It has been a very interesting month

Since I got back from San Diego, I've been trying to keep my fitness consistent. I had to work quite a bit to rebuild the bank account for my planned trips in February. I was able to stay consistent by, believe it or not, working out on my overnights and at home and even riding the trainer. I know. That is such a big step for me. The addition of a new TV and DVD player made the trainer bearable. I've been watching bike races from the 80's. Most of my overnights were in Denver with a very good workout room. Bonus.

So I started off February with three days of reserve with the idea being to not get used and be home to work on remodeling my basement and working out. I had great plans for lots of work and lots of play. The goal was to go back to San Diego for 4 more days of riding then fly to Seattle for a quick trip up to Canada to watch the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Well it didn't play out quite as planned.

On the 3rd I rode my trainer for an hour and was going to lift weights afterwards. When I got off the trainer I had a tightness in my lower abdomen. I picked up the weights and thought 'not today'. I retired to the couch to watch TV and play with the computer. During the next few hours my stomach started to feel more tender. I was thinking it was something I eat or just a muscle strain. I don't remember what I was watching but one of the characters had a pain and was said to have appendicitis. A light bulb went off and I said "Crap I have appendicitis!". Of course, I Googled it. Pain lower right quadrant- Yes, reduced appetite- Yes, nausea- No, vomiting- No, and a low-grade fever- No. Well 2 out of 5 and the pain wasn't really that bad anyway. So I am just going to hang out on the couch. I kept thinking of my moms appendicitis from last year and how bad it can get. And that I was home alone. At 9:30pm I went to the ER at York Hospital.

There were only a few people in the ER when I arrived. They took me in right away when I said I think I might have appendicitis. They drew blood to check if my white cell count was elevated. It was not. The next step was to have a CAT scan. I was very reluctant to have another CAT scan after having so many CAT scans just three months ago. If I was not willing to have the CAT scan the doctor all we could do was wait. I said I can wait at home. So I went home at 2am with instructions to return if the pain got worst or if any other symptoms occurred.

I crawled into bed at 2:30am. At 5:30am I woke up stuck to the ceiling like a cat, the pain was so bad. And now I was feeling nauseous. There is your second symptom. Back to the ER I go. I walk into the ER and the same doctor looks at me and says " How about that CAT scan now?" I smile and agree. Now it is time to hang out waiting for the results from the CAT scan.

Emergency room's are a great place to hang out if you really went to hear how the other half lives. The guy in the bed next to me talked non stop about his drunken lifestyle. How he had drank myself out of a job, a relationship and into homelessness. Then I realized he was talking to the guard who was escorting him. He was in handcuffs.

The test came back positive, I have appendicitis. Now what? I have a big month planned. I have a century on March 7th in San Diego. I am trying to get into shape. Am I going to be side lined for 6 weeks after an operation? Am I going to lose all the fitness I've worked for?

The surgical resident came in to explain the surgery, she told me about the nice 4 inch incision and the weeks of rest I will need. I told her about the big month I had planned and above all I was going to the Olympics. I asked if this could be done laparoscopically. Less invasive. She said the doctor on call didn't do laparoscopic surgeries. I thought for a couple minutes and told her I was going to go to my parents house and have the surgery done at her hospital. I might as well said I was going to do the surgery myself. She told me not to go anywhere.

She came back an hour later and told me she found a surgeon to do the surgery laparoscopically. Dr. Scott came in and said he had heard I had big things coming up. I said I sure did. He said no problem with going to the Olympics and the century should be a go. I liked this guy.

I had the surgery at 3pm on the 4th. The surgery was suppose to be one hour, three and half hours later I was in recovery. Dr. Scott told me my appendix was a lot worst then first thought. He said I probable had it for two weeks or more. Wow. I guess I didn't have gas the week before.

I spent the night in the hospital and was leased before the big snow at 3pm on the 5th. My parents came out to take me home and to hang out with me for a few days. We got well over 2 feet of snow over night. Sadly I was not allowed to go outside to shovel snow. I love to shovel snow. If I would have made a move toward the door I believe my parents would have tackled me. Despite having surgery I was feeling pretty darn good. The only thing keeping me from feeling great was the plastic tube sticking out of my stomach with a vacuum bulb hanging from the end that I have to drain every four hours. So we just hung out for the weekend watching the snow.

On Monday I had my post-surgery doctors appointment. I finally got this dam tube removed. When he pulled the tube out the doctor told me to take a deep breath and exhale. He pulled out a tube that I thought was all the down to my toes. It was at least a foot long. I asked about my planned trips. He hold me to do whatever I felt good doing. And don't lift over 30 pounds. Wow. Cool! Open hall pass.

As you may know, I don't sit well. during the first week I x-c skied twice, went snow shoeing twice and shoveled my driveway. The second week I took two yoga classes, telemark skied, riding my trainer twice and gone to the Olympics. Now I am back into the full swing of things, riding, lifting, working, whatever I feel like doing. I leave for San Diego tomorrow for a 101 mile bike ride. All is good.