FREEEEEDOOOOMM

Finally we have left the hospital and are relaxing at the hope lodge.  On 6/7 at about 6:30, we were finally discharged from the hospital and I got my first breath of outdoor air in over a week.  It is remarkable to look at how far I came in just a few days but we still look forward to how much further I have to go.

Last night was the single most restful night of sleep I have had in the past three months.  I slept from 10 until 2am when I went to the bathroom.  I went back to bed and then slept to 6:30.  Steph and I talked for about 5 minutes and I went back to sleep for another two hours.  Over 10 hours of unmedicated sleep was more blissful to me than you can imagine.

Of course, I am also now free from any IV lines for the first time in over two weeks.  This has affected my sleep habits considerably as I no longer toss and turn which is something you can't do when you have an IV line in 24/7.  This is something that Steph will appreciate greatly as it means that I will not be stealing nearly as many covers as I used to during the night.

I am weak.  My legs are shadows of where they once were and I don't know if I could ski top to bottom nonstop on green runs, let alone nonstop on Outhouse.  We spent a little time this morning driving around this morning and I am pretty tired at this time, ready for another nap.

I did get some of Stephanie's donut crack this morning and they are as wonderful as she has said.  I got a raised doughnut with chocolate frosting and rainbow sprinkles.  Normally, I prefer those toppings on a cake doughnut  but it really worked here.  I have a apple fritter waiting for me and will report on that as well.

Other than recovering strength, my other issue to resolve for now is diarrhea.  I have very extreme diarrhea right now but that could just be my bowels relearning to deal with this stuff called solid food.  I have a couple of medicines to try and we also see the doctor again next Tuesday if things are not resolved by then.

Coming up in the future, we have a follow up with the surgeon in 6 weeks and then both a neuroendocrine conference for patients along with the full workup by the doctors in September.  At that point,  we will start to get more definitive about the path forward.  We will also be able to really explore and enjoy New Orleans (other than the heat) for that trip.

Thanks again for all your thoughts, messages, emails, phone calls, and other forms of communication.  The support from everyone has made this journey more tolerable but we are not done yet and will appreciate it again when we enter the next legs of this journey.