half man half machine

it was a really really long wait... I didn't go to surgery until 5:30 (I reported to the hospital at 10am...)
but everything was smooth.

In fact, it was like night and day compared to the last two surgeries.
First, I didn't need general anesthesia... which I've had a hard time coming out of in the past.
The surgical staff, and the surgeon himself, all great! Fun, and willing to talk, and explain, answer any questions..... The anesthesiologist, who brought me from my waiting room to the surgery room invited
Fiona to hop up on the wheely-bed and go along for the ride, that was very special for her....

I had the option to dictate and choose the level of "sleepiness" I wanted during the surgery, and could adjust
it at any point.  I opted for the lightest sleepiness, only because I was curious about the surgery...
The surgeon gave me a blow by blow report on the surgery (my head was covered with a wire and cloth tent).  All told, the surgery took about 30 minutes, and an hour after that, I was able to go home.

So now I have a "Smart Port".  This is very different than I imagined.  Of course, in my mind, I was picturing
the opening to my car's gas tank, a big opening, a twist off cap..... but it turns out that there is nothing on the outside of my body, it's completely under the skin!  It's a small metal (titanium... oooooh) donut about the size of a nickle, with a silicone filling in the middle.  From this comes a small tube that goes to my jugular vein.  To administer my medication (poison) you stick an IV needle (more or less) thru my skin into the silicone plug, which then feeds directly into my vein... pretty nice. Once the surgery heals, I'll have a 1 inch scar, and a small bump under the skin. cool.

I had literally no side effects from this surgery, other than some soreness today.  We went for a hike.

I guess the one side effect is this crazy new chest-hairdo that I have... and the fact that I'm part robot.

... which I'm hoping has perks.