Weekly Update

What I thought I'd try and do is a weekly update at the weekend unless something amazing happens. The days seem to go by very quickly and it's been over a week since the last update.

This week I'm still very much in recovery, I get very tired and sleep most afternoons for an hour or so. Frank gets to do nothing so he is happy as Larry. I have a lot more flexibility in my stomach again now, the cut is healing well.

I chose my wig this week, sort of a bob thing, very close to my "natural" colour and part of the Raquel Welch range :-) Picking it up tomorrow from the BRI as they had to order it. It's better than my own hair, which is still thin from last years chemo.

Had a blood test taken and chemo is scheduled to start next Wednesday.

The house has come forward again, we got a call on Friday to say it would not be April/May instead of June. That sounds really close now, so it's jumped up the agenda.

Went to see Pill Pantomime on Weds and had a laugh, plus Wine Club on Thursday, first drink since the Op, tasted strange.

Off to Sunday lunch now with the parents, Frank's mum returns to Spain tomorrow. Only the second time they've met in 26 years! Wish me luck!

Sheila x

Recovering

It's such a relief to be home, it improves recovery no end I think. I've been out in the car, walked across to the marina, around Waitrose and the market (not all at once, one a day). I'm still tired, but so much happier. I'm sure my blood pressure has now settled so I'll be getting that checked next week with a view to getting off the tablets. Frank is administering the clexane injection once a day for clot prevention and after 4-6 weeks of that, I hope not to have to go back to the Warfarin, so that would be good. It looks like the chemo will start w/c 29th January, just waiting for dates, so I have a few pre-chemo appointments next week.

Time is passing by quickly so it will be soon underway.

Speak soon.
Sheila x

I'm back!

I'm pleased to be home, it was beginning to get to me in hospital, not the hospitals fault but mine, as I was feeling better, my priority became getting out of there. It's amazing how quickly you become institutionalised though, I was looking for my cup of tea at 6.30 this morning! One problem was the lack of sleep, thanks to my central position on the ward, as arranged by my husband, so last night it was great to have a quiet nights sleep.

Today I have just been chilling and resting, had a nap and watching telly while Frank has been sorting out the router, hence the lateness of this update. I hope you agree that he did a great job in keepingg the Blog updated. I've just read through it and it certainly has helped me to remember what happened! That morphine is good gear, the first few days are a bit of a blur.

Several people have asked about visiting, if you want to come round, give us a ring so we can tidy up, I can look half decent and we have enough chairs. If I'm not up to it at the time, I'm sure in a few more days I will be less tired.

Thank you for al the lovely cards you have sent, believe me getting the post is one of the highlights in hospital! Also the texts and messages on the Blog, Frank was relaying them to me.

That' all for now, this is as much brain power as I've used in a whole week, I need a rest now!

Sheila xx

The Operation - Part IV - finale.

Monday –
Weekend went very well, apologies for not updating blog more often, but still without WIFI connection.
Got early morning TXT today saying she has had enough of hospital. Tells me she is feeling well enough to come home. Liaising with medical staff to find what needs to be done. Catheter needs to be removed and wounds re dressed, but staff are happy to send her home if she wants & assuming all goes well...... it does.
16:00 – Bringing her home ( DOH! …thought she would stay for another night – needed to tidy up, house looks like its been ransacked by blind epileptic burglars). luckily she is too knackered to beat me – says will update blog herself tomorrow.
Bye for now as nursing duties to do, money crap but uniform fits like a dream (stockings & suspenders are a bit tight though ; )

The Operation - Part III

Friday –
Feeling (and looking) a lot better. Moving more freely. CT scan scheduled for 10:00, to check out possible clots on her lungs – Caught an ambulance down to BRI, accompanied by nurse because she was on Oxygen, I rode down as well – 1st time in an ambulance, very impressive.
Had her CT scan at 10:30, then waited for ambulance to take her back up to St Michaels. 13:30 – no sign of ambulance, caught taxi back. No harm done, she enjoyed the adventure. Bladder bag showing a gradual change in colour, from a light red Zinfandel to more of a Matteus Rose pink. Late afternoorn docs confirms that her scan is clear – no worries about clots. Phew.

Saturday –
Once again, much improvement. She is now off the oxygen, and her blood O2 levels are staying up. Managed 3 slow walks around the ward (at least 150yds per walk). Had a small lunch that she managed to keep down. Bladder bag now gradually changing, from ‘Matteus Rose’ to a nice ‘Sancere’. Nurses pleased with progress – too early to plan exact homecoming date but Mid week now a possibility.

One story I must share – there is a lovely lady in the bed opposite Sheila called Doreen, it was her 82nd birthday today. At lunchtime, Mr Murdoch (consultant surgeon) turns up at her bedside, in his jeans, asks her to confirm that it is her birthday, and then asks her what her favourite tipple is? – “Brandy and ginger” she replies. He then produces a small bottle of brandy & bottle of ginger, for a birthday treat – customer service or what. Nurses later produced a lovely cake and sang her ‘happy birthday’, it made her day. NHS at its best.

