Have you passed gas yet?

Have you passed gas yet?

This was the most frequently asked question yesterday by all nurses and nurses aids on Younkers 5th floor.

My night nurse Stephanie said we could have a party that coincided with the Des Moines Art Festival fireworks outside my hospital window if I could "get it done" by 10 p.m. last night. I said we could pop open a can of ginger ale -- as Stephanie is very pregnant and I'm on major pain meds. But unfortunately it didn't work out as planned. The fireworks went off without me.

At 2:30 a.m. I woke up and called Stephanie with the good news. She asked if I wanted her to break open the ginger ale. I said no. She came down to my room to tell me that I had graduated to the solid liquid foods menu -- and that I'd get to say good-bye to my IV when I woke up in the morning. I'd start taking pain pills instead.

Cream of wheat (with lots of brown sugar) has never tasted so good as it did this morning. And because I did so well with the solid liquid breakfast, I was able to order lunch off the regular diet menu!

Dr. Bedia stopped by this morning and asked if I wanted to go home today or tomorrow. Although I'm doing really well according to the nurses, I decided I wanted to stay here another day just to be safe. It also shows what great care I'm getting here at Methodist. I'm in no hurry to leave.

Dr. Bedia told me that I needed to spend some time outside in the hospital atrium and enjoy the beautiful weather. He took the bandage off my incision so I could take a shower. Tomorrow he'll remove the staples.

He asked how my right side felt -- and if I was still feeling pain there like I did before surgery. I said no. I really feel good. I think the growth really threw him for a loop, as he didn't expect to find it. And he continues to talk about it every time I see him.

He told me that during surgery the nurses asked, "what is THAT?" when they saw the growth. And he told them he didn't know what it was - but it wasn't easy to remove because it was spread all over. So that's why they sent it to pathology right away.

Mom brought me iced coffee from Starbucks today when she came to visit -- which tasted really good. I'm looking forward to getting back outside this afternoon.

Lori, my nurse today, asked if it would be OK if we walked down to the art festival -- but then said people might wonder about us if I'm wearing a hospital gown and she's in scrubs. :-)

Thanks for all the e-mails, well wishes and visitors! It has helped my recovery process tremendously to know I have so much support.