I can type!
/** Takes a word made of lower-case letters, returns a cononical form for isomorphic comparison */
String canon(String word) {
int[] src2dest = new int[255];
int next_dest = 'a';
StringBuilder canon = new StringBuilder();
for(int i=0; i
int dest = src2dest[src];
if(dest == 0) {
dest = next_dest++;
src2dest[src] = dest;
}
canon.append(dest);
}
return canon.toString();
}
I can code! :)
So last we 'talked' I was about to be wheeled down to surgery. As Sonia wrote, she managed to reach me in record time and wish me luck in person in the prep room. She's the best wife ever. (})
In the prep and the OR I met some more nurses, and I had a few minutes looking around at all the equipment in the room before they put me under. My doctor was, as always, serious. :) I don't remember going under at all. Next thing I knew I was looking at the faces of my lovely wife, my brother, and my parents in the recovery room. I quickly imagined the steps for tying my shoes, counted to five, and sang a little ditty in my head, wiggled my fingers and toes. (Can't be too sure about these things after noggin reduction surgery :). Not long after I was transferred back up to the 7th floor, west wing, room 4, the 'step down' room, with a 24-hour nurse in an office, and 3 beds filled with other post-ops. Sonia and parents come back and say hi again, having eaten, and head back home for a sleep, having been asked to let me rest. I slept a lot. A heck of a lot. 10am to 7am basically. Felt rather nice, actually. I was in this odd place just between awakeness and sleep for many of those hours, dream a bit, awake a bit, a bit more lucid dream, a bit more lucid awake.
Every few hours, as has been the routine, a nurse takes my temperature, blood pressure, asks me what my name is ("Abraham Lincoln" :) Just kidding, "Chris Thiessen") to squeeze her hands, push with my knews and toes, Where am I? (The lovely west wing of the Hamilton General Hospital on the 7th floor, in room 4) What day is it (August 16th yet? Nope, it's only 11:30pm). 2010 still? Yep.
Surprisingly, there's very little pain associated with my skull having been chopped open. Chewing's makes for a bit of soreness, but other than that I feel pretty good. The one side of my head is remarkably round right now. I mean, like basketball round. It's freaky. Apparently it will be even more swollen until 2 days after the surgery (hard to believe), and then rapidly recede. Sounds like after you exercise hard after a long lazy time, and then are sorest 2 days later. The eye on that side is crooked, so when I pry it open everything looks tilted. :)
The doctor came in this morning (still serious :) and told me that the surgery had gone well, that they couldn't be sure they'd got everything but that they'd just taken the whole right temporal lobe out (apparently better than die, for those in the know) and used a high-power microscope, and successfully tried to spare my vision. I have a CT and MRI 'scheduled' for today, meaning they could happen just about any time. After that, assuming "I'm good", I might be able to go home. I can walk straight and pee, apparently the key factors, so I figure I'll be good to go.
Time to skip to the next paragraph if you're easily grossed out. Catheters are funny. You sometimes feel like you have to pee but you never really do. Then when they get taken out you pee bubbles at the end.
The nurses around here are great. They all have good humors. Allie is like Annie from the movie, tight red curls and all, except 50 years old. Jackie is a dark-haired biker chick who cares. Keisha's an R&B singer who nurses. And Kathy's just grandmother through and through.
Nurse just came in and said I wouldn't have to wait for a MRI to get out of here, I could come back for it as an 'out-patient'. And the CT scan should happen this morning. Sweet.
There's a really sweet husband and wife kitty-corner across from me in the room. She had a tumor out as well, but is not feeling as well as I, apparently, and he was talking sweet nothings to her for a long time, telling her how much he loved her, how brave she was, how she'll be fine, and how the nurses' best days are when they see someone walking down the street healthy. Quite touching, actually.
Just called Sonia. She's coming to see me! :)
Well, moving all with my day. I'll talk all you great people later!
Love,
-Chris
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