Two weeks have now passed since that minor elective surgery took place where I had a cyst on my stomach wall removed and it will no longer be a nuisance in episodic events of infection, causing me to have to be put on antibiotic medication until it once again subsided. Over a period of some fifteen years there were about six infection events, and each one was different, annoying, inconvenient, painful.

I'm still experiencing annoyance, inconvenience and pain. But at least it will be limited in time. I dare hope.

Jackie on my left, Jillie below on my right

The dressing was to be removed, according to the surgeon, four days post-surgery, and this was done. Since the surgery the wound has never stopped bleeding, albeit not heavily. From time to time I've tried to put a bandage over the wound, but then had to suffer excruciating discomfort removing it after showers, even though I've used non-stick bandages of a size adequate to the task.

More often I've gone without anything over it, and I've had to wash my underclothing free of blood, not discard bandages. It's annoying when I try to bend, because that presses on the wound. At first the stitches were a problem since their ends would 'catch' and cause extreme discomfort. Now it's just the wound itself. The area around the wound is heavily bruised, discoloured purple, grey and black; extremely sensitive to touch.

I'm still not recovered in a sense that either the anaesthetic or the trauma of the surgery has caused a bowel blockage that doesn't seem agreeable to surrendering to a need to evacuate normally.

I haven't had to suspend any of my activities and I'm grateful for that. Our daily ravine hikes in the woods across from our house continue and have become less problematical as the wound heals. But it certainly is taking its time.