Good news, everyone!
I met with my surgeon yesterday for a follow-up appointment to my surgery and things went very well. My wound/scar is healing nicely and will improve in appearance as time goes on. I was also given the go-ahead to eat things that I've had to avoid for over a year now. To celebrate this occassion my grandparents took me to dinner at my favorite seafood restaurant and I devoured grilled shrimp, french fries, and a piece of (real) bread! I have not had shrimp or bread in over a year, so as you can imagine it was an amazing meal. It's like tasting my favorite foods again for the first time. So far everything is settling and digesting nicely. Here's hoping this is just the beginning of a successful reintegration of forbidden foods. Next week: red meat.
As for the incision pains I've been having lately, I'm told those will last for up to a year and that on days they are too much to deal with I should stay home and rest. Sounds about like what I do anyways when it comes to sick days: I go and do on the good days and stay in bed on the bad days. I'll need to schedule a follow-up appointment with my gastrointerologist to bring him up to date on my progress, but I don't expect anything much to change as a result of that appointment.
Now that I can eat pretty much what I want within reason, I have some big plans. Some things are still totally off limits, such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and dairy products. However I am anticipating cooking my own hamburgers, baked ziti, barbecue cups, pizza, hot pockets, and other things I used to devour before all this poor health settled in on me. It's been over a year since I've eaten some of these things, so you can imagine how much I'm looking forward to being able to cook and eat them.
I've said it before in a past daylog, but I'll say it again here: do what you love doing as much as you can. I spent the past five months in bed; my hobbies, activities, job, classes, and favorite foods were lost and postponed due to illness. I say to you: go out there and enjoy yourself. Get your friends together and go have fun. Excel at a job you love. Throw yourself into your favorite studies. Cook an elaborate and tasty meal. You never know when you won't be able to do those things again for a while.
And now, if you'll excuse me, it's time to reclaim my meals.