Untethered - from 9/29/20014

I took another big step in my recovery today. I had the last IV drip (pain medicine) removed. That was one of the biggest hurdles standing between me and discharge since they are unable to send me home on IV pain medicine.  All indicators have been that I will be discharged by the end of this week.  From there, I will need to stay in the Cleveland area for another two weeks or so in order for them to be able to keep a close eye on me and because I will have a couple of follow up appointments during those two weeks.

I had a number of visiitors on Sunday, which helped lift my spirits a lot. My dad and sister  Kathleen came back. I hadn't seen them since just before my surgery.  Apparently I looked like a corpse to my dad when he saw me after the surgery, but before I was awake. Others who saw me were a bit less dramatic about it, but I guess I was looking a little gray. I was also not able to acknowledge their presence as I remained under sedation and apparently slept for about 3 days. (Who doesn't dream of doing that sometimes?) My other visitors, Pat and Jeff who I've been friends with since high school also made the trip up. It was nice to be able to watch football and root for our fantasy teams together. I also appreciate visitors Tom and Jeff who saw me closer to my surgery when I was much less coherent and put up with only seeing me for a very brief time before I decided I didn't want them to "see me like that." I have to say I feel a bit guilty about that as they probably drove abound 9 hours total to see me for such a short time.

Again, I thank you all for your continued prayers. I really can't tell you how humbled I am by the support and prayers I have received throughout these weeks. Please keep them coming as the road ahead still holds many unknowns and I'm sure there will be excitements, disappointment, sidetracks and successes. I look forward to sharing all of those with you.