Day 7 was really really dull. My parents came to visit and I got a call from Beth, my friend who teaches at the local high school and runs the queer group. It was nice to hear from her, especially when I was so bored. Aside from that, the day was uneventful.

Monday finally came. I was so excited. I woke up around 7:00 or so. The nurses informed me that the doctor is usually there fairly early in the morning. So, I was patient and waited. Eventually I decided I was sick of waiting and ordered breakfast. That came, I ate a little of it, and continued waiting. The nurses were surprised he didn't come yet. Usually he's not that late. But, we also figured out that he was about to go on vacation and had no new patients. So he eventually showed up around noon.

Before he actually came in the room, the nurse removed the water from the catheter bubble. The inflated bubble is what holds the catheter in securely. So, after she did that, there was some major discomfort from the tube that was now freely sitting in my urethra. Finally Dr. Schrang came in. Instead of removing the catheter right away, he decided to take off the tape that was holding my boobs in place. It was like a corset, only made out of duct tape. The thing is..."took off" is not the phrasing for it. "Ripped off" is a better choice. It hurt like hell. After that he took the catheter out and the drains and removed the big gauze roll. All I can say is that my eyes were wide throughout this entire process. The only thing that I remember that sticks out in my mind is Dr. Schrang saying "If you can't control your bladder, we'll put a temporary catheter back in." I just thought to myself "I'll be able to pee....no matter what". Turns out, I had no problem with controlling my bladder. No more bedpan for me.

Anyway, after that, they got me out of bed. It was slow going getting up, and it was astonishing how much stronger gravity felt than it used to. I was able to walk about half way down the hall before I was too tired to go any further. I turned around, and pretty much passed out for an hour or so. Finally I had the energy again to try to walk again. This time I walked all the way down the hallway. I sat and looked at the helicopter for a while. Amazingly, just sitting was tiring. After about 15 minutes, someone came to check on me. I was practically asleep in the chair. So we went back to the room and I took a nap.

After the nap, I felt up to taking a shower. So I did. It was probably the most exhausting shower I've ever taken. I washed my hair three times. By the time I finished, I didn't have the energy to dry off. I had to sit there on a chair and try to slowly dry myself off and get dressed. Eventually I made it back to my room and again passed out for a while. A while later, I had dinner and just felt so energetic. The rest of the night I spent walking around the hospital. I felt great. When my parents came, they were amazed. I also got to visit the girl that was down the hall. Her name is Kate. She was a little older than me, but very down to earth. She seemed very cool. We talked for a little while. It was good to get away from my roommate. I also talked with my two cool nurses that night, Melissa and Anna. Anna gave me twizzlers. That was great.

I slept pretty well that night. I was still excited for going home the next day. Up to that point, everyone has said my results are great. There's no visible bruising, which is rare. That made me happy. I was just looking forward to when my strength is back and I'm healed. The pain hadn't been bad, but it would still be nice when the pain is gone for good. Almost time to go home...

Luv,

Jess