Hi everyone. It’s been a few days since I wrote. Tomorrow will mark the 2 week anniversary of my surgery and while I’m not perfect, let me talk to you about the last few days.

By this past weekend I was doing “ok”. Friday night I came in the house and Donna had made a scrumptious beef veggie soup that was mostly corn, kidney beans, green beans and small chunks of beef. I grabbed and small bowl and said what the hell. I sat down and ate very slowly and chewed everything. It tasted like heaven. There were a few times when the left side where the incision pulled open more than the right bugged me, but I ate a two small bowls. It was bliss.

As I mentioned last time, I had two conference presentations this weekend. Friday’s was ok and I had to stop a few times for Lisa (my co-presenter) to take over while I had a drink. By Saturday I had to present myself and I did just fine. After my presentation Saturday, it was lunch time. I just shrugged and got in the lunch line. I took a few slices of lunch meat, some cheese, and a small spinach salad. I sat down with some friends and began to eat. I made sure to stay on the right side of my mouth and actually did well. I was please with myself and by Saturday night I had a light dinner of shredded pork, chicken, and several sorts of beans for protein. I’ve not been hungry really yet, which is great, and I kept the portions small.

Today’s been good. I won’t lie. My throat’s still feeling a little odd. The stitches (which should dissolve anytime now) feel like threads tickling the back of my mouth. Today I left the house for two hours without my water bottle and barely needed it. I also keep taking my painkillers until everything is A-OK.

Tomorrow I return to work bright and early. I think all will be well, but you never know. There’s always that scary idea of bleeding out, and all but I think I am over and out. I even plan to camp in the woods by Friday, carrying heavy stuff, and not worrying about anything except starting a fire. Thank you for sharing this journey with me, and if I don’t write again about this, then all is well. I see the ENT in two weeks, and I have a sleep test in two months. I plan to report back on those, and I hope anything who reads this thread in the future is mollified. If I can do it, and I am feeling great, then you can to. It’s way better than dying early in life with heart attacks and strokes.