Iatros

I basically feel fine at this point, can eat most anything, and can get around doing my activities of daily living without any problems. Some days, I kinda even forget I have it. I still get annoyed at the same shit I did before. Like inattentive drivers, for example. I still want to try to live my life. I have a very real shot at living 10+ years after my diagnosis.

The one thing that frustrates me still is that my anemia/low blood count hasn't gotten better. It really limits my ability to exercise. 4 flights of stairs and I'm huffin and puffin. Before this, I could run 3-4 miles straight with an average time around 8 minutes per mile. Now I can run 0.3 miles before I have to stop and walk, and going 1 mile takes me about 12 minutes.

But I look fine to the outside observer. So people just think I'm an out of shape sack of shit, haha.

Yeah, no problems there since about a month out from surgery. You really wanna get into the weird questions, eh? Let's do it.

Erections were painful for a while after surgery. For about 2 weeks after the surgery, I basically didn't think about sex or anything remotely related to it. When my sex drive started working again, finally, it really hurt. It took a couple days of trying to do it more and more until it stopped hurting.

I think it was painful from not being utilized for 2-3 weeks. So, guys, let this be a lesson to you. Use it or lose it.

1. Well, I had made a post with a lot of the imaging part already taken care of in /r/medicine earlier in the week, so that part was done. I basically then just took the original post, and one of my comments from the original thread and put them together. I guess in total, and to finally answer your question, 4-5 hours.

2. I don't know. I think I have an at least somewhat entertaining writing style. I really have no idea how interested or disinterested people will be with my story. I hope people read it, but I'm doing it for myself, most of all. Writing helps me express my feelings and organize my thoughts.

While I most certainly thank you for your kind words, I do want to make one thing clear for people.

I'm not particularly brave. People keep calling me that, though. I don't get it. I'm just doing the only thing that gives me a chance in hell of living more than a year or two.

And, plenty of people with benign disease like Crohn's or MS are equally brave for dealing with their illness. Disease sucks. I want to wipe it out. Hence, doctor.

But anyone with the capacity for rational thought would do the same thing, if in my shoes.

Living in the moment is definitely learned skill. One big aspect of it is to stop thinking about how great things will be in the future. I used to do that too, say things like, "I'll be happy when [whatever]." Stop. Think about what's happening now, right in front of your face. Live in the now. I've tried to do that, and it has made my day to day life richer.

1. Scuba diving is fucking awesome. It's like an adventure where you get the chance to meditate for 45 minutes to an hour underwater while looking as some of the most beautiful sights earth has to offer. If you've ever been curious about it but have never tried it, you should. It's really cool.
2. She was one of the x-ray techs in the radiology department. I had a huge crush on her for a long time. But I planned on doing precisely 0 about it. I didn't know if she was interested, and I didn't want to be labeled as "that weird resident who asked me out. Eww." But, finally, one of our mutual friends stopped me one day and asked me why I hadn't asked her out. I told her just what I said. She told me that my now-wife was "really interested" too, and so the next day I asked her out. I knew we'd get married on our first date. We're jig-saw pieces that fit together perfectly.