Thoughts

WHAT HAVE I DONE?
I have to admit that for a guy who was able to literally drive to the hospital, walk in and even stand only on my left leg, I kept asking myself "What Have I Done?" Upon waking up in the recovery room to find my left hip completely bandaged up and feeling the excruciating pain that came as the anasthesia began to wear off, I had to wonder.

I don't know if it's all the meds or what, but I felt like my mind was racing. So many thoughts, some of them not good. But "What have I done?" kept coming up over and over again. Did I make a mistake agreeing to this surgery? Sometimes, it's hard to see the big picture when you're feeling so much pain at that moment, knowing you'll be stapped to crutches and pain pills for at least 6 weeks.

Still, now that I'm home and thinking clearly again, I still have my faith and hold true that this was clearly the old adage of "breaking a few eggs to make a delcious omelette." And if omelettes are anything like being able to preserve my hip joint for the rest of my life and to be able to walk without a limp and do cardio again like a normal 30-something, it's totally worth it.

Besides, I love omelettes!

I'M HOME!
Again, I cannot even begin to thank you enough for all those of you who visited, called, emailed, prayed, send well-wishes while I was in the hospital.

Because I was very nauseous and light-headed, they decided to keep my an extra day. But thank God, I am now home and resting comfortably.

I'll write more later.

MANY THANKS

I have to say that I am overcome with the outpouring of love, support, and kindness shown to me in preparation for my surgery tomorrow morning.

I have received numerous calls and countless emails and face-to-face greetings and prayers. So, thank you!

I'll be honest, it feels great to know that God has surrounded me with such good family and friends, to the point that so many would go out of the way for little ol' me.

As I get ready for surgery, I know God's peace will be with me . . . and many of your prayers and good wishes will be surrounding me.

SEASICK
I don't usually tend to get seasick, but one afternoon the entire cruise ship began to get tossed around pretty good by the rough waters. I thought it was funny that the captain came on the overhead to say, "It shouldn't get any worse than this." Meanwhile, people were banging into walls and you could hear doors slam everywhere because the ship was rocking so much. I thought to myself, "It may not get any worse, but this is already pretty bad."

And by dinnertime, I was really starting to feel ill. Still, the Chinese part of me had me ordering a full meal (including seafood in order to get my money's worth). The table next to us apparently had somebody throw up at the table because they quarantined the area off with Caution tape and put all the plates and utensils in a biohazard bag.

After taking one bite of my seafood appetizer, I realized that Karena was right, I probably shouldn't eat any seafood. After all, I didn't want them to have to quarantine off our table too. I quickly realized, I couldn't even eat at all. I excused myself and went back to the cabin to sleep it off. I was proud that I didn't end up throwing up.

The next morning, I felt better. My dad told me that while he was in the bathroom during dinner, he heard several people throwing up. By the time dinner was over, they had closed the public bathrooms by the dining room because so many people got sick.

So, in case you guys were ever wondering, yes, even a cruiseliner can make people sick. And once one person gets sick, it seems to spread. So, just be fore-warned . . . and don't worry about skipping out on the lobster tail that night.

CRUISE FOOD

Whenever you hear of anybody going on a cruise, the first thing they usually mention is the food.

It's not so much that the food is great so much as it's just plentiful. You can order room service anytime you like and it's included. Plus, we had a 24 hour buffet available to us all the time. That was deadly.

I tried my best not to overeat, but it was inevitable.

In addition to that, I figured it was a good opportunity to try some foods I wouldn't normally order such as escargot, frog legs, rabbit, and caribou. None of them were particularly good though.

GROSS BLOG ENTRY
The following blog entry might be a little gross for you to read (involving bodily functions and the bathroom, which explains why there is no picture). So, if you want to skip this one, feel free. But if you dare, please read on. I'll try to keep it from getting too disgusting.

I went to my pre-op appointment yesterday and had to do a myraid of tests, including an EKG, a chest x-ray, multiple blood tests, a urine test, and a stool sample test. Even though I felt this was a bit excessive, I was okay with doing all of it except the stool test.

The reason why it was so difficult (besides the obvious) is that they need me to collect samples over three days and each days sample in this vial. I also need to fill up another vial on the third day. I also need to fill up 2 more sample bottles -- one to be refrigerated and one to be frozen. So yes, let's just say, I need to be careful I'm grabbing the right container when I eat dinner.

All this just to make sure it's safe for me to have surgery. My question is: what information is a stool sample going to give my surgeon about whether it's safe to operate on me or not?