Totally (Un)Tubular Today...

Folks -

Things were totally tubular today at NYU, as I was de-tubed from my T-tube.

It was pretty much all over before I knew it - and as ever - the worst parts were the pulling of Band-Aids off my hairy skin and the pinch of the IV connection for precautionary antibiotics.

The actual procedure (technically a cholangiogram) took about 30 minutes - they injected contrasting dye into my abdomen and, using x-ray technology, searched for any stray bile. Everything went smoothly and the T-tube (running from an exit hole in my abdomen down into the bile duct of my new liver) was removed, with a short, sharp tug. A temporary wire was put in its place to facilitate the implantation of a new T-Tube, if I developed complications.

After the de-tubing, I rested on a gurney in an alcove, chatting with Nancy while Dr. Sohail Contractor and nurses popped in frequently to see if I was experiencing any pain. But I didn't suffer any problems with tube withdrawal, so after about an hour I was made wireless, cut loose and free to go.

After suggesting I take it easy for the rest of the day, the doctor told me I am ''free to do whatever it is I do.''

First thing on the to-do list: EAT.
Because of the procedure, I was barred from eating after midnight Sunday. Since it had been 17 hours since I had something other than water, even hospital cafeteria food hit the spot.

Actually, what I have been doing a lot of these days is thinking about and praying for friends that are facing their own medical issues.

We spent Saturday celebrating friend Hannah's 4th birthday at Chuck E. Cheese's - amid a cacophony of video beeps, shrieking kids on pizza and cake overload and performing animatronic rodents - while praying for Hannah's hospitalized grandmother. Sara, who will soon be 7 and is facing medical maladies far beyond her years, and Michael, a fellow NYU liver transplant ward grad who's dealing with some setbacks, are at the forefront of our thoughts.

My thought for the day calendar carries two entries today:
"Life must be measured by thought and action, not by time."
- Sir John Lubbock

and the anonymous prayer:
"How hard this is to do, Lord. Help me move outside of time, and daily carry Your hope to those You put into my path. Amen."

Spring is less than a week away...and hope springs eternal.