Good Luck Sky,
I have confidence your surgery will go very well.
You will be a sore man afterward, but the docs & nurses want you to be comfortable.
Use the morphine pump button! Do not be uncomfortable.
Once you can get up and walk, do laps around the ward, as much as you can tolerate.
Go visit other people on the ward, bug...I mean charm the nurses....
The worst part was the tube in the nose, draining the stomach.
This is a small suction to drain the stomach and keep anything from going into the intestines.
If you can sweet talk the nurses, after a few days...which I am sure you can....they may give you some small ice chips to suck on. Let them melt and then spit out the water.
The nose tube lasted about 6 days, and then I could have some minor amounts of liquids....like 2 ounces of coffee. some juice and soda, broth etc.
Nobody leaves any hospital until they've had a first bowel movement, after the surgery.
Anesthesia will put your bowels to sleep for days, and they won't feed you until those wake up again.
And walking helps wake them up. So take a lap around the ward every couple of hours, if you can.
Not to scare you, my 'innerds' held out for 9 days before waking up!
Mine was far longer than average....but I'm not your average!
My hospital had a 24/7 kitchen staff...I had nice hot french fires at 2AM!
And chocolate milk & a two cookies, for breakfast!
Then I got a regular diet ad meals....and they let food be brought in....so order up your favorite!
Anyway pilot, it is a major surgery...but very survivable, as we are evidence of, in here.
Be the happy guy on the ward....there will be lots of real complainers. So I can only suggest you make it pleasant for your wife and the staff.
If you're a pilot...you have to have a good sense of humor.
I wish you luck this weekend, we'll be rooting for you ...except when the Packers are Sunday at Noon.
We get to beat the Bears.
Be strong and as a 5 yr survivor, there is a good future ahead.
PS: Come to the EAA Oshkosh Airshow next summer and we'll get into trouble.javascript:void(0);
Joe