Our next big trip starts in two days, Memorial Day, so we have been busy getting all of our medical appointments out of the way, haircuts and color, purchases that are too hard to get on the road, etc. In this blog I’ll share some updates from my medical journey. And a little bit of Tim’s as well.
Dec. 23, 2024. Scan for Bone Density, known as DXA BONE MINERAL DENSITY BOTH HIPS AND SPINE. I continue to show scores in the “osteopenia” range. It does appear that my bone density is (significantly) better than previous bone scans. The bone specialist continues to do bloodwork to determine the level of Zometa I need. This is an infusion about every three months, and just adds about 15-20 minutes to my normal infusion routine. Based on recent scan and bloodwork, continue with treatment.
April 23rd. MRI of the brain. AND fasting bloodwork (CTX Beta Crosslaps). Since my vision has been changing (increased double vision mostly), my neurology oncologist has been watching my brain again. They scan it about every three months. They always find some little something, but it’s all good. If you’re into the medical lingo, here’s a snippet from my test result. No changes. No new lesions. The spots they follow are residual effects from the radiation in 2019.
1. No new or recurrent intracranial metastases. 2. Stable scattered intrinsically T1 hyperintense lesions in the calvarium may represent hemangiomas and can be followed. Scattered intrinsically T1 hyperintense lesions in the calvarium show no worrisome interval change and appear to suppress on fat saturation techniques which may reflect osseous hemangiomas.
As for the bloodwork, she looks for certain numbers to determine when we need to get my next dose of Zometa. She did another fasting CTX in May, and the numbers went up, so it’s time for another dose.
May 1. CBC (full panel bloodwork) and Hip X-Ray. I saw the doctor on this date. I’m having some hip pain, ever since I drove my daughter to her surgeon’s appointment (4.5 hours away). She ordered a full blood panel in addition to tests for my hip. The blood showed some abnormalities including low hemoglobin, low red blood cells, and low platelets. This probably explains some of my fatigue lately. However, I was sick with a stomach bug from April 28-29, so this was likely the reason for the low blood counts (and fatigue). The X-Ray was normal, with this snippet. “Focal trabecular thickening of the intertrochanteric right femur. These features were present on the radiographs of 10/27/2022 and are considered benign. No evidence of metastatic disease.” That’s good news. They did find “Osteitis pubis” which is basically an inflammation which causes pain. Rest is the treatment for that.
The doctor noted this in my chart, “No fracture or evidence of cancer on the x-ray from yesterday. We’ll wait for the results from your CT and bone scan and go from there.” She scheduled my whole body bone scan and CT of the chest, abdomen and pelvis. It has been eleven months since my last body scans, and since we are traveling soon it’s probably good to get those done anyway.
May 8. Whole body scans. Also known on MyChart as CT CHEST ABDOMEN PELVIS W CONTRAST and NM BONE SCAN WHOLE BODY. This is a half-day long process, as they have to access my port, insert the nuclear medicine contrast for the bone scan (then wait two hours to do the scan). In the meantime I have to drink the CT contrast, wait about an hour and they do the CT. There’s about an hour in between scans where I typically go and eat something, since the CT is a fasting exam. If I have enough time I go off-campus, but usually there’s no time for that. I brought my breakfast this time and ate in the Marketplace on the 2nd floor.
Results: CT states “No evidence of active metastatic disease.” Also known as NEAD. They always find a few nodules in my lungs or other places, but they are stable and of “unknown origin,” so as long as we continue with the current treatment plan, there shouldn’t be any progression. Bone scan states, “Stable bone metastases involving the left fourth rib and the right iliac bone.” Mind you, the reports are much lengthier, but seeing the words “stable” and “NEAD” are what we hope for.
May 15, 2025. MOHS (Tim). Tim had surgery on his nose to remove basal cell carcinoma, and on this day he had the stitches removed. It was right by his eye, so a bit scary. However, the surgeon did an excellent job! She didn’t have any trouble closing it up, and she was able to get clean margins. You can’t even tell it was there. This is an ongoing issue for Tim as he has fair skin, thanks to his Irish blood. I believe this is his third surgery. Many of you have had this done as well. The older we get, the more we regret not wearing sunscreen as a kid.
May 15, 2025. Dental Crowns. I had two crowns put in the right molars (top and bottom) due to cracks in the teeth. I have to be very careful about what I allow dentists to do, as the Zometa can cause necrosis in the bones if they do any deep work. This dentist was well aware of my situation, and the crowns were not only the best option but they fit perfectly! I am very happy with those results.
Whew! Quite a month. Or two. We are now primed and ready for our next big adventure! More on that in the near future.
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
Foot pain. Not to be confused with plantar fasciitis, I was just diagnosed with plantar fibromatosis, or what I call “foot pain.” I’ve had some left foot pain for a while now, in the arch. It’s one of those things I kept putting off, thinking it would heal itself. When it started keeping me up at night, it was time to get some help.
With plantar fasciitis, which is what I thought this was going to be, foot massages can help loosen it up and make it feel better. Unfortunately, the opposite is true with plantar fibromatosis (although that is debatable). All those times I’ve talked Tim into a foot massage have more likely been hurting more than helping. He was happy to hear he could forego any future foot massages 😂🤣.
Since we are in our “home” area in Texas for a while, still living in our Airstream, I scheduled a visit with my regular foot specialist out in the Lake Conroe area. That’s what the sign by TX-105 outside his building says, “Foot Specialist.” His office is as modest as the sign, as is the strip mall where he is located. It’s always clean and his staff are very professional and pleasant. Every time I see Dr. Ehret for a foot problem, I learn something new. And I come away feeling glad that I went in to see him.
This particular foot specialist has been at this profession for quite a while (since the early 90s), and he doesn’t hesitate to diagnose. He immediately saw what I was dealing with, gave me a diagnosis, talked about how it likely got started (it’s usually more than one thing), and offered me some options for treatment. In addition, he talked to me about the neuropathy, explaining how the muscle, tissue, cartilage, and nerves all interact.
Plantar fibromatosis, per Dr. Ehret, is scar tissue related to some injury to the connective tissue in the foot. Maybe I stomped on the shovel too hard when we were putting down sod in our yard, getting it ready for sale. Or, perhaps I stepped on a rock the wrong way or landed on a ladder with poor soles, or hit the curb on my arch. It could be a multitude of injuries. Once it is injured, the connective tissue keeps building up scar tissue with constant re-injury, resulting in a “ball” of scar tissue beneath the service. As previously stated, he did indicate there are typically multiple causes, and not one singular reason this condition develops.
