Hello!
It’s great to be back following my time in hospital and getting through the first stages of my recovery. Thank you to everyone who has shown their support by way of visits, cards, presents, messages of support etc. over the last two and a half weeks – it’s been great to see so many of you, and people are still welcome to come and visit.
It has been a hard few weeks with a lot of pain, discomfort, tears and frustration but little by little, day by day things are getting a bit better – the visits in particular have been the highlight of many otherwise frustrating days!
I am still quite swollen and in a bit of pain and discomfort following the surgery, but it is improving each day. I am also struggling with the puree diet which allows me to consume little more than half a teaspoon of pureed food at a time, but each week I manage a little bit more food and the tears associated with mealtimes frustrations are gone now as I have got used to this new method of eating which is going to hang around for a while. It is time consuming, particularly once you add in the cares that need to be done afterwards, but that is all part of it and is essential to get the best outcome in the long run – the whole short term pain for long term gain mantra!
Speaking is also a greater challenge than normal but by utilising a speed-accuracy trade-off, it is becoming more intelligible by the day.
A number of people have become a little bit frustrated with me lately and my lengthy recovery, with one person recalling a time they got their appendix out and were not still recovering three weeks later. I cannot possibly expect people to fully understand what a given procedure is like without experiencing it for themselves but it is important to note that this is the most major procedure that I have gone through to date (and I’ve been through a fair few major procedures), and it is going to take time to return to normal (up to a year for some things). No-one wants me to be back to normal faster than I do – as soon as I feel ready, I will do what it is you are expecting of me – in the meantime, please just be patient – I have to be too!
I have been playing this song by Blue October a lot lately, particularly at the times when it feels so frustrating and that things won’t go better – life is like a jump rope, full of ups and downs – some times will be hard, but here’s hoping that the rope is on its way back up now, so whenever you feel like life is getting you down, have a listen to this track to help you put things into perspective! And the album title ‘Approaching Normal’ seems rather fitting right now too!
Some people have also asked about photos – these will be coming in due course but in the meantime, why not come and see me for yourself? 🙂
Kenny Ardouin 
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