The Time Machine: April 18, 2006

I spend a lot of my blog space rambling about current work stuff, travel, sports, and life in general, but I don't share a ton about the past. I'm in a reflective mood (not sure if reflective is actually a mood or an adjective for a running jacket), so I figured I'd write about the happenings of five years ago this coming monday.

The morning of my surgery was a scary one. For months I had been battling a pretty severe 'flare up' of Crohn's Disease that had me in and out of the hospital, on and off crazy treatment plans (including both eastern and western varieties), out of school, and feeling like shit. My weight pre-surgery was 112 pounds and my complexion was a shade of grey--not exactly what I pictured myself to look like at 29 years old. I had been diagnosed with my gut 'issues' at age 12 so hospitals were nothing new, but this was by far the worst I had felt. On top of the physical ailment, my illness took its toll on my outlook, optimism, and spirit for living.

And although I was confident my current health issues would be resolved with the surgery, I was freaking out about the future. I was to have my intestine removed, with the very real possibility that I'd never make a #2 like most folks for a very long time (if not indefinitely). Its not as if I enjoyed it that much (pooping), it just felt so awkward to know that I would be physically different in some way from other folks. Although when ill I was tethered to a toilet, I was also an athlete, a handsome guy, and very fit, and I felt as if Delta Whiskey as I knew him (or thought I knew him) would never return once my colon was removed.

I have some faded memories of saying good bye to my girlfriend (at the time) and my mom, before I was wheeled down the hall to the operating room with my dad at my side. He couldn't come in to the pre-op prep area, but walked with us until the doors; when I gave him a hug and entered the trusting hands of an operating room team of nurses, doctors, and other folks. The anesthesiologist gave me something he called a "pre flight cocktail" which probably helped ease my nerves and I have vague memories of rock music in the operating room. (Side note: if hospitals wanted to give patients a unique experience they should give 'em the choice of what to listen to before they get conked out. Its a minor thing, but might help ease some nerves and give the patient some "control" before people start cutting them open...this would also make for an interesting itunes "essentials" category for "Pre-Surgery")

I woke up sometime later that day and have very little recollection of the next week. My dad warned me how exhausted and spent I'd feel after the anesthesia wore off, but I was probably zonked for most of the first few days after surgery. Gradually I got used to the new "apparatus" located a few inches to the right and below my belly button. Slowly I regained an appetite, and after a week or so I was sent home from the hospital to adjust to my new life.

My family was amazing; all of my siblings made their way out during some stage of my surgery and/or recovery, and although we were 2,000 miles from Chicago it was great to have familiar faces encourage me, feed me, help me, and make me smile. But eventually they returned to Chicago, and shortly after their departure I began to feel like ass. I was lethargic, had an intense pain in my shoulder, and wet the bed with sweat on a nightly basis.

My girlfriend and I made our way to a party of some grad school friends (my first public activity), and all night I felt off. We went to bed, only to find the sheets covered in green slime that made its way out of my incision. It turns out my abdomen was chock full of post-op infections, and one of the abscesses below my scar had enough and wanted OUT. The weeks to follow were painful, as interventional radiologists, surgeons, and gastroenterologists worked to rid my body of these infections by any means necessary. It was not pleasant; as many of these masses had to be drained--which meant stents were stuck into my abdomen and chest to collect the crap from inside my body. The original surgery sucked, but this REALLY sucked!

Things finally stabilized and I began returning to some of the more 'normal' daily activities. I could stuff my face with all sorts of high calorie foods (Dick's Burgers!), could make it around the block without a rest, and could travel. I returned to Chicago to see family and friends for a buddy's wedding (Sierra Echo), and it was the first time most of my friends had seen me since the drama of the previous winter. Shortly after Chicago, I headed to DC for a short vacation and returned to Seattle feeling as if my health was beginning to stabilize.

I picked up a golf club, hopped on the bike, did a little running, and began to get back to being myself. Plans for returning to school fell into place, and I had the summer in Seattle to get my health back and reflect on everything that took place. I may have been a bit eager to get back to many of those activities; and eventually developed a hernia in my abdomen that would need surgery to be repaired. The ongoing discomfort became really uncomfortable so I returned to the hospital a few months for my surgery, only to have a sponge "left behind" following the procedure.

Needless to say, I was a tad frustrated with my experience in our health care system as I experienced all of the delays, mistakes, communication gaps, unclear instructions, horse-sh*t billing practices, and nonsense that patients live with every day in our nation's health care system. Gradually I began to turn some of that energy into a desire to make health care better; which may be part of why I like my profession and the curriculum in school.

But beyond the professional focus the experience provided, I learned a lot about myself, those around me, and my ability to adapt to change. There's a cheesy saying to the effect of, "its always darkest before sunrise" and the metaphor is probably a good description of the events before, during, and after that surgery 5 years ago. Today I'm a different man in many ways--I've learned how to enjoy life, love another person, participate in activities (some which I thought there was never a chance), and feel comfortable in my own skin. All of that nonsense also gave me some much-needed perspective on what really is important in life--health, family, smiling, and giving.

Reflections after 78 Games (not a basketball column)

I sit here on Romeo Sierra's couch (she's been on the road all week), with Annie at my side while we watch the bulls put the wraps on win # 59 this year. And while I realize I haven't been a regular contributor I figured it would be a nice time to hop on y ole' blog and take it for a spin. Besides, I don't have a computer to blog on and Romeo has a fancy schmancy mac.

