I am now both okay and coherent!

One day after surgery, I am already doing much better. I am no longer overwhelmed by words (my solution: misspell them) and I have a pretty good idea of where I am: the hospital. But actually, recovery this time around is much easier and I have learned many things.

My actual surgery was longer than expected because my surgeon found quite a bit of scar tissue behind my stoma and at the end of my upper intestine. That probably explains why I had a bazillion blockages - the scar tissue blocked up the food passage. My surgeon cut the scar tissue, but it is likely to form again over the years. While this means that I am more likely to get blockages or obstructions than other people with my surgery, it still doesn't mean that I will be likely to get blockages. As long as I don't have more than two blockages or obstructions per year, they won't do surgery again to cut the scar tissue again. Each surgery carries risk with it and sometimes trying to eliminate scar tissue just creates more of it.

I didn't move at all until this morning, when I tried to take a walk. It didn't work out so well, meaning that I stood up and felt so nauseous and dizzy that I sat right back down again. I had started to turn white and my nurse was just staring at me and telling me I wasn't breathing correctly (no duh!). I was upset because I am accustomed to succeeding just by trying hard enough.  Just standing up made me so exhausted that I slept for an hour. Well..then I had some jello (and only one day out of surgery!), which gave me enough strength to go on a walk a few hours later. It hurts my right side quite a bit to walk, the side where my stoma RIPs and my scar now resides. Later today I took another walk and I went two entire laps around the floor! The more I walk, the sooner my digestive tract will "wake up." It's been asleep since yesterday morning, and I can't leave the hospital until it starts working again. One interesting thing is that doctors still do not know why the digestive system "goes to sleep" and later "wakes up."

I found out that my wound from the stoma was stapled. Based on how it looks during surgery, the surgeon will staple it or leave it open and pack it with gauze (kind of gross). The point of leaving it open is to avoid bacterial infection if the patient looks like he or she might be prone. Luckily, my surgeon stapled me, so it won't be as icky. I have been known to faint from the sight of my own blood!

Last night my mom slept over with me in the hospital and I am pretty sure she took some embarrassing pictures of me making unladylike-drugged-out faces. Today my sister and her boyfriend came to visit, and tonight my dad is coming to stay over.