He said I could look it up online, which I did, but “don’t pay attention to the pictures,” he said, because they always show off the worst-case scenarios. I was interested in what Dr. Google would say, and I was mainly there for the text anyway. Wikipedia calls it an inherited disease, also known as Ledderhose’s Disease, named after the surgeon who first described it. The disease can remain dormant for many years, or even generations, but then show up in the form of benign nodules unexpectedly. Once it shows up, it will likely recur throughout life. I wonder if any of my family members have had issues with this? This article from the National Library of Medicine was also helpful.
Fortunately, mine is in a “good spot.” It’s right in the middle of my arch, which we don’t use as much to walk on. The two primary options in my case are inflammatory medicine, or surgery. Most doctors, Dr. Ehret included, like to take the more conservative approach first. So, we agreed with the inflammatory approach.
We aren’t talking about Ibuprofen. He marked my foot, had his assistant hold my foot and big toe with a strong, death-grip, and then gave me a shot of numbing medicine followed by the injection. When I said “OW, OW, OW!” toward the end of the shot he indicated, “Got it!” with a smile. He had to hit the exact spot, apparently, which he knew he had found when it hurt. But it also felt better. In the words of John Mellencamp, “It hurt so good.”
If the problem persists, especially to the point where I have trouble walking, we can do the surgery option. I hope a shot every year or two will suffice. Also, he handed me a hand-written note in his “best doctor script” which reminded me to walk in shoes and slippers with memory foam, not bare feet, stay off my toes, and baby the arches. The cute black boots I wore into the office, which I got at Walmart for $16.00, have memory foam soles; he was very surprised to see that. They don’t typically see shoes with good soles walking into their office. I’m proud to say my boots are officially podiatrist-approved 😊.
I walked out of there (yes, I can still walk) with some new knowledge and a whole lot of relief. God is so good. We prayed for foot relief right before I went in there, and He answered that prayer almost immediately. He has connected me with the exact right physicians at the exact time I needed them. And of course, He is the Greatest Physician of all.
One final thought. As I was contemplating Jesus as the Great Physician, I did a little Bible Study. He never calls himself that. He became known as the Great Physician because of all the miraculous healings he performed. But the reason he healed people was not just so they could see, hear, touch or dance again. It was to draw them (and others) to Him. He came to “seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10). That was his mission. If you are in need of healing, perhaps he is waiting until the opportunity for that healing to draw you closer to him. To save you. To become Lord in your life.
À la prochaine à bientot…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
To recap, I went to this eye appointment because Dr. Boeckman (my regular Optometrist in Conroe) and Dr. McGovern (my Neurosurgeon at MD Anderson) both referred me. They thought it would be a good idea because I have double vision, which has gotten progressively worse over the past several years. I wear glasses with prism to counterbalance the double vision. (I also have progressive lenses to help with reading, but that’s not abnormal for a gal my age 🤣😂🤪.)
As it turns out, my eyes are fine! My brain, however, is another issue 🥴🤪. It’s my brain, or rather the result of previous brain lesions and the residual effects of the gamma knife radiation treatment, that are causing my symptoms.
I guess I thought once they eliminated the brain lesions things would go back to “normal.” As I’m still learning, every treatment or phase of this disease puts me into a “new normal.” Brain metastasis is no different. The lesions followed by gamma knife radiation treatment have affected multiple areas of my body. I didn’t know there could be this many correlations, but it turns out there are. I’ll go through each of them and talk about what I learned, and what we can do about it, if anything.
The night before my appointment, I flew in from Idaho Falls, Idaho, where my Homey and our Roamy are. (We have recently started calling our Roam Home “Roamy.” ❤️)
Enterprise gave me a great deal on a rental car. I did the “mystery” car option, which saved me money, and the worker said to take my pick of any SUV in Aisle 3. I chose the Jeep Grand Cherokee. It was clean, smelled nice, and was fun to drive. It rained the whole time I was in the Houston area, so I was happy to have a more substantial vehicle.
My plane got in after dark, and I drove about 30 minutes to my hotel from the airport. I have to admit, Downtown Houston is really pretty at night!
I spent the night in a hotel near MD Anderson so I could walk or take the shuttle. Plus, I would not have to pay for parking at the hospital or deal with the morning downtown traffic. Have I told you how much I detest driving in downtown Houston traffic 😂🤪? I took the shuttle over (it was raining), but I walked back the hotel rather than waiting (there was a break in the rain).
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I was on time to my appointment. They said to plan on a three hour visit, which I did. My entire appointment took about 4.5 hours. 🙄 😳
First the tech did a bunch of eye tests to look at vision, peripheral, colorblindness, pressure and more. Similar to the annual eye doctor checks, only more in depth and slightly different tests. They also took vitals (they ALWAYS take vitals). Mine are good. 👍
Next the OD (optometrist) and PA came in to see me. He gave me his card, but I don’t have his name in front of me. He was very thorough, and didn’t seem rushed at all. They both checked my eyes, did a bunch of tests on the double vision and prism, and talked to me about why they think this is occurring. He found some slight worsening in my double vision since I saw Dr. Boeckman and got my new glasses in April. I get a new script and new glasses every year.
He was the first to tell me I had a TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) from breast cancer lesions and gamma knife radiation treatment. This is causing my double vision, because the lesions occurred in the cerebellum which controls balance and vision. Incidentally, I had severe dizziness in 2018, which prompted the first brain MRI when we found the lesions. I continue to have mild dizzy spells, but nothing like when I had the brain mets.
The Optometrist gave me a helpful tip for dealing with vision and balance issues. Always look with your nose. E.g. point your nose at what you want to look at, and it will help your eyes to come together better. This may help with walking, especially in precarious places like hiking near a cliff or going up a staircase.
Dr. Al-Zibidi, Neuro-ophthalmologist, was last to see me. She had reviewed my history, and then she performed her own exam. She looked at my eyes, then dilated my eyes, then examined them again. She was very thorough. She’s an Associate Professor with MD Anderson, and a very good educator. She said my eyes look good!
She further expanded on what the optometrist had said. She explained how our vision works with the brain, how mine has been impacted by the brain Mets and gamma knife radiation effects.
