Spoke To Soon...

I was able to enjoy approximately 36 hours of my own bed after being discharged before I was rushed back into the emergency department. My concerns about being discharged so soon after surgery were confirmed. After the pain was addressed the doctor on duty wanted to check my wounds for infection. After looking at them he told me that one of the wounds was very unusual, this was a bit alarming so I asked him which one and what was wrong with it. He pointed to my navel piercing (there was no jewellery in it at the time) which I have had for about 10 years and had long since healed. When I told him what it was he did not seem at all phased and left without saying anything.

This marked the beginning of another on/off stretch in hospital. It was during this time that I contracted several different illnesses simply from being in hospital; firstly a (not so) super bug which was gastro hell, then the flu, topped off finally with an eye infection. Needless to say I was frothing at the idea of being outta that joint for good! I had had A-semester off university for obvious reasons and I was really keen to try and get back to study if my health improved. I hoped and prayed like crazy that I would soon feel the benefits of the surgery. Thankfully about 2 months after the operation I was, for the first time in 6.5 months, feeling okay. I wasn’t feeling great and I wasn’t pain free but I was able to enrol in B-semester and carry on with my studies at a local campus affiliated with my university.

Much to my delight, the academic part of my brain seemed to have come through the hospital experience relatively unscathed. After spending 6 months either lying or sitting down doing sweet fanny all it was quite enjoyable to be interacting with my class mates and learning new things. Life was looking cheery, I was getting good marks, I was getting over a no-good relationship, I had good family & friends around me and if I squinted and stared out into the distance I could almost see a hint of happiness on the horizon.