Two More Photos

[jackshoegazer]

This photo I took as I was preparing to be discharged.  I am disheveled, unkempt, and unshaved after eight days in the hospital.



This is another on-the-road shot as I passed through Wyoming.

Comments

[brdgt.livejournal.com]

Had you been to that area of the country before? (I can't remember!) If so, what an odd way to get to see such lovely scenery - it really was sort of Hunter S. Thompson.

[jackshoegazer.livejournal.com]

Nope! The furthest west I'd ever been before was Des Moines. It was pretty odd only seeing it at high-speed under the oddest of circumstances, in a Vicodin haze :P

[dakini-grl.livejournal.com]

Oh, I don't know about unkempt. But that is an epic set of stitches ya got right there. Looks itchy.

So glad you are home. Sounds like you're doing reasonably well all things considered.

[dakini-grl.livejournal.com]

And as a side note, I am totally curious about all the mechanics -- what did they do with your sternum while all this was going on? I should look at those links you posted again....

[hellocthulhu.livejournal.com]

You should've gotten a little plastic Alien toy and gotten the docs to take a picture like it was popping out of your chest as they were closing up!

[jackshoegazer.livejournal.com]

I think that might have crossed some ethical doctor lines :) As soon as I can find it, I'll post the pictures of my heart though :D

[ms-elusive.livejournal.com]

Gnarly dude!!
I'm glad that you are home and safe and sure you are being taken care of spectacularly.

[jackshoegazer.livejournal.com]

Thank you, me too!

[mlfoley.livejournal.com]

Nice incision! Reminds me of my last one, it was sore for weeks (couldn't laugh for at least a month and a half without hurting the incision badly) and itched like mad. Good times!

[jackshoegazer.livejournal.com]

Yup, watching Little Britain = bad idea, laugh too hard :D And dear god, itchy! I was shaved from chest to ankle :P

[chili-das-schaf.livejournal.com]

Whoaaa, those stitches look impressive.

Glad to hear you're back safe and sound.

[jackshoegazer.livejournal.com]

Thanks on both counts!

[luvluvg.livejournal.com]

Those stitches look amazing. And Wyoming looks... pretty and empty! A lovely western setting.

[jackshoegazer.livejournal.com]

Wyoming was beautiful, from what I could see from I-80 :) The stitches are weird indeed.

[explodingalice.livejournal.com]

Wow. I *knew* what kind of surgery you were having, but I still had my breath catch when I saw those sutures.

Disheveled or not, so glad you are home and on the mend.

[jackshoegazer.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's a bit overwhelming. I'll be glad when it's healed and I can move and laugh without agony :P

[blackbuttoneyes.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you're back home safe and all went all. Also, those stitches look BADASS!

[jackshoegazer.livejournal.com]

Haha, thanks!

[la-luna-llena.livejournal.com]

frankenstein!

oddly, you look fairly . . . normal. .. .despite it all.

[jackshoegazer.livejournal.com]

Ha, thank you :D

[katachthonios.livejournal.com]

First: that chest wound is fucking amazing. I'm sure it aches like all get out (or would if not for the bliss of painkillers), but just think of all the times you'll be able to go into a bar half-cocked, order a beer, and tell the guy next to you how you took a piece of shrapnel to the chest pulling those orphans out of that exploding bus.

Second: doesn't Wyoming strike you as unfinished, like God sculpted all the ground into really amazing features, then stopped for a bit to check his email... then his LJ... then play a few games of FreeCell... then see how his homies were doing on WoW...

[jackshoegazer.livejournal.com]

My grandfather used to tell us grandkids that his appendix scar was from getting stabbed by a Japanese soldier in WWII. I didn't find out that was a lie until I was 16 and he was dead for 4 years :P

[ladytinkerbelle.livejournal.com]

even disheveled, unkept, etc. you still look good because you're here. and that's gonna be an awesome scar in a few months. but i'm just weird like that.

[jackshoegazer.livejournal.com]

Thank you :) I'm sure it'll draw some stares at the pool!

[westerdrumlins.livejournal.com]

damn.
<3

[jackshoegazer.livejournal.com]

Indeed!

[onesoul.livejournal.com]

wowzers that is going to be some crazy-mad-cool scar you got there!!! It's a badge... very dramatic and intense... I love it!!

[jackshoegazer.livejournal.com]

Thank you :) I need to be reminded that there's something powerful about it and not just embarrassing.

[gislebertus.livejournal.com]

I've lurked here for quite a while; just wanted to wish you a speedy recovery.

[jackshoegazer.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Welcome aboard, officially!

[fireabrokengun.livejournal.com]

that's a pretty intense scar and staple.
i hope you're feeling better.

[jackshoegazer.livejournal.com]

Thanks and I am, for the most part, when the meds don't wear off!

[kiwikat.livejournal.com]

That's an extremely intense photograph. Seems like a very honest shot of the pain and exhaustion, while still makin' you look rather dashing.

I love the landscape out in Utah. If you ever get the chance to see southern Utah or Arizona you should. It's right out of roadrunner and coyote.

[jackshoegazer.livejournal.com]

I didn't skimp on the weariness - I let it all out :P

[3starsinmyeyes.livejournal.com]

Seeing that picture of your chest made my heart ache a little.

[jackshoegazer.livejournal.com]

Sympathy pains, you know, like when we cringe seeing someone get hit in the balls :P

[(Anonymous)]

That's going to take a lot of patience to heal. Be gentle with yourself. So good to see that you're on the mend! I agree with the others that the scar will be amazing. : )

Landscapes like that Wyoming one always freak me out a little. As a city girl, seeing the desolate nature of them and the lack of people for such great distances is rather unnerving. I would hate to have a car break down in a place like that.

[enodia.livejournal.com]

That's going to take a lot of patience to heal. Be gentle with yourself. So good to see that you're on the mend! I agree with the others that the scar will be amazing. : )

Landscapes like that Wyoming one always freak me out a little. As a city girl, seeing the desolate nature of them and the lack of people for such great distances is rather unnerving. I would hate to have a car break down in a place like that.

[jackshoegazer.livejournal.com]

It is definitely slow going. Four or five more weeks.

Yeah, pretty scary place to break down. I'm sure all denizens of Wyoming are very nice folks, nothing like the backwards inbred scary people our media terrify us with :)

[tori-vixen.livejournal.com]

Yowza! That's quite the incision on your chest thar.

[jackshoegazer.livejournal.com]

Yah! I have no idea where it came from!

[helpimarock.livejournal.com]

Woah, those stitches are freaky. Actually, it's not the stitches, it's that you're standing and fully aware in that picture. It's amazing how quickly they can get you out of the hospital (though I'm sure it didn't seem quick!) after surgery like that.

[jackshoegazer.livejournal.com]

That picture was taken 1 week after the surgery, so a mere 7 days. The first few days I could barely stand and the first day I could barely breathe. The resiliency of the human body is pretty amazing. Of course I am about half the age of most people who go in for heart surgery, so I had a bit of an advantage. I couldn't imagine going through this when I'm 60.

[woofmantoronto.livejournal.com]

Holy shit that pic of you is awesome! The scar and stitches look so severe OMG yet your facial expression is so vital and alive. Great pic:)

[jackshoegazer.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I was aiming for "thoughtful" and was pleased with what turned out :)