Sans Colon

Today mark the 1 year anniversary of my colectomy surgery.  Where did the time go!  It doesn’t seem possible that it’s been a year sans colon.  It’s been quite the year.

You may recall my liver numbers went crazy for a while, starting right after the colon was out.  The two were only tangentially related.  My best bet is that while there may have been a narrowed opening from my liver to the intestine, there is (was) also an issue with how absorption without the colon effected my medicines.  We’re still tweaking the meds now in fact.

Since the liver issue was mostly resolved my overall health has been really good! Of course as I type this I’ve come down with the first cold of the season.  ☹  I did just get my blood counts checked yesterday and I still don’t need my usual medication.  The amazing thing is that I haven’t needed my medication to fight anemia since July!!!  That’s a new record!

I’m still adjusting to life with my new plastic plumbing and it’s not a life for the faint of heart.  There have been three very unpalatable, messy, nasty experiences where things went awry very quickly. If you could write the right script it might make a very dark comedy.  But as they say “shit happens”, and sometimes shit happens at all the wrong times and places.  You know,  like while at a doctors office, or getting up from a couch, or yes, even while driving down the highway!!!  Don’t panic, just don’t use your gross fingers to hold the wheel.  All those year of driving with the palm of your hand, and/or knees to keep a straight line are really paying off now!!!  😊 Yet if you look at all of this together, in 365 days I really only had 3 that were awful.  That means that 99% of time things are pretty darn good! The truth is also that 2 of those 3 issues were user error situations.  So, really, I could expect that on 1 day in three years should be “a mess.” 

I don’t like to brag, but my stoma (the little piece of intestine that protrudes out of your abdomen) is pretty big, around a good inch and a half long!  Most doctors say “It’s prolapsed” when they see it, meaning that it was not intended to be that big and it moved unintentionally outward.  Wrong.  My doc wanted a big stoma for one very good reason.  It’s easier to have a good seal around it and minimizes the chances of bad things (see above) from happening.  Some folks deal with leakage issues routinely.  I’m really lucky and things could be a lot worse!

The downside of having a large stoma is that it’s harder to hide.  Most people probably don’t notice it much.  I mean, who goes around looking at your waist?  None the less, it does bother me from time to time. Well, it might be fair to say it bothers me frequently, but hey everyone has something that tends to bother them, and overall I’m better off now. I don’t dwell on it, just take a deep breath and move on.

Thank you all for the support and love over the year. It's a comfort knowing how many are lifting you up, praying and offering encouragement.

With all that said, I think it’s time to embrace the latest “new normal” and celebrate the success of the surgery and the past year of improved health.  It just might be time to throw a party!  What do you all think?

Arsenal

The news of the horror of the sniper attack on a Las Vegas concert has surely been brought to your attention.  The world is now aware of the worst massacre by a single individual in our country. I struggle to comprehend the amount of carnage one person can rain down of our populace. How can it be that a lone gunman can kill 59 (and counting)  people and wounded over 500, in a matter of minutes.  It’s a tragic commentary on the level of arms that a single individual can attain.  It’s also the unfolding story, I believe, of the level of hate and/or mental illness that ravages all that it entangles.

To date I’ve been sympathetic to the desire of having arms to protect oneself and family, or hunt the lands for food.  These purposes are noble enough, though I know not all agree with the premise.  The law allows for these uses – defense and hunting, even the sport of marksmanship. There is a missing link though that rears it’s ugly head all the time.

Even those with cleared background checks have used weapons outside of the law.  This instance seems to be pointing in that direction as well.  The gunman, thus far, has little reported in the news regarding criminal behavior or suspected ill will towards society.  The terrible truth is that this gunman amassed a large arsenal and apparently “snapped.”

I'm not trying to single out a particular rifle and distinguish an "assault" vs "hunting" weapon, or get into the specifics of a single action vice a semi-auto system.  The specifics can be left to further debate.  My question is more straight forward.

How do we prevent this?  It seems more and more clear that there needs to be some limitations.  Limitations that many of my friends will not want to support.  I expect there to be debate.  I expect this to be hard for our country.  I also expect that those in favor of unlimited weaponry to discuss and provide solutions to prevent the terror that so easily was unleashed in such an incredibly short period of time by a well organized and determined individual.  ONE individual caused all of this horror.

What am I, what are you, what are we willing to do to stop this from ever happening again?  Or are you, like me, taking this in through a fog of Deja-vu that makes one wonder if we collectively will ever solve this problem, or just be willing to become comfortably numb to the carnage that is far too common and frequent in our new feeds?