She described how the vestibular system works, and explained some medical terms like occipital vestibular and gravity vestibular. Basically, if I understand it correctly (I’m not that kind of doctor 🥴), the vestibular system involves the connections between eyes and inner ears, and extremities and the ears, and sends messages to our brain. All of these connections are translated by the brain, in the cerebellum. That’s where I had the three brain lesions in 2018 that were treatment with gamma knife radiation in January of 2019, so my brain doesn’t always “interpret” the messages correctly that are sent by my vestibular system.
All this to say, having a history of brain lesions and radiation can cause many things that are going on with me, even years after the radiation treatment. These symptoms may sound daunting when we look at them all together, but I have been managing them well. Most are mild enough we don’t have to worry at this point. We will continue to watch in case things get suddenly worse.
I have double vision, abnormal gait, posture instability, and problems with depth perception. This results in dizziness at times as well as occasional headaches.
When I take a step, sometimes my brain does not interpret the step correctly. It “misaligns,” and tells my body the step is further away or closer than it is. For example in the airport I was having trouble walking in a straight line. People were trying to pass and they couldn’t figure out which side to pass on 😂😂. I blamed it on my suitcase which has a mind of its own. It does 🙄, but I probably could not pass a sobriety test if I got pulled over and the officer directed me to walk the line.
My steps tend to be heavier, as my body is trying to feel the gravitational pull (gravity vestibular). It’s the same concept with people who have neuropathy (which I also have). My mom had diabetic neuropathy and I could see it in her gait. Mine is from treatment. We “trudge,” because our body is putting the full foot down so the brain can interpret the level of gravity which connects to the foot. Vestibular issues can make one feel like you are “floating,” because of the miscommunication between the brain and gravity. (That’s fun 🤪 🙄). I can only explain it like I’m wearing big heavy boots for walking on the moon; I “stomp” to stay grounded. It’s not intentional, but my body walks that way. Sometimes I can intentionally walk differently, but it makes me feel uneasy. Mine is not nearly as bad as some people have it, and for that I am grateful. However, if you ever pay attention to how I walk you will probably witness the moon walk.
I tilt my head to compensate for the vertical double vision (I didn’t really know I did that, but the doctor saw me doing it). I feel a bit dizzy at times, like the room is spinning, especially when I first get up. It goes away quickly. I just have to sit a moment and move slowly. Head tilting can also cause issues with the spinal column alignment, and produces hard knots in my neck. Tim is constantly massaging my shoulders, but the tightness in my neck never really goes away. (Ooh, maybe I can get a doctor’s note to get regular massages covered by my insurance! Just thought of that. 🤩🤩)
Sometimes my brain does not interpret depth perception properly, which makes going up and down steps a bit more challenging than it used to be. I am much more cautious getting in an out of a vehicle, walking around curbs, going up/down steps, and I have actually felt paralyzed at times when a step “seems” too hard for my body to manage. This happened to me when we were hiking in Colorado, and again at the Devil’s Canyon Overlook.
If it’s a set of steps made out of rocks on a hiking path, where the steps change shapes or size from one to the next, I have to stop and let my brain figure out how to take the next step. Otherwise I feel like I will fall. My fear of heights starts kicking in and I start to panic. I have to take deep breaths and let my eyes focus on the task at hand.
I haven’t actually fallen yet, and hopefully I can continue to prevent that. I often rely on Tim and sometimes I use a walking pole to feel confident with each step when hiking in unfamiliar surroundings. Tim lends a shoulder whenever we are going up/down a regular set of stairs like in the Capitol buildings.
Even swallowing takes a bit more effort than it used to, which is apparently also connected to vestibular issues. I get hiccups more than I’ve ever had in the past (mainly while I’m eating). I had no idea all these things could be related 🤷♀️🤷♀️.
These symptoms in combination sound quite daunting, and I suppose they could be if I choose to let it be, or if my circumstance got worse. But it doesn’t currently interfere with life. It’s more of what I think of as an inconvenience. It may stop me for a momentary pause, and people may look at me sideways 😁😆, but I just keep going. I don’t let it get me down. I don’t let it prevent me from living life and challenging my body a bit.
Honestly, it’s good to finally have some answers on the “why” questions to all these little physical annoyances. All of this because of a traumatic brain injury. Who knew?
And maybe a little extra because I’m getting old. 😂 😂 🤪 🤪
The doctor said we can work on the gait and posture with PT/OT, but I’m not a fall risk so I don’t really need (or want) to do that right now. They can’t do much for the double vision except continue to put prism in the glasses. Horizontal double vision is easier because there’s a wider field to work with. But mine is vertical (left eye is higher than the right). They can only put so much prism before it becomes distorted, making everything worse (we are getting close to that point). If it gets too bad, I could wear a patch over one eye and just look through the other. Arrr 🏴☠️
Tim asked if I could get a pirate outfit to go with the patch 🤦♀️ 😂 🤪.
There are other options for future treatment, if things continue to get really bad. They can give me steroids, or if it gets really, really bad, they could do surgery. But, my vision would have to be stable for six months to get surgery, which is not likely to happen.
IF my eyes did stabilize for at least six months, surgery on the occipital nerves or muscles (not sure which) would have to be done by the pediatric surgeons at Texas Children Hospital. Yes, you read that right. Apparently pediatric surgeons are the only ones who do this type of surgery since it’s mostly kids who have this problem. I could get into that!
Tim said he always knew I was still a kid at heart 😂 🤪.
I don’t anticipate needing surgery any time soon. And neither do the doctors. They are just telling me things to look out for. Now they have my issues on record so I can be followed as needed.
The worse case scenario, if one wants to think about worse case scenarios, is if those post-radiation spots developed necrosis or edema or we had progression with more lesions. I think that would be really, really, really bad, but we don’t anticipate that happening either. Continued prayers 🙏🏻 in that vein are appreciated 🫶!
Dr. Al-Zibidi said if this problem was going to correct itself, they would have expected it to do so within 4-6 months post radiation. So that’s not likely to happen. It’s been 5 almost 6 years since I had mine, so the chance of spontaneous correction will be left up to God. We can still pray for a miracle! 🙏🏻🙏🏻
In the meantime, we will keep treating the symptoms (double vision, gait, head tilt, balance) unless there is a sudden and significant change, at which point we would start looking at other options. Dr. Al-Zibidi said she would like to see me back in 6-12 months to check their numbers and see if anything has changed, but she’s quite content for my regular optometrist to follow me, and doesn’t anticipate needing to see her on a regular basis. She complimented Dr. Boeckman, and said he is doing a good job. She’s pleased with his work (he also faxed over all my records so MD Anderson could review the history). That’s encouraging. I like going to him, and I have seen him for nearly 15 years now.
