This morning as I was lying in bed, I was hoping beyond hope
that the Fleet enema that was needed two nights ago was continuing to do what
it needed to do, and praying that I would not be faced with another trip to
hospital to have a drainage tube inserted through the nose and to the stomach.
Gross, I know, but the procedure itself is normally not that bad when you are under anesthesia - or until you get an
irritated throat – which I did this time. I begged them to take mine out in hospital three
days after surgery. If they hadn't, I expect they would have had to sedate me or
I would have gone insane. The 'team' gave
me the warning that I may get physically ill without it, but I favoured
physical illness over the mental type at that particular point in time.
Thankfully, nothing negative resulted from its removal, and I was left with only the throat
irritation which is getting better with each day. Fortunately, I also appear to be making it over
this second major hurdle as well - the only other one I've faced since my surgery on
September 24th. I will spare you all of the boring details regarding the surgery, the six days in hospital, and my complaints about too many people interrupting my hospital rest, but I will tell you that I consider
myself one lucky lady to have such a wonderful and caring Oncologist and health care team!
My recovery this time has actually been faster than any of
my three previous surgeries. Although the actual procedure was pretty much the same, my incision was at least 6-7 inches shorter this time and I credit this in particular with my reduction in discomfort. I have much more energy than before with little
need for naps (although I make sure I lie down several times each day to give
the belly a bit of a stretch) and I am getting enough exercise to keep things
mobile. I even took a walk around the backyard a couple of days ago and took
photos of the fall colours. Not bad for just being out of hospital for a week,
huh?
But another thought crossed my mind as I was lying there
this morning. When I write it down like this, it sounds like a walk in the park. But it's not. Do the people in my life realize how fortunate they really are when
they can live their lives without the constant thoughts of recurrent illness
and hospitalization, drugs with side effects, and recuperation from surgeries? I
can only hope they do!
Naturally, I would give anything to go back to pre 2002 and
start over – without cancer; to be able to only be concerned about arthritis
pain, hot flashes, and other minor ailments suffered by those in my age group.
But that is not to be, so I will shake it off and move forward … again … until
the next recurrence.
But to my friends and family I say, “Enjoy each day to the
fullest” .... because you do not know what lurks around the corner and sometimes you
just can’t run fast enough.
Happy Thanksgiving!! I’m looking forward to sharing the day
with family!
Until next time ….
~B-Optimistic~
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