What began as a normal day in late July quickly turned into one of the roughest seasons of my life. I had no idea I would still be dealing with it three months later, but at last the end is in sight. Tomorrow, November 1st, I’m finally getting my appendix removed, so I can close this chapter for good and get on with life.

I made the timeline above to graph my progress on the Awesome scale at key moments along the way. If you’re curious you can find the full story here.

To make this post even more awesome, here’s a glimpse of life with a ruptured appendix: (Thanks to Heidi for many of the photos!) Try not to be jealous of my awesome life, all you Instagrammers.

This is me in the hospital…

Gotta love being tethered to this all day.

This sign was the death of me. No food and no liquids for three days. I’ve never wanted a glass of water so badly…

Praise God for Skype, Face Time, and siblings to keep me company in the hospital.

The doctors said I may be able to go home today.

Trying to get some healthy stuff in my system.

Heidi was no match for me at Phase 10.

This shows how much my stomach shrunk. This was my breakfast. It’s on a saucer. My 15 month old niece eats more than this.

Passing time with old school Scrabble. Awkward thumbs up because I’m probably winning.

On the bottom is my normal serving size. On top is my post-hospital-visit serving size. …and I couldn’t even finish it.

Still wearing the same shirt.

We all had a good laugh about how much weight I lost. Heidi in particular enjoyed making fun of my non-existent butt.

Caution: Men Working.

Road trips are even more awesome when you are on medication that makes you dizzy and sensitive to direct sunlight.

Riding in style on our way to DC.

First Chipotle burrito in weeks.

First time out of the house for any reason other than “fresh air.”

You know it means business when the shower cap goes on. Surgery #1

My wife decided to use me as a canvas for body painting.

So that’s been my life for much of the last three months. To be fair there have been many other good things that aren’t highlighted here. For example I’ve been able to work between the hospital visits, and I’ve learned to make the most of my down time by reading, writing, and finally having an excuse to play the classic Final Fantasy III. Nevertheless I’m looking forward to having this all behind me. In a few short hours I will be out of surgery and in the home stretch of recovery.

Thanks everyone for your support, prayers, high fives, and comments. It truly means a lot.