That’s all – things looking up. Better stay off the whisky, must start planning house spring clean before she gets back – doh !
My mother is also making good progress, has booked flight back to Spain end of Jan, my brother also going back with her to ensure she settles down ok. BRI cardiac unit have recommended she gets to a cardiac ward in Spain asap to continue treatment – they have collated all her medical test results to take back with her.
Her parrots are fine, we managed to post keys to estate agent who originally sold her the flat, he has taken them home and will feed & look after them until she gets back – more customer service.

Cheers.

The operation - Part II

Yesterday (Wednesday) started well, the docs and nurses were pleased with her recovery, they decided to take her off the main ward and put her back into the private side room. They left her oxygen mask on as her blood O2 levels would drop quickly without it (normal after big op), around lunchtime she started feeling sick and was having problems breathing, nurses called for advice and the young Doctors who arrived took a look and suspected a blood clot, possibly affecting the lungs (not good) it was just like a scene from Holby. We managed to sit her up in bed, which immediately help her catch her breath.
She quickly recovered but they wanted to do an X-ray to confirm lungs were clear. Later that afternoon she settled down and managed to eat some food, but later it came back up. Docs recommended she was transferred her back to the main ward so nurses could keep an eye on her, just in case, she was gutted to lose her privacy but it had to be done.
X-ray didn’t show anything but she is scheduled to have a CT scan this Friday which will give a much clearer picture of the lungs.
They eventually relocated her to a quiet part of the ward, but I was worried that nurses didn’t have a clear view of her bed, so I had her moved to a bed right next to their station – lots of lights, movement and noise… I was not popular with my wife that evening :/

Thursday ..… Sheila is feeling a lot, lot better today. She did manage to get some sleep – we had fun and games yesterday, but things have sorted themselves out, and she is getting back to some level of normality. She is still on liquids at the mo, as she cant keep solids down, but she has managed to ‘Break wind’ which is a good sign that her bowel is getting back to normal (too much information?). She managed (with help) to climb out of bed today and sit down on a chair for a few hours. The oxygen mask has now been replace with a small nose tube which is much less claustrophobic. I’ve just left her chilling and watching telly (Judge John Deed on soon – her favourite).

Although she is on the mend I don’t think she is ready for visitors - it may be a while before she is. The senior nurse said she will be there until Monday (at least). There is phone by her bed but the money grabbers are charging 49p per minute for the privilege of calling her. Let me know if you want the number and I will try TXT’ing it to you.

Can I just say the staff at St Michaels are bloody marvellous. Cheers for now – the whisky is a calling.

The Operation

Hi boys and girls. Apologies for the delay in updating, but after 3 years of fault free service my WIFI router decided to quit on me last night :(

The story so far :-

Sheila checked into St Michaels yesterday (Monday) and was given a full MOT by the excellent staff there - Blood tests, ECG , and her favourite of all, a nice enema (to give the surgeon a bit of room to manoeuvre :). All test results were aok. Docs paid a visit and discussed their objectives for the op. All scheduled for next day and unless there was an emergeny she would be 1st in the queue.

Today (Tuesday) she was taken to the theatre at 08:15, they operated on her for about 2 1/2 hours. She came round in the post op recovery room at 12:20 ish (the longest 4 hours of my life). She was back on the ward at 13:00, and when I got back from 'lunch' just after 14:00, I saw her sitting up and was greeted with the 'nice of you to pop in' look on her face . :)

Everyone is pleased with her recovery - after a short while the Mr Murdoch (consultant) popped down and said they had removed part of the tumour, but it was too difficult to remove it all, as it was 'attached' to her appendix, kidney, and too close to the major veins and arteries for them to access without causing further complications. The tumour was pressing on her right kidney, this was blocking the ureter, so they put in a stent to open up the tube. This will help her body process the chemo drug later in january. Although they havent removed all the tumour, the pieces that are left are all relatively small (1 cm or less) this will give the chemo a much better chance of destroying a large percentage of what remains.

She is in excellent spirits and well please with results , but I dont think she is ready for visitors just yet. I will be in excellent spirits very shortly when I open my single Islay malt whisky (Xmas pressie).

Can I just thank you all for your TXT's and messages of support today, they have been a great help to us. Hopefully in a few months time when she is off the chemo and the weather is a bit drier we will organise a small 'do'.

Now please get back to work.

Thank you.

Latest News

This is my final update before going into hospital tomorrow, Frank will try to keep it going while I'm away.

Frank's mum has recovered well from her heart attack and is out of hospital and resting at his sisters. She is not allowed to fly for a few weeks, which is just as well given the current situation at Bristol!

Frank and I went away for a few days to Aberystwyth on New Years Day after a very good NYE dinner party with friends. We decided we would visit our favourite summer haunts and see what they looked like. Fantastic, no tourists, great food, windy, rough seas, loved it! Can't wait to go back in the summer in the van, hotels are OK, but it was so hot!

We've had some disappointing news, the new house has been put back until June, so that probably means later as we get nearer. The problem is not with our house but the one next door which they haven't started on yet. They won't let us in until both are ready. Doh!

I'm off the Warfarin and my bag is packed. Thank you for all your kind thoughts and messages, too many to reply to individually, but I really appreciate them. Speak later.

Sheila x