Before I go any further, I need to give Romeo a shout out for the SINGLE GREATEST prediction of the NBA season. As my loyal readers recall, I began the NBA season with a "season preview" column, which included predictions from a number of family members and friends on the upcoming season. If you'd like to go back to read these predictions click here. But before you do, I swear on my life I have not altered the original article....I'll wait for you to go and check.

....go ahead....

....can you believe that?!?! The only one to pick Derrick Rose to be the league's MVP! I'm proud of her for believing in him, even when my cynical mind wouldn't entertain the idea at the start of the season. Once it became clear D-Rose would be the MVP I started bragging on her behalf, although she takes it in stride (just like D-Rose does) and doesn't really seem as interested in the bulls as I am. Maybe she's just waiting until the playoffs to get dialed in on all things bulls.

Needless to say, the next few months are going to be a fun ride; I'm not going to spend my entire column talking sports..

For starters, its been a nutty winter. The last time I posted ways sometime around the first of the year and the pace of life has been quick. My work occupies much of my time (and unfortunately much of my energy), and I am challenged in ways I've never been challenged before. The work gives me flexibility in terms of how I spend my time (to some degree) and my job is essentially to help a Laboratory deliver on time, accurate results for patients (really their doctors) in hospitals and outpatient settings. I've learned a ton about a slice of healthcare that gets far too little visibility for the importance of the work. Think about it: although your doctor may suspect you have a suspicious mole, its the lab that confirms if its suspicious or not. And in order for us to deliver that result, your doctor needs to obtain a specimen, which gets stored into a container, that gets picked up by a guy/gal in a car with a cooler, who hands that specimen off to a receiver who accepts that specimen, then prepares the specimen for testing, then tests it which produces a result, which then gets sent (mostly electronically) back to your doctor. Unless its a real bad mole that the pathologist is worried about, then we call your doctor directly to let them know it doesn't look good. And yes, that summary is extremely oversimplified and doesn't clearly describe what I see when I observe the work being done.

So its pretty serious work...the results we deliver can change the course of someone's life in both good (pregnancy) and bad (cancer) ways. And my job is to help this laboratory deliver accurate, timely results so that you don't spend any time sicker than you need to be (or worrying about if there's something wrong). Given the variety of work my laboratory does, and the service area it covers, I'm a busy guy! Back in March I facilitated a week-long workshop at one of our hospitals, during which I helped a team of people who draw your blood, test your blood, and nurses to figure out ways to ensure your doctor (and nurse) have your results when they come to the hospital to see you in the morning. There's no 'hard data' to know if docs need the results as early as we've been asked to deliver it, but my job is to help teams solve problems like this--not so much to figure out which problems need to be solved (or goals need to be achieved).

The workshop was a ton of work (try sitting in a conference room with me for a week and you'd know why), but the team walked out with a bunch of nice work that gives me reason to think we can make healthcare a better place. Their results are much better (more results in charts earlier in the day) meaning there's less likelihood a doc will make rounds without having your results in the chart. How does this help you and me as a patient? This should mean your doctor should know whats going on in your body when he or she sees you in the hospital, because she'll have results that reflect how you're doing in the morning. And don't forget those patients with surgeries and other procedures that can be delayed if current information isn't available. But perhaps more important than getting more results in to charts is the shift in thinking that I hope to stimulate among the folks who manage and complete the work needed to collect your blood. That probably sounds very pscyho-babbly, but the jist of my work is its designed to have people who do the work figure out the best way of doing their work to deliver what the customer (patient) needs. Essentially, its up to them what they want to do in order to improve how they complete their work; so its kind of a 'grass-roots' approach to becoming a better operation. If it was in a restaurant it would be the equivalent of the wait-staff figuring out easier/faster ways to set tables, clean tables, etc. But back to my work; my hope is to use this workshop to light a bit of an improvement flame throughout 8 other hospitals. Its a lot to have to "logisticate" as I like to call it, but as I have been taught (and try to practice), you can achieve your desired outcome if you thoughtfully plan your steps, adhere to those steps, and involve others in helping you get there. So that's one of several work things i'm involved with, which may sound interesting, or like a complete bore....I find the challenge rewarding, although it'd be nice to have a few soldiers to help me wage the war on waste (in all forms) and irrational thinking. That'd also help me have some better balance with other areas of my life, which include a great girlfriend, a family, friends, and summertime hobbies that range from golf to travel....

Life hasn't been nearly as dry or boring as I'm making it out to be....some recent highlights:

-romeo sierra getting an 'in person' tour of the seattle adventures of yours truly. we were out west for a wedding of a former coworker but also had a chance to see friends I hadn't seen in some time. we got excellent weather during our trip, and it was nice for me to return to a city that marked a pivotal turning point in my life. showing romeo some of the places, faces, and experiences that shaped life was a blast...there's pix out on facebook somewhere if youre curious

-my cousin delta whiskey and i saw trombone shorty here last monday. if you haven't heard him (or heard of him) do yourself a favor and watch this. he's one of the few artists I can listen to with my folks, my girlfriend, at work, or working out. and its not just him, his backup crew can bring it as well....

-there's been too many great nights at the UC to mention, but needless to say I've spent plenty of nights with my dad watching Derrick Rose and the bulls shred through the NBA. they haven't won a thing, but it has been a fun year to be a bulls fan, and I'm glad his life has slowed down so he can enjoy it (as well as many other things)

Alright, well Romeo just got back from Toronto and I gotta wrap up to walk annie anyhow. Hope all of you are enjoying life wherever you're at.....and LETS GO BULLS!!!!!!