. It’s a procedure commonly known as GERD surgery. I would have come through with flying colors except that I had the most common complication – a pneumothorax. After the surgery, I woke up with a catheter, NG tube, and a chest tube. They were removed a day later and I went home the day after that. Since then, I’ve been resting and recovering.

The biggest challenge in my recover isn’t recovering from the operation, but recovering from the year preceding it. I spent the last year with a severe case of GERD. Between the vomiting, nausea, pain, and discomfort from the GERD, and the general lack of nutrition and exercise that resulted, I’m in pretty pathetic shape. I don’t just have to get my body back to pre-surgery shape, I NEED to get my health back.

It won’t be an immediate thing. There are no quick cures. It will take hard work and dedication. I’m ready for the challenge. I’m ready to start living again.