Update OK, I got it wrong. "P" is for posterior, so I've got the screw going in the wrong way. Damn my ass is flat. No wonder I can't find the problem...
Saturday night, at least once I laughed so hard it hurt. I don't even remember why. I haven't been laughing enough lately, and it felt good. Maybe if I laughed like that more often I wouldn't be in this mess. Anyway, I've been off pain meds for 48 hours. Still taking some ibuprophen sometimes, but no more percs. Getting the wound repacked is almost as painful as the original procedure. I can look forward to it daily. The first time, they told me to get doped up as a pre-emptive measure, and I went in there feeling awesome, but it turned out to be a waste of good narcotics, because the shock of the pain snapped me sober and honestly I don't think the drugs did a damn thing to make it better. I think it was overzealous packing. It was done by a surgeon, and they're not used to working on people who aren't anestheticized. This time the caregiver was a nurse, and I pleaded my case with her. She first measured the depth of the cavity, which is still over 2.5 cm, so this is going to take a while. She then did the repack, and fuck does it hurt, but still better than last time. Going back again tomorrow night, and after that I should be able to have someone from the VNA come to the house every day. Ughh.
I've been trying to find some positives in all this. Of course, more than anything I'm hoping for a positive outcome without further complications. That part is pretty scary. Some people were trying to convince me that oh, you don't have to stay off the bike for two months, don't listen to the doctor, you can come back. I told them dude, you don't understand, but I don't give two shits if I never see my bike again if it means not having to go through this again. It was that bad. I love riding but I also know that you can get back to fitness very easily once you start training again. I'm not afraid to let this heal, but most of all I want this to be the last of it. I've only been off the bike for eight days so far. The last time I took an entire week break from workouts was 21 months ago. To find a two-week break, I had to go back 45 months. So this might be a good thing. This will be a good chance for any tendonitis or other overuse issues I have pent up to do some healing. It's also a good mental recovery. I was getting pretty sick of the roads around here.
Of course, it was running season anyway. Showering and other daily hygiene is such a big project for me right now, I still haven't tried to run. After all, I'm only 72 hours out of the ER, and 48 off pain meds. In a few more days, if the wound heals a bit, I might try it. It will still be a pain in the ass (pun intended) until the packing is done and the wound is closed. With any luck I'll still be able to race Canton at the end of the month. I know this wasn't much to laugh about, but laugh whenever you get chance and enjoy every day of your good health. I feel pretty lucky to have the resources to deal with this and I'm looking forward to laughing some more with all of you. Thanks for reading.
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