Here is what was learned overnight about the breaking story at the Cardiac Hotel.

1. A hot shower is one of the most unappreciated luxuries in our lives. My first one post op last night was an almost spiritual experience.
2. In medicine trying to solve one problem frequently creates another. In this case the result was “thrush” which I don’t think I’ve had in 25 years.
3. It is a strange experience to look at a damaged body part and have trouble believing it is part of you. My left hand/arm is so swollen it looks like a cheap prosthetic from a B movie. Hopefully the swelling will come down quickly. For scale my Dr thinks there is at least two kilos of fluid in there as part of the bruising. [breaking news] – they now wrapped it a Coban compression bandage to squeeze the fluid out. We’ve gone from Chainsaw Massacre 10 to Thriller 2 just like that!
4. I don’t do narcotics well. My dreams last night rank 11/10 on intensity of color, sensation, and other tactile scales. I mean, feeling myself flying through tropical water on my back (think of me as the jet ski) and feeling the warmth of the water, the pressure as I cut through it, the sparkle of the sunshine off all the spray, the freedom of motion, etc. was magnificent! Sadly, the plot was a 3/10 and only reached even that high from an absurd humor angle. Come on – running away from modern day pirates??? What a wasted opportunity! Fortunately the pounding in my heart in the dream did not transfer into real life as my ECG was normal. Third strike – you’re out! No more narc pain meds…
5. Hospital pajamas with weak waistband elastic fall down unexpectedly when you pin a remote heart monitor to them. Just sayin’

Predicting my return home in the next two days…

Next up: More learned overnight