So far so good...

Today has been a good day...... a long day but a good day.
It all started with my first post op meeting with my surgeon..... here I found out that whilst the final report from the pathologists was not finalised, he had seen a preliminary  which indicated that there was no sign of cancer in the lymph nodes and that the mass he had removed was contained
(plus it was a whole heap smaller than when initially discovered)..... Fricken awesome news. This means that the chemotherapy and radiotherapy were successful.... the dog was tamed! good dog for listening and behaving!
So whilst I still need to officially wait to hear the finalised report and then wait to see what the next step is (I may still need a final dose of Chemo, with the aim of catching any potential stray cancer cells that may be lurking around), I'm feeling pretty happy with where things are at right now.... its weird to think I could actually be cancer free right now... let just watch this space!
Also discussed at todays meeting was the eviction of Judith.... who is starting to out stay her welcome at times... especially tonight when she decided to play up (all I'm going to say is that leaking bags are not fun!). It is hoped that (depending on potential chemo) an eviction notice will be given to Judith in the next few weeks with her needing to leave sometime in January!!!! whoop whoop!

I had to have a giggle today... I ran into one of the Dr's that looked after me on the ward... his words "you look really different"  -I take that its really good to know that I have two different distinct looks.... dressed in "work clothes" and looking somewhat respectable and then the "lounging round in bed PJ look", coupled with the "I'm about the throw up/ drug induced dribble face"... I'm now happy to know that there is a visible difference!

Today also marked my first day back at work.... this was successful (abet me getting very tired!), and I have to admit I enjoyed doing something that made me feel like I had a purpose.... recently my only purpose has been to weight the sofa down in case there was a gravity emergency!

well time to sign off... all the excitement of good news, first day at work and "emergency" bag changing affords bed....

night peoples....

RAG x

There is no place like home

Not in Kansas anymore.....

 

HOME... finally home!
So since my last update I have managed to get myself discharged home... I arrived home last Wednesday! Yay for home.
Apologies for this being a somewhat long post (and being a bit disjointed... a lot has happened since I went to hospital)... but it does include photos....

It really feels like a long couple of weeks, from getting admitted on the 4th through to finally getting out on good behaviour on the 12th the length of hospital stay varied from going very fast (I think I can thank a large quantity of IV morphine for a few days of incoherency.... quote the pain management nurse... "your a bit of a cheap date"... thanks I think), through to dragging and being very unimpressive, such as the day that we discovered that, me and tramadol are not good friends (I was rather gutted on this day.... after going through Chemo and Radio therapy without being physically sick.... Tarmadol did it... gutted... literally), and  I have to admit I was pretty lucky to hold my single room right up until my last night, when I needed to move into a 4 bedded room due to an emergency coming in..... this taught me a lot..... my new room consisted of  3 other women, 2 of which were Ok roomies, one however gave me a whole new appreciation to how much crap (and  a lot of wee on the floor!) some nurses have to put up with (hey she made me look like a model patient)... not a lot of sleep that night, but I was very appreciative to the lovely nurse who gave me the gift of ear plugs....

So on the 5th of November "Judith" was born - Judith is the name of my stoma.

 

I read somewhere that its good to name your stoma so that you can openly discuss any problems you might be having in public openly, i.e: "I'll be hack in a minute, Judith's not doing too well...." (beats saying your shit bags exploded or leaking).  Just shortly before Judith was born, my mass was removed... by all accounts this procedure went well, but I wont know the results and the follow up plan (if any) until I meet with my Surgeon once the pathology reports come back, but I am now the owner of one scar running down the side of my belly button (its about 8 inches long) and currently healing well.
The whole operation took just under 5 hours (give or take a few minutes), which means that I have a bit of a road to recovery ahead of me.
This journey started in hospital with me waking up to being hooked up to all sorts of tubes and machines (measuring input and out put, plus feeding me and giving me drugs... yep I turned into a human pin cushion in a very quick period of time... to be added to over the days I was in hospital with lines drying up and veins blocking, so new lines needing to be put in and viable veins found).

After the first couple of days I was finally allowed up... meet my new friend/ wheels ... the moving mandarin..... quick someone get an Occupational Therapist... I was given a zimmer frame (well it has 2 wheels so I will class it as a BLO - Bike Like Object)... thank you to my friends who turned up to bling it up (after they stopped laughing.... the fluffy dice and bell were pretty cool).



the moving mandarin.... I'm sure I'll get the QOM on strava for the laps of the ward with this baby! 

Being in hospital gives you a whole new appreciation for so many things.... your own bed and shower, how quiet your own house is (my room was right across from the Nurses station), how independent you are before going into hospital, and how good "real food is"... don't get me started on "the mystery meat!" .

No, this is not a road kill hamster... its actually pot roast!

Throughout my stay, I have to admit I was blown away by the amount of visitors and well wishes I received... I have to say I have the coolest friends and family... you guys rock. From the friend that called in every day after work, my co-workers who txt and visited, the friends that came in and made me laugh so hard I thought I was about to physically split my stitches, the Facebook messages and phone txt, and emails, the people who brought me flowers and cards and my Minion mascot, right down to my Mum who sat every day keeping me company (must have sucked for her to have to see me sick and not being able to do much about it), my beautiful Miss 7.5 (whom developed quite a interest in all the medical stuff, watching drips and machines), and my other half whom snuck in each night before the end of visiting hours to hang out... every night became date night in the hospital! 

The support I have received from everyone (and this included the nurses and medical staff... its funny when you are wandering around the ward on your daily "walk" and one of the nurses calls you Radioactive girl) has been amazing.... its helped me so much with dealing with this part of my journey.

I'm going to finish up here, I'm still reflecting on what's has gone on over the past couple of week, and will write about it in time....

keep smiling,
until next time.
RAG x x x

Day 6 at the HVDHB health and spa

Well, Wednesdays been and gone and hopefully with it my cancer!
Surgery went well and according to my Surgeon my mass was removed easily and it was very contained (good dog.... No digging holes or jumping fences, glad it paid attention to training school).
So now I'm still in hospital waiting to get the all clear to go home... It's looking like mid to late this week.
Am discovering it's very hard to blog on a phone, so I'm going to post a full run down once I get home.... So stay tuned

Thanks for everyone's support ... Your all amazing

Till next time
RAG x

Ocean view room at the hotel and spa Hutt Valley DHB

So here I am, t minus 10 hours.
Today I checked into my home for the next 7 or so nights... Managed to score a single room which rocks.... Fingers crossed I keep it for my whole stay.
My room is facing the Wellington harbour, and yep I can actually see ships coming in at pencarrow heads, plus I'm hoping for a good view of the fireworks come Saturday.

Not sure what to write tonight.... I'm currently lying here trying not to think too much about tomorrow.. (Easier said than done)... But I'm trying to focus on the fact that tomorrow may be the day I become cancer free again. Distraction is the theme for the night, and I'm really grateful to four very special people for doing that... My Mum, my beautiful Miss 7, my amazing man (who also snuck back in after visiting hours finished) and someone whom I'm so honoured to call a really good friend, who just sat and talked and cracked jokes with and at me (what are friends for eh!) oh and she made me an awesome sign for my room.... Hoping to post a pic soon... For some reason I can't post it from my iPhone ( not the best tool for blogging... Hmmm actually I have no idea how to do it lol!).

Can't wait to be rid of this cancer... Fingers crossed this will happen tomorrow!

Untill the next update...
RAG x