After my appointment I walked back to the hotel, picked up my car, and drove to Conroe where I stayed the night in a different hotel. A much better hotel, for less money, actually. It was raining, and my eyes were still dilated, so that was a fun drive 🥴🫤🙃. I picked up the mail, went by our storage shed, visited with my son and his family, and finished the trip with my infusion the next day before flying back to Idaho Falls.
Whew. That’s a lengthy blog. Sorry about that. But, I learned a lot, and hopefully you did too. Now I know what to look out for, and I know better how to pray. I also feel like I have answers that explain some of the things I’ve been experiencing, so it will help me to have a better handle on what my body. I feel confident that my body is just responding to history, rather than “new” cancer issues creeping up, and I believe what they shared with me to be true. This referral by my optometrist and my neurosurgeon was a good idea. I’m in good hands.
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
Some of my faithful followers (or follower as it may be; there may only be one of you 🤪😂), are wondering about the whole surgery and recovery I just went through. I’ve been updating on Facebook, but here it is in one place for those of you who don’t see my posts or are curious on the chronology of events.
Tuesday, June 7. Surgery #1. SURGICAL LAPAROSCOPY WITH PARTIAL COLECTOMY, REMOVAL OF TERMINAL ILEUM, AND ILEOCOLOSTOMY. That’s a long way of saying I had surgery due to a large polyp in my colon. It was not cancerous, thank God! But I was glad we did it. I was in a lot of pain, even to the point of massive belly spasms if I was touched with the slightest feather.
Wednesday, June 8. Surgery #2 (Emergency Surgery). I had a sudden drop in hemoglobin and hypotension overnight. My blood pressure was 70/40 at one point. They started giving me bags of blood. I have O-negative blood, which primarily requires O-negative even though I’m a universal donor. In an emergency I can receive O-positive, which they did at least once due to a blood shortage. Dr. You wrote an exception that said, “Patient O Rh Neg transfused with O Rh Pos blood due to temporary unavailability of Rh compatible units.” People were asking if they could donate blood in my name, but she didn’t think that would matter. I could have sworn I saw an AB bag come through, but I must have dreamed that one. 😂🤪
They gave me about five bags total over night. It didn’t correct the problem, so I went in for a second, emergency surgery. Dr. You told Tim he might want to be here, so he came to the hospital and waited while I was in surgery. Nobody kept him informed as it was an emergency and they didn’t have him on a text string. Surgery was successful, and Dr. You said she was glad she had gone back in. They found a large hematoma with a hemorrhage, in the lining below my belly button. This is likely why I had all the belly pain.
She cauterized the bleed, made a bigger incision to remove the hematoma near the pelvis, and believed she had fixed the problem. I had two more bags after surgery for a total of seven. Plus a bag of plasma. Fortunately they were on top of it. Their quick response prevented what could have been a very serious or even fatal situation. This set my recovery time back a bit because of the back-to-back anesthesia, but we were back on course.
She’s not really sure why I had the hemorrhage. She said there are a lot of tiny blood vessels in that area. I have lots of scarring from my DIEP flap, so that could have contributed.
Thursday. June 9. They moved me to PACU, the step-down unit from ICU. The nurses are so attentive here. The room is small and uncomfortable for Tim as we can’t really talk very easily. I will be here for several days before going to a regular room. I have four incisions on my belly, with the largest being near my pelvis where they removed the hematoma. I’m so thankful there are no drain tubes! Just dissolvable stitches with steristrips.
Friday. June 10. I’m still on a liquid diet. Ice chips are my friend and I’ve been living on popsicles and jello. Honestly if I never see another jello again, I could live with that. I still have a catheter. I can barely move. Tim has come to visit me every day so far. It’s a long drive, and he has to navigate the whole parking system. It’s a pain, but he does it anyway. The nurses are so helpful, as well as the techs. They draw my blood regularly and bring me medicine for the pain. It’s tolerable, but I’m getting hungry for some real food.
Feeling a little down emotionally, due to some family related issues. There is a lot going on with our kids, Tim’s mom, his jobs, and of course … this. Being in the hospital makes it hard, because I can’t really do anything to help. I feel so helpless and Tim is taking on all the burdens. I’m looking forward to getting out.
A very cheerful Physical Therapist came to visit me late in the day. She was way too cheery for me today. I just want to eat 🙄. She had me doing some leg exercises and walked me all around the building. She’s trying to convince me to use a walker, which I did, reluctantly. I didn’t get tired as easily, but I really don’t like the walker. I feel like an old lady using it. It’s hard to listen to someone with a bubbly personality when you just want to crawl in bed and get under the covers. I told my doctor about that when he came by later and he chuckled.
Saturday, June 11. Day five in the hospital. We got up early, changed my gown, and moved me to the chair. Wow. We take so much for granted, like a simple move from the bed to the chair. It’s much harder than it looks. I had some trouble getting deep breaths due to the belly pain and it’s restricting. I’m doing my breathing exercises, and I ordered breakfast. Hot tea and a popsicle. Still on a clear liquid diet and waiting for the . My face is super puffy from all the weight gain. I’m hoping it comes off!
Tim came to the room and we worked on our research project for about an hour. There was a fire drill that lasted for at least ten or fifteen minutes, and had us wondering whether we would need to leave the building. Crazy…
Did my breathing treatment, meds, took another walk, then they finally moved me to a regular room. At least the window is bigger and I can see more than a parking garage. I see the blue sky and a rooftop of another MD Anderson building that has some type of garden up there. Intriguing. I’m walking better but still very tender in the belly. I’ll be watching church online tomorrow.
I am having difficulty breathing, so they did a chest x-ray. The tech came to my room and did it right there in my bed. It was done in 2 minutes. Amazing technology. Result: “The bilateral basilar atelectasis or pneumonia and small pleural effusions.” I saw the picture when he took it, and I thought it looked like half of my lung was missing. Basically I was full of fluid. My lungs were concerning, so I’m trying to do the breathing exercises more regularly. They want me to do ten per hour, but I sleep a lot so I know I’m not doing nearly enough. So. Tired. Fluid. Everywhere. I was gaining weight and it wasn’t coming off. So hard to breathe. So hard to stay positive. So hard to stay motivated to do the breathing exercises. They want me up and moving, so I’m walking around the nurse’s station 5-6 times per day. It takes a LOT of effort, but I know the adage, “no pain, no gain.”
