Another day, another bunch of laps around the pool. Still, walking, still improving, although it definitely is taking some adjustment, that's for sure. I will say this, nothing like having your guts yanked out as a wake up call to let you know where you stand... to let you know who your friends are and who you can count on... to let you know how "thin" things really are and how hard it is to get by when you can't work. It's tough, make no mistake, and things for me have gone surprisingly smooth all things considered, and still it's a challenge.

Medical disability FINALLY came through, in just over a month. I didn't file before I went into the hospital, so I guess it's more like about 3 weeks. Still, that sucks. Good thing I wasn't counting pennies right before, or I would have been screwed big time. Even with the little bit of money I had saved, it sure is incredible how fast it goes out when it's not coming in. Oh, and yeah I don't think I mentioned it before, I have NO idea how people are supposed to make it without insurance. The new "appliances" that the nurse switched me to? Damn, those things are expensive. $90 for a box of 5, that's nuts. Insurance covers some of that in my case, but nowhere near all.

As I said, the laps are continuing. A couple days ago I was up to 54 laps per set when the rain wouldn't let up. That kind of ruined my progression, so I just bumped it up to 66 laps per set, which is what I did 3 times yesterday and once so far today. I've also been really picking up the pace to make it more like exercise and less like a casual stroll. It's now more like a power walk with that last 66 lap set this morning taking just under 19 minutes. That's not bad for about a mile I think.

As far as the next milestones, here's where things stand. I need to have another appointment with the nurse toward the beginning of next month. It's just a check up to make sure I'm handling things ok and to start preparing me for the next leg of my journey, the next surgery. I haven't made that appointment yet, but I'll post when I do. I also have an appointment with the doctor on the 7th to start the process of getting me ready for the next surgery. Not sure what all that will entail yet, but it's supposed to be much less of an ordeal. The main thing though will be checking the j-pouch to make sure it has healed up correctly and there are no leaks and that my sphincter muscles are adequate for the job of holding things in. If all that goes ok, I guess we'll be scheduling the surgery. It's all taking a bit longer than I had originally been told though, which kind of sucks. I was originally told it would be 6 weeks until the first surgery and I'd be out for 8 weeks, so I kind of took that as a hard date. Well, 6 weeks will be this coming Wednesday and I won't even be seeing the doctor until after week 7. I'm not sure exactly how long I'll be out of commission after the second surgery, but I've heard 2-4 weeks depending on how hard I push myself. Given all that, I'm not liking my chances of making it back to work at week 8, which sucks. I'm torn because on the one hand I'm trying to just relax and take things easy and not over do it, but at the same time I'm wanting to get my life back on track and get back to work and all that. I obviously don't blame the doctor for these time delays... I understand they're just rough estimates to begin with and that it all depends on how fast people heal. And, the nurse told me that normally they have you wait 3 months before the second surgery, and that my 6 week schedule was really aggressive. So, while I feel like I'm progressing really good and doing as well as can be expected considering my guts are missing, I still feel the need to rush.

Anyway, that's all for now.
-jk