Monday 21 April 2008

The state of my health

If you're not interested or maybe a bit squeamish then stop reading now!

Mentally
I believe that I'm now fully recovered from the effects of the anaesthetic. I was astounded at how long it took for this to wear off -- nearly four months -- and can only appreciate how unwell I was now that I'm no longer in that state (if that makes any senses).

Physically
This is the tricky one. The graft (actually three pieces of plastic not one) which replaced parts of the femoral arteries at the groin and the bottom of the aorta have worked wonders. I have a good blood supply to both legs and can walk and stand with ease. Brilliant.
The not so good bit is that when the clips came out of the wound in the left groin part of the lymphatic system was damaged and is leaking into the leg tissue. One leg is normal size the other looks like a tree trunk! One consequence is that I'm still not allowed to drive which prohibition is going to last at least until December when I have my next checkup.
The other consequence is that sitting at the computer is still my least comfortable position and I have to keep getting up and moving around -- think about a tennis ball in the groin when you sit and you'll get some idea! Further consequence of this is that blog posts are relatively easy to write in half-hour stretches and editing documents is not too difficult but writing anything which requires uninterrupted thought over a longer period is nigh-on impossible.

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