Tomorrow’s the day, barring a panic call from the COVID-19 testing center of the hospital. I had that test run yesterday, and yes, it was of the “brain scrape” variety (i.e., insert a long swap through the sinus cavity so that it feels like they’re scraping your brain). If I hear nothing of the results, that means it’s safe to report to the hospital on Friday (Sept. 4th) for total knee replacement surgery.

I know some of the specifics of what they’ll be doing, but not many. They’ll be using a product manufactured by Smith+Nephew, but I don’t know which product. It’ll be made out of zirconium and titanium, which means it’ll be safe around MRI machines. Don’t know what it’ll do around TSA scanner machines.

One new twist got added to the operation on Wednesday morning. I had a sleep study run last Friday, and they determined that I have borderline apnea (can’t confirm it because I didn’t have any REM sleep during the study). They’ve given me an APAP machine, with APAP standing for Automatic Positive Airway Pressure, and I’m going to have to take it with me to the hospital. The anesthesiologist will hook me up to it after the surgery is over.

There. That’s the anxiety about the surgery out of the way. How about some good news? The Derivations CDs are finally for sale on Amazon! If you’re viewing this on a computer, you’ll see the link to the right of this text.  If you’re on a phone, you’ll probably see it at the bottom. For good measure, here’s the link to the Amazon CD sale. Quantities are limited, so grab yours while they’re still in stock!

Thank you for reading. My next update will probably speak of a new world of pain. Prepare yourselves.