Sunday, June 12. Wish I could go to church, but online will have to suffice. They removed my catheter which was a huge help. (They did that right about the time Tim started preaching Shh don’t tell him ). Still having trouble breathing, and my belly is swollen with so much fluid. So they did a CT scan of my abdomen. That’s the worse one I’ve ever experienced. Drinking the contrast nearly made me sick, and I had trouble laying flat and breathing. I could not hold my breath for the whole ten count, but they said it was okay. They did find lots of inflammation, including my gall bladder. At this point they are thinking it will settle down as the fluid begins to pass.
Tim came to visit me after church. He came bearing gifts and cards from the church family. A beautiful prayer blanket was knitted by Mrs. Gonzalez, who prays over every stitch as she makes them. It’s beautiful and meaningful as well. I am reminded I am covered in prayer whenever it is near me.
By the end of the day, I was passing liquid poop. Tim gave me a high five at five. I’ve never been so happy to poop. Then they let me take a shower and wash my hair. Yes, I did it myself with just a little help from hubby. He does deserve much credit. He is such a trooper. I love him and appreciate him so much. It’s not easy getting in and out of the buildings here. Amazing how much more human you feel after a shower.
I was up walking six times today including the CT adventure. I’m still on a clear liquid diet until tomorrow at least. I’m hoping I get some soft food like mashed potatoes or oatmeal sometime tomorrow. That would make my day. I haven’t been extremely hungry because of the the inflammation, but mashed potatoes sound really good right now.
Monday, June 13. Day 7 in the hospital. I did not feel well today, so I wasn’t feeling like posting. I was disappointed when the doctor said the poop was only one step. I still needed to pass gas. Still on a clear liquid diet for another day. Just a general overall yucky feeling. Smells, alcohol prep, even lovely perfumes were upsetting. I think I just need some real food in my belly. It’s been more than one week since I’ve had any real food.
The nurses change shifts every 12 hours, at 7:00 AM and PM. They always look at my incisions and share a report with the next nurse at the shift change. Most of the nurses are pretty good, attentive and helpful, but one nurse has a very thick dialect and I can’t understand most of what she says. I’m sure it is frustrating for her, but just as much for me. I was glad when her shift was up. The nurses and techs come in a variety of ages, ethnicities, and levels of experience.
Everyone who comes in wants to look at my belly. I’m thinking of charging admission. 😂
Tim wasn’t able to visit me today because of multiple meetings and work commitments, so I was not only feeling yucky physically, but a little emotionally drained as well. I was “tucked in” by my night nurse, who is older than some of the others. I have her had for a few days now. She cradled my head in her hands, kissed me on the forehead, and said, “I love you.” She will never know how much that meant to me, to hear those words just before going to bed. Nurses do not get enough credit for all they do.
Tuesday, June 14. Today is much better! I woke up before the sun when the lady from vascular access came to work on my port. She was interesting, with a spiked hairdo and fun conversation. We had a nice chat about Hall & Oates, amongst other bands from my era which she has seen. She knew who Charle DeChant was, also known as “Mr. Casual,” which was impressive to me. He plays saxophone for Hall & Oates, and I got to know him when he played in our band in Orlando from time to time. Love to hear him play!
Anyway, she was here because they are having trouble getting blood return from my port. It flushes fine, meaning it can receive fluids, but it must go both ways or there is probably a clot preventing the return. The needle was scheduled for removal tomorrow anyway, so she removed the needle from my port and inserted a new one. Still no blood return. TPA (medicine) was inserted to break down any potential blood clots or fibrous something or other. Wait three hours and try again.
Used the bathroom (this is becoming a regular occurrence now) then went for a walk. Three laps this time. I am very slow but I keep my head up and so far no falls.
My doctor came in around 5:00 AM and said he was bumping up my diet…FINALLY!! He had to staff it with the team to write the order, so I waited and waited. I could envision eggs, oatmeal, toast, and maybe even a banana. It took three hours for the order to go through, but I finally got to order my real food. Starting slow. Just a few bites of each. Just a flavor change. Even though the eggs were cold, it was a nice change of pace. If I do well on this diet, I might get to go home tomorrow.
So the Hall & Oates lady went home for the day, and another vascular access specialist came up and tried again. Still no blood return. Second dose of TPA was inserted, then we waited another three hours. No blood draws or medicine in the port during TPA. My port has had a beating this week. I think it is starting to rebel. In the meantime, I got flowers delivered to my room from the Parkgate Church family, and I talked to some friends. That cheered me up.
But the BEST news of the day came when I learned that our #6 Jedi was born at 8:14 AM! His birthday is June 14, 2022, exactly 13 months to the day after his big sister Mikayla. Jaxson weighs 5 lbs 11 oz, is 17 3/4in and head is 13in. She was 36 weeks, 4 days. He’s a tiny thing! Mommy and baby are doing well, and I can’t wait to see them both. This was taken right after birth, at the beginning of the “golden hour.”
Wednesday, June 15.
I managed to do well on a full diet for a day, so they discharged me today. Funny, I only had two meals really. Breakfast and then spaghetti for a late lunch. I only ate a few bites as I still feel very, very full.
We are staying at the RV for about a week, as I have some follow-up appointments downtown and we didn’t want to go too far away from the hospital for a few days. Just the drive to the RV made me sick to my stomach. I threw up, but once that was over, I started feeling much better.
Our RV looks like a hospital, with a wedge on my bed, breathing treatments on my nightstand, and multiple bottles of pain killers on the bathroom sink. I’m only taking them as needed. Fortunately my pain is under control.
Watermelon tastes really good. I’m trying to keep my fluids up, but my belly still feels really full. I have yet to pass gas, but I still have several bouts of diarrhea per day. Slowly feeling better, day by day. I slept 12 hours after I got home, without any pokes or prods in between.
Thursday, June 16. Today was a full day. I started a class called “Active Living After Cancer.” I thought this would be a good time to do it since I need to start getting active again after my surgery. It’s a virtual class on Zoom, and they are sending a package with all kinds of goodies in it. They wanted us to “walk” for 2 minutes in class, but when they turned on the video it was more like Zumba. 🤪😳 I couldn’t even do 2 minutes. I have a goal to work up to.
Our son and daughter-in-law surprised us with a quick visit to introduce us to our newest grand baby, Jaxson Timothy West. They have been waiting to make the announcement because they wanted Tim to hear firsthand that they named the baby after him. What an honor and a blessing!
