Better every day

I have thought about this post for a few days. I am stuck for words. This is not usual. If you are 'family' or 'close friend' be warned you may not like the detail. Please keep this to yourself.

Hospital is just crap. Short and sweet. Yes, the nurses are amazing, wonderful and any other glowing term you can think of. Yes, the doctors are great, knowledgable etc. But from start to finish I cannot say I liked one bit of the 9 days in hospital. I was already sceptical about what was going to be found. I hate being right. A three hour planned sigmoid resection, smilingly told that there was a good possibility of this being done keyhole assist, which means a much smaller incision. Turns into a six hour double small intestine resection, with the poor old sigmoid left in place. My surgeon was very emotional at my post-op appointment. He was frustrated and amazed by what he found. The laparoscopy I had only two weeks prior must have been on somebody else. For the first time in his career my surgeon un-scrubbed and left the room for 20 minutes to call my Professor and get his head around what he was going to do for me. He chose to resect the urgent small intestine areas and take as much pathology as he could, looking for margins. I have three visible tumours still in the sigmoid. Unfortunately the pathology came back showing that the signet ring adenocarcinoma is everywhere. Even in the microscopic bits the surgeon took that he was sure would be ok. But. And there is a but! I have no signs of cancer in my liver, lungs or bones. This is where the surgeon and Professor Moroz are shaken. Even Professor Moroz said the path my cancer has taken, in that I just keep popping up with more signet ring throughout the bowel, is unheard of. Nothing like being special for all the wrong reasons. So operation over I was ok, but extremely nauseous. They tried every emetic available. Resorted to an NGT, I knew that I had to try it. I wish that on no-one, ever, amen. With the NGT in place I did get the relief I needed, although it had to be aspirated every 1/2 hour or so until a senior nurse pulled the tube out a couple of inches and finally the self-draining worked better. I only had to have the tube in for a day, but it felt like a lot longer. So couple more days and I'm feeling ok. All ready to leave on Friday morning, when my wound started to leak horrible fluid. Oh great, huge abscess in my wound. The surgeon came in and removed eight (of my 57) staples, cut a couple of the internal stitches (bloody hell you can tell that most people these surgeons are touching are under general, heavy handed!) and released the most disgusting thing I have ever seen/smelt. So onto the antibiotics and now daily wound care with the Silver Chain nurses. The open wound is packed every day and dressed. It is healing up really well, but will take a couple of weeks. This Thursday morning I am going in for day-surgery to have a port put in. Back on the chemo as soon as this wound is fully healed and the resection has had enough time to heal. I will find out this week if Sydney Hospital are willing to do peritonectomy. Otherwise will have to have all colon removed and permanent stoma. Either way major surgery that is going to suck. Big time.

Have read some beautiful books this past week, watched some exciting TV and have been surrounded by the most incredible, loving family and friends any person could wish for. Life is great. Love to all xx