Major Gains

I'm getting into deeper and more challenging consulting engagements. In the last few months, I've worked with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, HP, Cisco, BT and Emulex. As I get healthier I am available to get into more complex issues. The issues are absorbing and the challenges of balancing work with health care and family life are greater.

I'm happy to have those challenges to wrestle with. A year ago, I was focused on getting well enough to undergo major surgery that was loaded with risks. It's taken a year to feel like I'm getting back to normal.

I still have to be careful. Eating is getting easier. I know better what I can eat and what I can't. Each person is unique and has to learn from experience. I have at least two more dilation procedures scheduled. Getting at least four dilation procedures following this surgery seems about standard from what I read on other patient blogs.

We have figured out that I can't wait for scar tissue to close the esophagus passage before I schedule a procedure. I need to anticipate and schedule the procedure before it gets closed off. You would think that someone in the medical profession would explain about the fact that scar tissue is going to cause problems following Ivor Lewis surgery. An intern said something about "opening up the passage if it became clogged". It would have been much better if a surgeon had said, prior to and after surgery, that scar tissue would very likely form and need to be dilated several times before it stopped growing in a year or two. The procedure consumes a day and is not painful or uncomfortable in any way. That expectation would have saved me months of discomfort.

I'm getting steadily stronger week by week. I can really feel the gains on the golf course and in the gym. I climbed three flights of stairs fairly quickly with a client yesterday and was not out of breath as I would have been three months ago. I walked nine holes a week ago for the first time and felt fine afterward.

I'm getting there!