1/21 Thursday update from Joe and Gay

[Gay Haldeman]

Here's part of Joe's blog post:  Went to the VA doctor yesterday  
morning, and it was all good news. My wounds are recovering well and  
clinical tests have come out good -- mainly the lack of pancreatic  
enzymes, indicating the pancreas has healed well. But I also "don't  
look sick," which means a lot to him. I did look sick a couple of  
weeks ago.

He said it would be possible to schedule the surgery to reattach my  
ileum and colon as early as March, though he would advise waiting  
longer. It's a serious operation, and the stronger I am, the smaller  
probability of complications.
  The recovery period will be long. Some patients grow so tired of  
the ileostomy bag that they want the surgery as soon as possible. It  
was my decision.

Well, the factors going into my decision are complicated. I do not  
like the ileostomy bag at all, the inconvenience and potential for  
social disaster. The feeling of being a handicapped cyborg.

But March surgery would interfere with both the International  
Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts and the Nebula Awards. He  
suggested July, but we'll be going to Europe then, and the one  
inflexible date is the Hemingway conference in Lausanne at the  
beginning of July. August is out because we're going to Australia,  
and will be going straight to MIT after that. I could have the  
surgery done in Boston, but it would screw up the teaching schedule.  
So it looks like next January.

By then I will have given the damned bag a name and be drawing funny  
faces on it. But I would be completely recovered from the current  
surgery and have an unencumbered recovery period for the next.

So it looks like next January, with this April as a possibility if I  
grow impatient.
  But in spite of his optimism I do feel scarily weak, and don't know  
that five or six weeks will get me up to par.  Joe

PS from Gay:  He's now off the antibiotics and we're watching for any  
problems from that.  All the travel he mentions is entirely  
tentative.  Right now he couldn't do it and we're taking no chances.   
He's eating well but not gaining much weight, though the doctor says  
he isn't undernourished.  As far as I'm concerned, no optional  
surgery until he's completely back to normal.

Thanks again for all your support and concern.  Love, Gay
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