Minor surgery was a success

It's not a ship in a bottle, it's a port in a bottle. It's my newest paperweight -- the port removed from my body earlier today.

The surgical procedure went well this morning and I was out the door shortly after noon.

I even passed on anesthesia -- well the kind that knocks you out -- and opted instead for needles to numb out the area being cut. It was a good choice. After the initial pain caused by the the numbing agent, which lasted just 15 or 20 seconds, give or take, I didn't feel a thing. The nurses and I chatted about XM radio's benefits and pricing as Dr. Alberto V. Mansilla, right, removed the port.

Ironically, Dr. Mansilla (image from the Florida Hospital Web site) is the same man who placed the port and my former "G tube" last year in the same operating room. He remembered the procedure because I had both done at the same time, which is less common than one might think.

The procedure took about 20 minutes, though paperwork before took far longer, and even preps in the operating room took more time. Go figure.

Jenny and I were gone shortly after noon but not before a hug with nurse Kim after she rolled me out to the driveway.

Guess where Jen and I went for lunch? OK, I know it's a tough one. I was only able to eat a small piece of the potato latke from TooJays, but Jen ate most of her corned beef sandwich and one potato pancake. I then went home and am relaxing as the feeling returns to my upper right chest -- and a small amount of pain with it.

I had to photograph the port and post it, since it is what funneled my chemo into my jugular vein for seven weeks. It'll be a new addition to my desk when I return to work. It's fully sterilized and the nurses say a lot of people keep their ports as a reminder of what they've gone through. After all, it helped save my life. But I promise I will not keep my "J-tube" when it is removed from my body by Dr. Boyer next week. Promise.