Each Day Better Than the Last

As I settled back into bed after a quick trip to the bathroom (not having a Foley catheter means many middle of the night trips to the bathroom for numero uno), a tech entered my room asking to take me down to vascular imaging. Even though all I wanted was to snuggle with the Teddy bear my grandma and uncle got me (it wears a shirt that says "Cancer Sucks!"), I knew I had to haul my bones out of bed to confirm one all-important fact: that there wasn't a single blood clot in my legs. After about an hour, it was confirmed. Great news!

Once I got back to my room, I wanted nothing more than to catch a bit more sleep, but the reiki specialist at the hospital walked in and gave me a wonderful session. Definitely made putting off my nap worth it.

After the specialist left the room, all I wanted was to luxuriate in the relaxed feeling from my reiki session by catching some shut-eye, but my mom entered the room with exciting news. There would be no jello and broth for me today -- I was being upgraded to full liquids, just one step shy from soft foods. Great news!! But I was still yearning for a little nap.

As I turned and prepared to finally recline, I felt something down below. A feeling that I remember quite well but haven't experienced in 11 days. I was, ladies and gents, about to pass gas. Could it be? I waited, with a smile. And there it came, a loud and proud signal that my GI tract was open and ready for business. Then another signal, then another, and finally one more. Elated by this, the best news of all, I decided that it was time to officially get up and greet the day.

Before I knew it, I was greeting Dr. Sugarbaker. He popped in with his associate, Dr. Zappa, we discussed my progress so far and his thoughts on my next three months of chemo. During this chat, my mom asked him when exactly he thought I'd be discharged from the hospital.

"I'd guess...Thursday."

Thursday?!?!? 13 days after surgery! I'd been told by everyone that the minimum stay at the hospital was 3 weeks, especially with an 11 hour "pick it out/pour it in" procedure, but evidently I was/am really crushing this whole recovery thing. Dr. Sugarbaker continued, "Her progress has been...much better than we'd expected."

I couldn't conceal my joy. I'd prepared for this surgery and the post-op recovery for months, and now I can really see that hard work and discipline paying off. Mind, body, and soul are in alignment, and that's how mini-miracles like my recovery time happen. Extremely gratifying.

As if my day couldn't have gotten any better, we learned that the VIP suite in our wing had opened up. The suite -- truly excellent digs, with a much larger lounging area and bathroom, and a balcony to boot -- caught my eye right away.

And now I'm writing this blog post from that suite. You know WunderGlo likes to do it up right. Big props to my nurses for moving our room in record time. Props also go to my good buddy Meghan for not only helping with the moving process, but for making a heroic Whole Foods run for me so that my full liquid diet could be as healthy and delicious as possible. Creamy tomato soup and chocolate pudding (all vegan, of course) have never tasted so good.

My day was filled with great progress and great news. Life is pretty sweet, my friends. Happy Valentine's Day, indeed!