Not dead--in fact, getting better

This hurt a lot less than the last one. In fact, if I didn't have a minor chest cold, I'd actually say that I'm doing okay. However, I do have a minor chest cold, and I cough every half-hour or so, and that hurts like bejeezus.

Because of the chest cold, the doctors and I agreed to go with local anaesthesia and sedatives, which I suspect means that I babbled like a sillyhead during the operation. As with the last time, the painkillers started to wear off before I was completely sewn up, which felt remarkably like someone driving staples into me. But, again, not that bad. (Have I mentioned that I have a high pain threshold? I seem to. I don't like it--in Charles Schulz's famous words, "Pain hurts!"--but I can put up with a lot of it.) Recovery was pretty fast--I was in the recovery room for only 45 minutes--and I was out the door of the hospital about two-and-a-half hours after entering the operating room.

I spent most of the afternoon asleep because of a combination of painkillers and sheer sleep deprivation, but I've been up for the last few hours reading blogs and newsgroups and mailing lists. Various family members called to see how I was doing. Now I'm going to take some more painkillers and go to bed, which I suspect is a clause I'll have a chance to reuse repeatedly over the next few days.

Thanks to everyone who sent me good wishes.