Recovering from Surgery

Why do I have those pictures of body parts at the top of the page? Because I'm hoping they're all back in place after my surgery. Especially my stomach and intestines, not pictured above.

I'm able to work on blog posts in advance and schedule them to appear on an orderly schedule (usually every two weeks). As I write this post, I'm anticipating surgery. As you read it, hopefully I'm on my way to a full recovery. Let me explain.

In 2010, I had an emergency appendectomy. My appendix had ruptured, resulting in life threatening complications. When I awoke from the anesthetic, I learned that I'd had a heart attack during the procedure, my kidneys had stopped functioning, and I'd developed sepsis. I later heard that the surgeon had called my wife to tell her that I might not make it through that first night.

Fortunately, I recovered from that surgery, but my stomach was never the same. A hernia forced the small intestines outside the normal confines of the stomach muscles, and while I've never been a skinny guy, my abdomen has had a distinct basketball-shape for the last few years.

Since moving to Florida, I've tried to be more active, especially walking and enjoying the pool at my condo's community center. With the Disney parks nearby, I've enjoyed strolling through Epcot, but with this increase in activity has come the realization that my center of gravity has been thrown off due to the abdominal hernia, and I needed to correct that. Last November I consulted with a surgeon, and he assured me that it was "fixable."

But it would involve a team of doctors (including a plastic surgeon to remove excess skin at the conclusion of the procedure). They would use a combination of biological mesh and re-position my own abdominal muscles to make the repair. My surgeon made sure I understood that this would be a major operation lasting about four hours.

I was told to expect an initial hospitalization of up to two weeks, followed by three or four weeks of physical therapy in rehab. Once I return home I'm to act like a couch potato for several months (walking is permitted, just not lifting).

I'm an optimist. Time spent in hospital and rehab is bound to provide more fodder for a future mystery, and I'll make use of my "couch potato" time by finishing FINAL JUROR (the latest Brad Frame mystery). It's all good. And I will appreciate finally getting my abdomen back to its original size.

Do you have any tips to make my recovery time more enjoyable? I'm open to suggestions. Please join the conversation.

Blessings of Liberty - Part 2

Yup, that's me to the left. Aside from mysteries, I've written and perform a one-man play based on Ben Franklin. It's called (drum roll please): BEN FRANKLIN: AN INGENIOUS LIFE.

Franklin said, in a speech to the Constitutional Convention of 1787, that there are two passions that govern the affairs of men, ambition and avarice. The love of power and the love of money. You can read the rest of his wise words on the graphic.

Because he feared the corrosive effect of money on the process of governing, Franklin believed that representatives should serve without compensation. That was a time when Congress did not pretend to meet year round, only convening periodically to conduct the people's business.

In part one of this "Blessings of Liberty" theme, I noted that members of Congress spend more than 4 and 1/2 times what they will earn during a two-year term in office in order to get elected. They have to raise several thousands of dollars each day toward their re-election. What's wrong with this picture?

I spent the last thirty years of my career working for non-profit organizations. In addition to working for Boards of Directors, over the years I also served on several non-profit Boards, even chairing three such Boards. I witnessed many discussions addressing the future of those organizations, and I saw people coming together time and again (often after serious debate) to agree on the way forward. And I've seen situations where a Board would hold off making a decision because three or four people (out of eighteen, for example) were opposed. Clearly these were people of good will, anxious to find a plan that the vast majority could support.

I'm of the belief that it is possible, on our most serious public debates, for the United States to chart a course on which the vast majority (65 to 70 percent) could agree. To achieve that, compromise is the order of the day. But what we have now is public policy held hostage to the interests of those few in our society that finance political campaigns. Our nation has always had spirited debate on policy disagreements (as I know from my research on Franklin), but what is troublesome now is that there isn't even a good debate going on about to make our governance more effective.

I'm of the opinion that only by moving to a more representative democracy can we wring the disproportionate influence of money out of the political system. Here are a few of my ideas for how we can have a more representative democracy, but I'd like to hear yours.

1) Return to smaller Congressional districts, so that our representatives are more in touch (Yes, I know that would mean having a lot more of them, but it could be worth it.).

2) Insist that Congress meet in Washington for only a few weeks at a time, perhaps as many as four times a year. (Video conferencing could make committee work just as productive while keeping representatives in their districts and more in touch with the needs of the electorate.)

3) Rather than traditional "elections," in the spirit of true representative democracy, groups of citizens (perhaps consisting of 1,000 people) could caucus in high school gyms/auditoriums every two years and select delegates, who would then meet with other delegates (from within a defined Congressional district) to choose the person to represent that district in Congress.

What do you think? Are you happy with governance in America? Do you worry that the same gridlock that has affected our national legislature will soon overtake State Houses as the cost of those campaigns become more and more expensive? This is the kind of conversation I think we need to have in our country.