He was released early from the hospital because there was a gas leak outside the building. Fortunately, he had already passed his hearing test and car seat test. Apparently the moms were all gathering in the lobby because they could smell propane. They started discharging them all, including little Jaxson and Bree.
I am still providing supervision for a couple of LMFTs who are working toward licensure, so I had two sessions this afternoon. They were very accommodating and understanding of my surgery and recovery. I was pretty tired after that, but it felt good to do something productive and helpful. What a full day!
The church has decided to bring us meals for a few days. That was such a blessing! We had kids meals from Olive Garden tonight. I was a little concerned about the spaghetti after yesterday’s fiasco, but I mostly ate the noodles and only a little sauce. I ate one shrimp. Only about three or four bites and I was finished. No problems keeping it down. I’m sure the other day was due to transporting home, and of course Olive Garden has much better food anyway. The kids meals were the perfect size. Tim ate the rest of mine and we had grapes left over for a snack.
Friday, June 17. I farted!
Friday, June 17. The picture captioned above says it all. 😂😂😂 I finally started passing gas, and while there was no “plop, plop, fizz, fizz,” it was such a relief! My system is taking a while to figure out the new structure, but it’s finally getting it. Our church friends brought us caprese chicken with rice, fruit salad, bagged salad, and homemade focaccia bread. It was nice to have company and chat for a few minutes. This was the first time I ate more than just a few bites. Nearly a whole meal!
Saturday, June 18. Getting stronger every day. But it’s slow going. I feel like I’m about 5% better each day, on a scale of 100%. I still haven’t left the RV, so my walking consists of walking from the living room to the bedroom and back (about 20 steps). We’ll get there! Tim turned on the golf, which is always good for a nice nap. 😂
We had a wonderful meal of comfort food brought to us for dinner, including potato soup and club crackers. Again, nice to hang out with friends for a few minutes as well. Those crackers lasted me a few days, and they came in handy whenever I started feeling a little hungry or queasy on a long drive. They also brought a small carrot cake. Oh my! Let me say this was absolutely delicious, although I still can’t handle a lot of sweets.
Sunday, June 19. Father’s Day! Typically we would have a day out, and enjoy some time together as a couple, maybe even with some kids. Today would not be a typical Father’s Day. I would stay in bed and watch church online while Tim was preaching. We did finally venture out of the RV together and went for a dinner at Panera Bread. We didn’t want to go anywhere that would take too much effort to walk in. I had mac and cheese, with plenty left over for dinner tomorrow. I thought I had bought him a card, but honestly I couldn’t find it anywhere. Oh well, there’s always next year. OR, we can celebrate the Australian Father’s Day in September. 🥰😁
First dinner out after surgery. Happy Father’s Day sweetheart!
Well, that’s the update from surgery to my first meal out. The following week I continued to get stronger. We finally got to move back to our home in Conroe on Wednesday. I weighed myself on my home scale, and I’m down about ten pounds from what I was prior to surgery. I can see it in my face. I’ll take it!
Tim left on Thursday for Arkansas to visit his mom who has been ill, and then on to Kansas City to a friend’s wedding. I couldn’t go, but I’m okay. I had several doctor’s appointments which various people drove me to until I could drive myself, in addition to treatment. I had my follow-up with my surgeon (Dr. You) on Friday June 24th, and she discharged me from surgery! Yay! I’m officially free, just continuing with recovery. No restrictions, except I can’t lift for another 4 weeks. She said by July 4th I should be feeling pretty normal.
I drove myself for the first time, to run some errands yesterday (Saturday), and the steristrips finally fell off later today as well. The incisions look really good. I think they should be fairly invisible within a few months.
That brings us to today, and the end of this very lengthy blog. Tim drove all the way home from Kansas City last night. He stopped a couple of times to sleep, so we will probably go to bed early. We watched church online and we are going to go see an Elvis movie this afternoon.
I know I’ve said it a bunch of times, but I am so thankful for all the prayers, cards, texts, calls, messages, and gifts from my friends and family. I have a great prayer support network, who prayed for me even when I didn’t have the strength to pray for myself. I am looking forward to continuing to grow stronger, to the point that at the end of July we have a bike trip planned. More on that later!
Dr. Kovitz, my medical oncologist, called me today. Apparently he spoke with my surgeon and they decided I can go ahead with my infusion on Thursday. The surgeon was following her regular protocol which is to stop all chemotherapy infusions before surgery. But Dr. Kovitz reminded her this is not chemotherapy (even though we call it chemo and it’s infused in the chemo infusion center). It’s immunotherapy. Dr. Kovitz said we really don’t know how long we would have to wait for it to get out of my system anyway. So…we are back on schedule for treatment this week.
Oh, did I forget to tell you I’m scheduled for surgery? 🙄
It’s been a busy week. We helped move our daughter’s family out of their apartment into a storage unit until their next place is ready. They can move in tomorrow. She has been staying with us (and her two kids) in the meantime. The kids are feeling the transition. They are five and three, and they are good at it. 😂 Did I say they can move in tomorrow? 😂🤪😂 She also starts a new job tomorrow. But that’s a whole other story for a different blog.
Surgery, oh yeah.
My colorectal surgeon, Dr. You (not to be mistaken for Dr. Who), called me after the failed polyp procedure. She said we have two options. Since the biopsies did not show cancer (they are precancerous adenomas which may or may not turn into cancer), we can “wait and see.” In other words, go in every year or so and take more biopsies to see if progresses to something more. If it does, we will do surgery then.
OR …
If I “can’t sleep at night” because I’m concerned about it, or I just want to be certain, we can go ahead and do the surgery. Remove part of my colon, appendix, and of course the polyp.
I weighed the options. Hmmm. I don’t like the idea of waiting and watching something grow. We did that with my breast cancer the first time, and look where it got me.
And then Dr. You gave me the blueberry pancake analogy, a/k/a her “caveat.” That sealed the deal for me. After talking with hubby and friends, we all agreed.
What is the blueberry pancake analogy? I’m glad you asked.
Basically, when they do biopsies it’s like pulling pieces from a blueberry pancake. If they find blueberries, we know they exist. However, there is no guarantee there are no blueberries just because they didn’t find any in the biopsy. Her caveat is that. Unless we remove the whole pancake, we don’t know if we missed any blueberries. But don’t worry, she added. There are several stages before it hits the cancer stage. 😳😳
I like blueberries, but not when they are compared to cancerous growths. I didn’t like the idea of the slightest possibility that something could still be lurking underneath this giant thing. The only way to know for sure is to remove the whole pancake, er, I mean, polyp.
