The Center of the Universe

I hate that my digestive tract has become the center of my universe. In a year and one half I have had a bowel resection, my gall bladder removed, and this past June a small bowel obstruction. As a result I have become gun shy. If I don't have some form of BM every day I begin to worry about an obstruction. If I get gas pains in my abdominal area I begin to worry about obstruction. I learned that if you have an obstruction it is like blocking the end of a straw filled with liquid, nothing is going to come out. So now when I pass gas I am relieved the system is functioning. I find myself thinking about what I eat as being a contributor to an upset system, a cranky system or an obstructed system. I talked to my daughter Kristi this past June when I came through her city on my way back to Arkansas. I made the statement that I hoped I wasn't going to become and old man obsessed with bowel activity. Her response, "Too late Dad!" You know, this fixation adds a whole new dimension to the old childhood saying, Holy Shit!