In search of symmetry.......

7:35 am - Wednesday - February 27th - Wittmann, AZ - 51º F, 65% humidity, wind 4 mph out of the north by northeast.....mostly cloudy today with a forecast high of 73º F.

I slept pretty well Monday night considering that I was being awakened every couple of hours so nurses could take my vitals, or because I had to go to the bathroom.  Going to the bathroom under normal circumstances is not a difficult proposition, but when you are hooked up to 3, or 4 machines the difficulty factor increases significantly.   Especially when you are hooked up to an IV.....they (nurses, doctors) usually do not want you to become disconnected from said IV, so you must take it......the IV and the stand to which it is attached, including monitoring equipment.....with you to the bathroom.  The stand has wheels, but you must unplug it from the wall socket, snake it out from behind the bed, move the table upon which your drinking water, kleenex, phone, and other useful articles reside, and then drag it behind you, or push it in front of you as you trundle off to the 'patients only' restroom.  

Another thing you don't think about when you are being continuously hydrated via IV is that you will have to go to the bathroom much more often, so your entire routine revolves around getting unhooked from from the various machines to which you are attached so you can go to the bathroom, then upon return to the bed getting hooked up to all those contraptions once again, and pushing your IV stand back into its position behind the bed and table.    In all each trip to the bathroom consumes about 15 minutes of your time.  Once you are finally tucked back into your bed, and comfortable once again you know that in another 1.5 to 2 hours you will start that process all over again.  

Then there are the interruptions I mentioned earlier when they come to take your vitals (blood pressure, pulse, etc.), or to bring you pills to swallow, which are more noticeable when you are awakened from a sound sleep during the night.  Fortunately, that only goes on for about 24 hours and then the surgeon (Dr. Tritle) arrives to remove the drain tube from your neck, pronounce you fit to be discharged from the hospital, and signs your discharge papers.  You willingly go through all of that to get to the money shot below......

No more asymmetrical face....thank you Dr. Tritle

.....once again your facial symmetry, absent for several years, has been restored.  The lump which first appeared on your right cheek about 4 years ago has been excised at last, has been found to be benign, and all that is left is to recover from the surgery, and get back to your vagabond life.

TLE, who spent the night with our niece, Christina, at her home in Flagstaff, arrived back at the hospital around 8:15 am just as I was finishing my two egg omelette, and English muffin.  Within an hour my attending nurse, Mark, arrived with my discharge papers, a few post surgery care instructions, and then we were on our way downstairs to the car and the 2.5 hour drive home.  TLE drove, as I napped, sang along to the music on the 60's channel, and just generally stared out at the beautiful landscape.  We were home just before 12:30 pm, and within minutes I was relaxing in my recliner.

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