Besides, my insurance is changing to Medicare in July and we still don’t know what all that means. All my out of pocket expenses are currently met for the year with my current insurance, so we can let Cigna pay for it.
All that to say…we decided to go ahead and do the surgery. It’s scheduled for Tuesday June 7th at the downtown MD Anderson Cancer Center. I have pre-op in The Woodlands on Friday May 27th, a Covid test and labs on Sunday June 5th, bowel prep (of course), and then I’ll be in the hospital from June 7th until after surgery for 3-5 days (depending on how quickly I poop💩). It looks like recovery is about 6 weeks but she said I should be feeling pretty good after 2-4 weeks.
If you’ve been keeping up with my blog, you know that yesterday I went in for a procedure to remove a large polyp in my colon. At first it looked like the polyp was about 2 cm, but after further digging and evaluating it is estimated between 6-7 cm. It goes around a corner where the colon folds. Apparently my body is good at growing things inside. 😪 I wish I could transfer my luck to the lottery!
There are only 1-2 doctors in the whole world who do this procedure. They send challenging cases to this doctor because he is very good at what he does. MD Anderson is noted to be best in the world. I trust them. Dr. Ge has a 95% success rate for removing difficult polyps, and he was quite confident going in that he would be able to remove it, with minimal risks.
He explained the reasons for staying on a liquid diet after the procedure, to avoid tearing or lacerations, etc. We don’t want all that “stuff” to end up inside. I wasn’t looking forward to the recovery time.
The reason this polyp is a challenge is due to the fold in the colon. It’s on the far right side of my body, and hard to access. Apparently, there is a lot of scar tissue in addition to some markers around this polyp, so it appears this one has been worked on before. It has been likely growing for a long time. It is probably a continuation or regrowth of the polyp I had the very first time I had a colonoscopy eight years ago, which my previous doctor had “removed.” Dr. Ge said he would not have let this go five years between colonoscopies. Lesson learned!
I was under general anesthesia and had a very nice nap. I couldn’t tell you what I dreamt. I was having a nice chat with the anesthesia assistant about the blizzard of ’78 in southern Ohio (he was born in Dayton, just 30 minutes from my home town). The next thing I knew I was waking up and it was all over. Dr. Ge waited until I was more awake to talk to me, and then he went over 15 pages which document the procedure with pictures. It’s pretty cool, really, what they can do with those cameras and toys.
Anyway, he showed me the steps he took to try and remove it. He tried several methods and techniques as well as some expensive tools that other gastroenterologists don’t have access to. Long story short, after two and a half hours he realized it was not going to happen. He removed some pieces of it, and a couple of other polyps as well which they sent to pathology. I should get those results back in about a week.
I apologized for messing up his success rate. 😪 😫 He chuckled. He said this is the reason he gets all the tough cases. But he admitted he had never seen anything like this in all his years of working. (He looks young, so I’m not sure how long that is 🤪.) It was definitely something that he wasn’t expecting. Who knows, I may end up in some medical journal because of it.
The next step is go back to the colorectal surgeon for another consult. There was some talk about whether it is worth doing the surgery due to my current metastatic breast cancer diagnosis. I was a little offended by that, to be honest, as I believe I have a lot of years left! I don’t want this thing to turn into colon cancer. That’s how my grandfather died. But what are the risks of that?
Here’s what I found on Healthline. According to the Colon Cancer Alliance, the risk of developing colon cancer is one in 20. Doctors screen for this type of cancer by looking for polyps in the colon and rectum. Like most forms of cancer, early detection can make a big difference in survival rates. If identified at the local stage, the five-year survival rate is 90 percent. However, if identified at a later stage when the cancer has spread, the five-year survival rate is 12 percent. PSA: Get your colonoscopy!
So much to consider. If we do it, we will schedule surgery to have part of my colon removed. Stay tuned and I’ll keep you posted. The upside? I get to eat today with no restrictions.
We never give up. Our bodies are gradually dying, but we ourselves are being made stronger each day. These little troubles are getting us ready for an eternal glory that will make all our troubles seem like nothing. Things that are seen don’t last forever, but things that are not seen are eternal. This is why we keep our minds on the things that cannot be seen.
Someone asked me at church on Sunday for an update on my colon situation. I was on her prayer list, and she wanted to know when my procedure is. I am always impressed by the saints who pray for me on a daily basis. I know they don’t do it for that reason, but I’m sure there will be some extra jewels in their crowns when they get to Heaven.
It’s scheduled for noon tomorrow (Wednesday). I have to check-in at 11:00. At least we’ll miss the morning rush hour. They will access my port, and then I’ll get a nice long nap! Tim will drive me there and back. Apparently they don’t want me to get a DUI 😳.
On a walk through the Houston Botanic Garden, yesterday.
It seems like a lifetime ago when I found out I have a polyp in my colon that needs to be removed. Previous blogs have addressed the problem, consults, and where we are today. Dr. Ge didn’t bring me in for another consult; he just scheduled the procedure. I’m always grateful when I can avoid a trip to the downtown center.
It’s called a FLEXIBLE COLONOSCOPY WITH ENDOSCOPIC MUCOSAL RESECTION. It’s a little more than a colonoscopy, but less than major surgery. If they can’t get the whole polyp, they may have to do surgery to remove part of my colon. Let’s pray they get the whole thing! I have to stay in the Houston area for the first 48 hours, just in case there are problems. We have our RV down here, so that’s convenient. Praying for no problems!
The procedure will take about three hours. That seems like a long time, especially compared to the regular colonoscopies. We should be done just in time for the afternoon rush hour. I guess we can’t have it both ways. 🤷♀️ *sigh*
I am prepping…again. This time is different. I’ll have the beef consommé, the Miralax/ Gatorade cocktail, and a side of Dulcolax, s’il vous plait. Still waiting for it to “kick in” at this writing.
No food. Only clear liquids all day today (hence the consommé), as well as the next couple of days after the procedure. Then I can slowly ramp up to a normal diet by day six. I do have some popsicles and jello!
Tim conveniently had a meeting tonight, so he gets to miss all the fun 🤪😁. He will be feeding himself for a few days, so I stocked the freezer with some Aussie meat pies and Texas steaks. He’ll be fine.
