Cleared for takeoff - pretty much

I just got back from the appointment with my surgeon. That all went very well - except for the part when he peeled off the bandages with no warning. I guess warning wouldn't have helped. The hernia sites are looking good. They also removed a skin keratosis and the tests from that showed that it was nothing to worry about. I have now traded two odd belly bumps and a small ugly skin patch for three bright red incisions. Neither of those options is particularly attractive. The swelling around the incisions should go away over time. That's something to look forward to.

I'm supposed to be off work through next week while I do stretching and light exercise. I'm allowed to drive but have to be careful that I don't hit anything and cause the seat belt to yank at my incisions. So far in my life I have been pretty good about not hitting things with the car and I'll try to keep that up. I can't do heavy lifting or anything really strenuous for the next eight weeks. After that I should be able to consider myself done with this.

I will be able to do some work related stuff from home which will keep me from getting too far behind and from going insane with boredom.

There was one other interesting piece of info from today. I had been having pains in my right side for some time and had attributed this to recovery from that lung surgery last year. I noticed this week that they had stopped. It turns out that the pains were very likely caused by the hernias instead. They usually hit me at work in the afternoon after having been at a desk for a long time. I'll test the hernia theory when I return to work. I hope they don't come back. They made for some long and difficult afternoons.