I guess it's my Control Mode reaction, but I need to know as much as possible about what's going to happen. It probably started with all the traveling I did when I was young. As soon as we knew where we were going next, the family began reading travel books and novels set in the place, and finding people from there or who had at least passed through in order to grill them about their experiences. That's how at a very young age I knew about the canals of Holland, the escolas de samba of Rio de Janeiro, and the reforms of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in Turkey.
It's the same with medical procedures. Jerry says that I just want to know everything so that if the surgeon keels over with a heart attack in the middle of the procedure I can take over and finish up for him. Or maybe it's just that if I know what's going to happen, I have faith that that's what will happen, and everything will go right.
Google Whipple Surgery and you'll get more than you probably want to know about it. Fascinating stuff. They need to get part of the stomach, the affected part of the pancreas, the gall bladder (if it's still there; mine isn't), and part of the duodenum. Then they have to sew everything back together so there are no loose ends.
Today I was lucky enough to talk with a friend who had the Whipple at DH-Lebanon in January. She looks good and apparently feels good, though she said that she'd lost over 20 pounds and was having trouble gaining any back. She told me what to expect after the procedure (a lot of feeling fuzzy and unwilling to move around). She said that I'll be on nothing but IVs for several days, moving up to clear liquids for several more, and finally real food just before I leave the hospital. She warned that I probably won't be able to wear anything around the waist for several weeks because of the incision. She also warned about the various drains and tubes which will still be coming out of me when I come home. And more.
Just seeing her and talking with her was encouraging. Besides, now I have just a little bit more control.
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Boy Scout Mode. That's my way of looking at it. I am the same. Prepare as much as possible ahead of time. This does not eliminate the opportunity to enjoy some spontaneous side trips (on an overseas trip, for example) but at least you have visited the key places and done the main things you always wanted to do. You are probably a big list person too, then. Are you?
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