I'm coming HOME!

Well friends, eight and a half weeks later...my hypothetical news is turning into reality and I am coming home!

I printed my boarding pass this afternoon and skipped around the rehab center, showing it off to just about everyone. Truth be told, tonight is the first time it has really dawned on me that I'm leaving Minnesota. I mean, let's be honest, I've done this whole "get excited about coming home" thing a total of at least 6 times over the last 8.5 weeks. So yesterday, when I discovered a giant mass above my incision, all I could think was, welp, there ya go...I'm officially going to become a resident of Rochester.

The good news? The mass is a big pile-up of muscles and ligaments that had to be moved out of the way during my surgery, NOT an abscess. The nerves in my lip, jaw and cheek haven't regenerated yet, so the muscles aren't getting any cues to move back to their original spots.

The less-than-stellar news? It may take up to a year for the nerves to regenerate and the muscles to go back to normal. In the mean time, I'll continue with my lopsided lip-curling smirk and the "I'm really jealous of the hamster's ability to hoard" look on my right side. Try to contain your jealousy.

In all honesty, the doctor could have told me the mass was a nesting set of space monkeys and my only question would have been whether or not I could still fly home tomorrow, so I guess a nerve problem is probably the better option.

It is difficult to sum up all that has occurred over the last eight and a half weeks. I've had many people ask me if I'm "cured" now and am coming home a new person. The answer to the first question is no, and the second question is yes. The truth is that I will never be "cured" and I have to accept the fact that I will wrestle with the carnage from the mystery virus for the rest of my life. When I get sick, or stressed or am not taking care of myself, all of my symptoms will rear their ugly heads. But the difference now, is that I'm very knowledgeable about my condition (look for my MD diploma to be hung up ASAP) and I am in the driver's seat. Learning to eat isn't any fun. At all. But I'm doing it and I don't plan on giving up. Besides, I have one heck of a party to plan! Yes, I will forever be categorized as a person with chronic illness, but I have absolutely no intention of letting the hard drive crasher call the shots around here.

The truth is that the mystery virus has basically implanted a built-in "don't you dare not take care of yourself" system into my body...something that I probably needed, in the theme of being completely honest.

But enough with the sentimental reflections...this time tomorrow, I'll be home!

Oh, and Southwest? Don't forget the red carpet tomorrow. I'm kind of a big deal in Minnesota.