Just another manic Monday

Apr 18, 2022

So, I won another lottery ticket and got to spend a week in the hospital recovering from surgery last Monday, the 11th. Ends up, I had 4.6 LITERS of fluid on top of my right lung. I put a “comparison” chart to show different sizes, measured in wine of course; the second from the right is 4.5 liters. No wonder I couldn’t do a burpee any more … I mean, in reality, I could barely tie my shoes before being out of breath.

The tumor in my lung evidently spurred the fluid retention above my right lung, so the surgery did two things:

Removed the fluid!
Sealed the two layers of skin together that are on the outside of the lung (where the fluid was being retained) so that it doesn’t occur again in the future.

The week in the hospital wasn’t as poor an experience as previous stints, as I was lucky enough to have a private room and a view of the city from my windows (that opened!). Previous stays have always been a bit sketchy, with rooms that could be shared at any moment and windows that are completely sealed, so you constantly feel as if you are being baked alive. The nursing and medical staff where all magnificent, caring and very attentive. I saw my Doctors every morning and they where aware of and on top of my xrays / etc to ensure that my lung was expanding as it should.

The initial thought was that my lung would expand immediately, however with that much fluid (they weren’t aware of it being as much volume as it was) the lung had been completely balled up, so it took a little longer than they had expected to expand. But with the use of this breathing toy, every 30 minutes, every day, it did, indeed, fully expand back!

I was released on Saturday, the 23rd, after they pulled the drainage tube from my lung. I still have another, smaller, drainage tube in place (just in case it was needed, they really went overboard after they discovered so much fluid). But I’ve been told that I won’t need to bother with the smaller tube and it will be removed while I’m in for my follow up appointment in two Tuesday’s time.

Cheers! And Peace and Love to everyone!