My daughter introduced me to Dr. Who years ago. We watched the whole series. The knowledge has come in handy from time to time, as I now know what a Tardis is, amongst other things. It was hard to imagine Dr. Who as Queen Elizabeth’s husband in “The Crown” series, but there he was! I kept imagining he would find a red phone booth somewhere in London and poof!
Sometimes I wish I could be transported into the future when technology can eliminate the need for doctors. But for now, it’s the life I live. One specialist after another. I’ve kind of lost count, but I have many doctors following me, and they all have their niche reasons. It’s a full-time job being my own personal assistant. Fortunately, I have a calendar to keep me straight. Most of the time.
Dr. You is a colorectal surgeon at MD Anderson. She comes to The Woodlands once or twice a week, so I agreed to see her. My oncologist referred me to her when I told him about the polyp in my colon. I liked Dr. Knapp (see previous post), but it doesn’t hurt to have a second opinion.
As it turns out, MD Anderson has a team of specialists who can remove challenging polyps laparoscopically. This can help me to avoid surgical removal of part of my colon. That’s the hope anyway! Dr. You referred me to Dr. Gee. (It’s not pronounced “Jee” like I thought. The G is hard as in “goose.”) Anyway, he will perform a special procedure to get the polyp out of there.
It’s scheduled for Wednesday, April 27th. Downtown. Fortunately we will already be downtown so I won’t have to fight quite as much traffic. There’s a bit more prep than a regular colonoscopy, including a Covid test the previous day, followed up by a week-long liquid diet ramped up to normal.
The upside is, I might lose some weight in the process. One can hope! I’ll keep you posted on the outcome.
Not everything I do medically is because of breast cancer, but it certainly has an impact.
I saw Dr. Knapps, a colorectal surgeon, for a consult today. Don’t worry if you don’t know what that is. The benefits specialist at my insurance company didn’t know what it is either. (I’m not sure he spoke English, to be honest.) But, it’s covered, so that’s all I wanted to know.
I was referred by my gastroenterologist, who did my colonoscopy.
He reviewed Dr. Maheshwari’s reports, looked at the path report and determined we are not in an emergency state. Whew! I knew that, but it’s good to hear him say it. The pathology report on the piece of the polyp already removed shows it is benign. But they have to take it all out to ensure there isn’t something else lurking underneath. Since it’s in the fold, I was referred to a surgeon.
The good news is, he can attempt to do it with another colonoscopy. (Yay! More prep 🙄.) Since he’s a surgeon, he can clip more aggressively to remove the whole polyp. If he accidentally clips my colon in the process, he can repair it. My gastroenterologist can’t do that, so they are more careful when dealing with the folds of the colon. He said I can do that in a couple of months or so. If that doesn’t take care of it, he may remove a section of my colon. I prefer the former option, so I’m praying that works.
In the meantime, I got a referral from my oncologist to see one of the MD Anderson colorectal surgeons for a second opinion. I’ll see her on the 24th, and then I can make my decision. If she says the same thing, I’ll most likely go back to Dr. Knapps. I liked him, and Tim liked him, so there’s that. Another benefit…He can do it locally rather than downtown Houston.
I prepped on Thursday (I already blogged about that fun process 🙄), and I had a colonoscopy yesterday 😳. The doctor also did an endoscopy (a scan of the stomach and esophagus.) More on the results in a minute. But first…
Public Service Announcement. If you are over 50, and you have never gotten a colonoscopy, NOW is the time to do it. The prep is awful. I can attest to that! It’s 24 hours of liquid diet including a total colon cleanse. I imagine this is probably why most people don’t get one. When will I have the time to do that? They ask. Or, they think it’s too expensive (insurance will cover it 👍.) And, you can’t drive yourself home. You can get a DUI for that. Trade off with someone you know. Drive them to get their colonoscopy.
Regardless of the inconvenience, a colonoscopy is the bestway to prevent colon cancer. You won’t feel any symptoms until you have cancer and it is so far along it may or may not be treatable. You don’t know what’s lurking in your system until it has been scoped. It is much better to prevent cancer than to deal with it. Believe me, I know about dealing with cancer!
If you have a family history of colon cancer, you should probably start getting a colonoscopy even before you turn 50. Maybe as early as 40, they are now recommending. My grandfather died from colon cancer, my mother had lots of polyps, and there are others in the family who have had bowel resections as well as other colon related issues. I make sure when it’s time, I get my body checked for this one.
I waited until I was 50. The doctor found a huge polyp during my first colonoscopy, and another one a year later. We don’t know how long the big one had been growing, but fortunately we caught it at the “pre-cancerous” stage. If I had waited, I could have added colon cancer to my litany of medical problems.
After a clear scan, he finally gave me the 5-year approval, which landed us to the present. The last thing I remember before the procedure was the nurse saying, “have a nice time at the beach,” and then I woke up.
Results. I would like to say I am totally free from polyps, or any other colon related issues. However, he found another large polyp in my colon 😫, as well as some spots in the esophagus that he will continue to watch. He took several biopsies, which will come back in a week or ten days. He was unable to remove the polyp as it is in a colon fold, so he referred me to a surgeon to remove that section of my colon. Yep, I’m having yet another body part removed soon. They can do it with a small incision, apparently.
I don’t know what all of this means as of yet, but I guess I’ll know more when I see the surgeon. He wants to wait until the biopsies come back so we know more on what we are dealing with. I’m not worried, but I do wish my family history was a bit less tarnished with cancer. It’s a horrible disease.
My husband is one of the lucky ones. He has clean scans, and gets to repeat in five or ten years. I pray you are also one of the lucky ones.
I get to repeat this again in another year. Oh the joy…🙄🙄
. My face is super puffy from all the weight gain. I’m hoping it comes off!
). Still having trouble breathing, and my belly is swollen with so much fluid. So they did a CT scan of my abdomen. That’s the worse one I’ve ever experienced. Drinking the contrast nearly made me sick, and I had trouble laying flat and breathing. I could not hold my breath for the whole ten count, but they said it was okay. They did find lots of inflammation, including my gall bladder. At this point they are thinking it will settle down as the fluid begins to pass. 
I’ve never been so happy to poop. 
Then they let me take a shower 
and wash my hair. Yes, I did it myself with just a little help from hubby. He does deserve much credit. He is such a trooper. I love him and appreciate him so much. It’s not easy getting in and out of the buildings here. Amazing how much more human you feel after a shower.
delivered to my room from the Parkgate Church family, and I talked to some friends. That cheered me up.
