Day 4266

Illness teaches patience. I can tell my body is healing, but it's a slow process. There is no longer a need for laxatives. The puffiness under my skin is slowly subsiding. I'm feeling a little stronger, but it will take a while to get back in shape. It still seems unreal how quickly your body deteriorates when you are bedridden. I'm determined to resume my regular schedule as soon as the doctors say it's OK. I was headed downhill anyway and the past week has certainly accelerated the process. Muscle atrophy is common in the healthiest person as you grow older. You've got to work hard to keep from losing ground. I saw what happens firsthand when you don't do something. After a serious illness, my Dad stopped being active and spent his days watching television. It was unbelievable how quickly he went downhill.

I'll keep walking for my body. I'll keep writing for my mind. And it's probably important to keep traveling as well. As soon as Covid is over I'm going to be following rocket launches again and watching the Milky Way under the clear, dark skies of West Texas. Janet does volunteer work to stay active. I look for more solitary activities. I don't think it matters what you choose to do. You just can't let yourszelf go to seed.

According to the guidelines I've been given, it appears that my recovery is right on schedule. I still have a lot of unanswered questions though. I was reading through the dozens of lab reports are are available online at the hospital website and was quite surprised to discover that they found E Coli in my bloodstream. How could that happen? We are fastidious about the food we eat and cleaning things has been an integral part of food preparation for many years. We seldom go out to eat either, so it is doubtful that I could have gotten bad food from a restaurant. I suspect the problem is all internal. When a gallstone blocked my bile ducts, my entire digestive system got screwed up. My blood work was off the charts terrible. It actually looked worse than when I had Hepatitis C.  Probably the bacteria entered my bloodstream from my own intestines.

I took three short walks today with Dawn. Dawn got her special outing today, but I was unable to keep up with her. I returned to the car while Janet and Dawn completed the special Sunday walk. I didn't feel like ice cream after the walk, but Dawn certainly did. She seems to know I am sick and has been much more accommodating about sharing the bed with me. I'm glad that Dawn enjoys taking sunset walks now. It's an added incentive for me to keep moving. I walked 3.65 miles today. It isn't much, but it's a lot better than nothing.

I don't think I'll be visiting the Dalmatians tomorrow. It would be bad news if one of them jumped on my belly. Janet may still visit the kennel, but I'll just stay here and try not to do anything stupid. I need to call and make several appointments for follow up visits tomorrow. I'll need to see both the surgical team and the gastrointestinal team before I can be given a clean bill of health. It will probably be two weeks until I see anybody, but I hope the doctors are as pleased with my progress as I am.

I haven't been paying a lot of attention to current events lately. All things considered, that's probably a good thing. 

Duke is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day