Getting My Stitches Out and My Appetite Back

I awoke bright and early this morning and, along with Will and my mom, headed to Dr. Ramos's office for the big event: the removal of my stitches. From the big, long incision wound to the left and right chest tube sites. I have to admit, I've been a little nervous about the suture removal -- as my wounds have healed, I've accumulated little scabs and not-so-little scabs which grew exactly above some of the sutures. You can imagine why I was a little anxious -- to remove the sutures, Dr. Ramos would have to remove the scabs. Yikes.

Still, despite my anticipation of the stinging pain, I was very excited to see Dr. Ramos. Having him pluck out my sutures seemed right, like things were coming full circle. After all, Dr. Ramos was the first doctor to diagnose me, the man who removed my first tumors in my small and large intestine, and the first soul to see all the cancer that Dr. Sugarbaker removed. Plus, he's an awesome and fun guy and I couldn't wait to give him a hug.

We got to his office, and about 20 minutes later, I was reclined, Dr. Ramos was snipping, and I was being freed of the sutures that once bound my flesh together. Did it hurt, you may ask? Yes, but not as much as I thought it would. Not even close. Dr. Ramos promised that he would make sure it wouldn't really hurt, and it didn't. I only had to close my eyes and clench my teeth once, and it was only for about 2
seconds.

Strangely enough, the minute the sutures were out, I was hungry. And I ate. Then took a nap. Then ate, and ate, and ate. Not a Herculean amount, mind you, but an almost normal human being amount. This is major progress on the appetite front, and a great sign to me that my body is really and truly bouncing back.

Hard to believe that a month ago today, I had 13 tubes in my body in the ICU. Time flies. Time heals, too.