Sometimes I go about with pity for myself and all the while Great Winds are carrying me across the sky. - Ojibway Saying (quoted from The Book of Awakening) The days leading up to Christmas must have taken their toll on me. We purposely made just super-simple plans for Christmas Day, but even those proved to take more energy [...]
Archive for December, 2009
Decision Made
Posted in Journal Entries, tagged adjuvant chemotherapy, Curved Bill Thrasher, Pavlov's Dog, Solstice, The Book of Awakening, Xeloda on December 23, 2009 | 2 Comments »
I awoke to a blanket of snow this morning. Not too much - an inch or so – enough to give the world a fresh, clean look (for a little while at least!). Tim had sweetly left the fireplace laid with wood, so all I needed to do was open the damper and light a match. Soon [...]
After Further Consideration…
Posted in Journal Entries, tagged adjuvant chemotherapy, colostomy, nutritionist, Oxalyplatin, recurrence, relapse, Xeloda on December 18, 2009 | 5 Comments »
The Lord giveth and the Lord hath taken away…[Job 1:21] In the world of cancer, it seems things can change so rapidly it’ll make your head spin. Tuesday’s wonderful news that I’m cancer-free provided almost 24 hours of pure happiness and gratitude. I spent that afternoon phoning my dear friends and family to tell them the good news and to share their relief, which [...]
OMG! Cancer Free!
Posted in Journal Entries, tagged cancer free, champagne, chance of survival, pathology report, port-a-cath, recurrence on December 15, 2009 | 14 Comments »
I just got home from my office visit with Dr. Fekrazad. He was all smiles as he waltzed into the exam room with a copy of my pathology report from the surgery. His P.A. Cynthia was right behind him with a big grin, too. Silly me, I thought they were just happy to see me doing [...]
Adjusting
Posted in Journal Entries, tagged apple crisp, Christmas tree, sigmoid colostomy, wound care on December 12, 2009 | 7 Comments »
So, today is my third full day back at home after having major colon surgery. I have to keep reminding myself of this fact because my recovery has been going so smoothly! I’m up and around all day – not bedridden as I imagined I might still be at this point – and I’m able [...]
Home Again!!
Posted in Journal Entries on December 9, 2009 | 4 Comments »
I’m HOME! It’s been a long day and I’m pretty pooped (oh, sorry…), but I wanted to let you all know that I finally left the hospital and I’m home again. I’m feeling OK, but not great. I wouldn’t really say I’m in PAIN - just kind of uncomfortable, like maybe I’ve just had my intestines rearranged. Mainly, I’m [...]
Marathon Girl
Posted in Misc on December 7, 2009 | 4 Comments »
As hoped for, Karen was freed of her remaining tubes this morning. She was pretty darn happy about that and was given permission to take a shower. Karen advised that the shower was lacking in the accoutrements we all would hope for at this stage (i.e., it was hand held drippy kind of shower head), but [...]
Freedom
Posted in Misc on December 6, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Karen had a bit of a rough evening, with a short bout with nausea. Gave us a little concern, but then this morning, as vitals were all coming in good, Dr. Dudley freed Karen of her i.v., her oxygen, and the inflatable leg cuffs, with the proviso that Karen continue to lengthen her walks. Dr. [...]
Update
Posted in Misc on December 5, 2009 | 3 Comments »
Day 3 at the hospital and Karen is doing amazingly well. Yesterday, at 6:30 a.m. she got up for the first time and walked to the doorway of her room. She walked two additional times, each one longer than the one before. Today she volunteered for 2 walks. INCREDIBLE. Karen was starting to fuss more about all [...]
Surgery
Posted in Misc on December 3, 2009 | 4 Comments »
After battling snowflakes and slick roads, Karen arrived at Presbyterian around 11 a.m. Around 11:30 she went off to pre-op with dear Shawn at her side. Karen’s surgery started at 1:13 p.m. and to all of our surprise she was through in less than 2 hours (prediction had been 3+). Dr. Brown came out to [...]
