General Surgery

Just seven days from the first hernia diagnosis in West Virginia, I have had surgery in Tennessee.

This was an extremely fast and lucky turnaround for a non-emergency general surgery. To expedite the procedure, I started by calling every general surgeon in my hometown in Tennessee. Then I called every general surgeon near Dad in Florida. I got an appointment in Tennessee on Wednesday and in Florida on Thursday as a backup, both filling cancellations. All other openings were weeks away. The Wednesday appointment scheduled me for surgery the next day, filling yet another cancellation, so I committed to it. Dad got in the car immediately and came to support, along with the excellent nurse Cyndi.

The surgery took place at the small local community hospital; small enough that when you call the hospital, a person picks up the phone. Apparently this person also knows the name and department of everyone who works in the building. This turned out to be incredibly efficient.

A follow-up appointment is scheduled in two weeks, proceeding a span of nursing my recovery, regaining weight, lifting nothing, and figuring out how to keep myself occupied.

Pickup and Strider will probably be done with Pennsylvania by the time I return. I will have time to go back and do it later. For now, the biggest thing in my life is finally getting my bed off of the floor.