So, DU, I've had quite the month. [View all]

[Tommy Carcetti]

A couple of you--and God bless 'em--had noticed that I had not posted much in nearly a month.

And that's true. But don't worry. I haven't grown so despondent about the state of our nation's politics that it kept me away. Nor had I turned to the dark side and embraced all things MAGA.

I'll preface all of this with the fact that in over 4 decades on this earth, I've been extremely lucky. Besides a couple of quick trips to the ER, I've never actually been in the hospital. Never had a major medical scare or serious health condition. And while I was no doubt happy about this fact, part of me dread it, as if I was waiting for another shoe to drop. It's like watching a pitcher try for a no-hitter, knowing that at any moment a hitter could break it up. So for some reason I knew my luck was not unlimited.

About a week before Christmas, I woke up with some seriously strong abdominal cramps. Basically like my innards had been put through a vice. The pain was so bad I really couldn't concentrate on anything else. Couldn't watch TV, couldn't browse on my phone. I couldn't even keep my legs still, it was that bad. And then there was the vomiting. I couldn't keep anything down for the life of me, food or liquid.

Tried going to urgent care but they were of no help. Finally relented and checked myself into the ER. There, they gave me an IV, pain med, and did a CT scan. Turns out I had pancreatitis. Which is no picnic, but I suppose it could have been something much worse.

I get admitted. They do just about every imaging scan possible--X-rays, CT scan, ultrasound, MRIs. Eventually they think my gall bladder is the cause of the problem, but they don't want to operate on it immediately but wait for the pancreas to settle down. Finally on Christmas Eve, I get discharged.

I expect things to improve from that point on. Still had some nasty residual swelling but that eventually goes down. Still, I don't feel 100% at any time. And then, on New Year's Eve, I wake up and the pain is back. This time I don't wait around, and immediately go back to the ER.

There, they run another CT scan. Turns out my pancreatitis caused something called a "pseudocyst" which is basically a giant pocket of fluid that is pressing up against everything else inside and causing my hell. They can do an endoscopic procedure to drain it. Problem is, it's a holiday weekend so getting the doctors together to do the procedure is not an easy task.

So for about two days I have to just bear through it. Basically I can get pain meds ever 4 hours. Once I get the pain meds, it works almost instantly. I'd then go to sleep for about an hour to an hour and a half. Then I'd wake up and be okay for another half hour before the pain starts to come back. And then the last two hours are just brutal. Basically I'm counting down the minutes until I can repeat the cycle.

So for two days that's basically all that there is until finally a doctor shows up at my door and tells me out of the blue they're ready for my procedure. So they take me to the OR, I get my first experience with anesthesia, don't even remember falling asleep and then I'm awake. And best part is, my pain is gone.

I stay there for about two more days. Thankfully, I'm more mobile than I have ever been, so at least I get to take walks around the hall and keep myself active.

So I get discharged. That's not the end of it. I still have to have a gall bladder procedure in a couple of weeks. And a couple weeks after that, they have to remove some stents from the first procedure. But I'm doing okay. I'm walking very slowly. I'm back at my work. And every once in a while, I'll feel a bit of a spasm but other than that, thankfully no pain.

Bottom line, nothing terminal. Nothing life threatening. But it was definitely serious, it was definitely painful and nothing I want to repeat again. I'll probably have some dietary modifications, and I may have to give up alcohol which is (literally) sobering, but I guess I had a good enough run. So such is life.

Nurses, doctors and medical professionals were all top notch and I have a new appreciation for what they do.

So that's been what's up. If I were a medieval peasant, I'd most likely be dead by now. But thankfully, those are not my times or circumstances.

Looking forward to getting back into the swing of things, in DU Land as well as the real world.