Flying is learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. ~ Douglas Adams

The number 42 finds constant and cosmic significance in my life. Why is this meaningful? Well, in Douglas Adams’ masterpiece of a book, The Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, 42 is the answer to meaning of life, the universe and everything. It’s just that we’ve forgotten the question. I love that concept more than I can explain and that’s the least weird thing in that book or the five that follow. Now is 42 actually significant? Who knows, like most numerology type things we put a lot of the meaning we want into the number, make it significant, notice it more often and then claim those occurrences as divine.

So let’s do a little bit of that tonight as I try and float through the hardest hours of my recovery days. You see I start out great, wake up, after varying levels of sleep, I knew this first week home would really suck on that front. And I do great up until about 5 PM and then I sunset like an Alzheimer’s patient. I typically end up napping for an hour, then I’m just groggy as shit, uncomfortable and incredibly restless until I finally give up and watch something and try to find ways to get comfortable and sleep. It’s a huge work in progress, lots of tweaking pillows and chair angles. If I get a three hour block in my camping chair I’m happy. Then I fumble around the apartment and try the couch. Last night for the first time I slept to my 8:30AM alarm. So I actually slept from 4:30 to 8:30 a new personal best since returning home. The added issue is that I usually wake up to an achy joint, a stiff muscle or joint from being in an odd position. Happily it’s been about comfort and not due to any real pain, I’m actually only taking Tylenol at this point and not even the maximum dosage.

It takes six to eight weeks for your sternum to heal after the surgery. So taking the midpoint is seven weeks, that’s right, 42 days. So that’s the countdown I’m on for my first major healing milestone. At seven weeks I absolutely will be healed enough, barring any complications, to be back to my normal sleeping routines. My initial plan was 1-2 weeks in the camping chair, then to the couch and hopefully week 4-5 back in my own bed. The good news is that I’m ahead of schedule, the bad news I’m not sure that holds up for my plans to return to my very comfortable bed.

So tonight I’m creating a little countdown of 42 days from my surgery date. So June 25th is my goal date to be back to semi-normal.

The really hard part in this is going to be patience. While I’m plenty busy everyday, the fact that I have to do everything deliberately and slowly, as well as my wonderful visits eat up the hours. The days are long and slow and I won’t overdue things or rush but seven weeks of patience will certainly be a test. May Douglas Adams’ ghost guide me.

I hope you’re having a happy day my friends. ~ Rev Kane