As Jonathan wrote in his blog post earlier today, his recovery is going well. His surgeon, Dr Liu, visited yesterday to touch base. Dr Liu examined the incision and the ostomy bag and reported that everything looks fine so far. The bloodwork and other test results look good. So that’s encouraging.

While the first 24 hours after surgery were a little challenging, Jonathan is doing much better today. His fever is gone, he’s no longer connected to the IV, and he’s graduated from a liquid diet to a low fiber diet which includes solid foods. He also slept much better last night and woke up feeling energized today.

Yesterday we also got to meet Jonathan’s physical therapist. She showed Jonathan how to sit up using a “log roll” motion which avoids putting pressure on the incision. He walked around the floor of the medical wing twice using a walker. The physical therapist showed Jonathan stretches to help ease the pain in his calf.

His calf remains sore but is better today. How did Jonathan end up with a painfully sore calf after a surgery on his rectum, you might ask? The medical staff believe it is due to how he was positioned during the procedure. After running some tests, they believe it’s essentially a really bad charlie horse.

Today was a relatively quiet one. His roommate was discharged yesterday so Jonathan had the room to himself and got to look out the window. He’s enjoyed a few visits from family and friends and a special flower delivery. He’s gone on more walks around the floor and listened to an audiobook. He’s getting used to the reality of having an ostomy bag and beginning to learn how to care for it.

Tomorrow is a big day. We are expecting visits from the surgeon, the ostomy team, the urologist and the physical therapist. These folks will all assess Jonathan’s progress and ensure he is ready to handle life at home. Once they give the all-clear, then he will be ready for discharge.

So… fingers crossed he’ll get to come home soon!

Thank you all for the well wishes, love and support.