Good news all around!

Landry had her surgery: had a 10 lb. growth removed from her abdomen! Poor thing! She feels and looks a lot better now! They did remove her spleen, which dogs need about as much as we do.....not at all.

So Carol and Mark are truly celebrating this Christmas. Now the challenge will be to keep her away from her stitches. She likes to pull stitches out. Even when she's half out from anesthesia, as the vet discovered the last time she had surgery.

I got my "stitches" out yesterday. They weren't stitches, but staples. A tech took them out and it didn't hurt much at all. They were all amazed at how good my suture line is healing. It really is quite special. Janet took me to get them taken out. Lynne was going to take me, but came down with a nasty cold....so I'm glad that I got Janet...who is on the OTHER side of the same cold.

When we got back it was noon....I had a little of Carol's chicken soup and then went up to bed and slept for five hours!

The nurse told me to double up on the Miralax....take it in the AM and the PM and take another dose of Colace. Seems like every two hours I'm doing something to help my bowels....when are my bowels going to start helping me??? It's not like I'm eating a whole lot....I dropped four lbs.,
but there has to be something up there! Little pieces of chicken, some crackers, maybe some rice krispies???

I guess I'm as ready as I can ever be for Christmas. I have my presents, just have to wrap them. The kids will be coming over Wednesday. Have to find out when the Huskies vs Stanford game is...I bet it's the same time that the kids are here. We'll be going up to Phil's for Christmas Eve, where we always have a great time.

I wonder if I can get my hair done before Christmas. Sandy is going on Tuesday....she was able to switch her appt easily. Maybe they have a space for me. I need a trim. My last trim before it gets shaved off!

I see Dr. McCourt the first week of January and I'm sure they'll set me up with my first chemo appt. I don't want it to be the Friday that we are going to Maine for Camp Husky. I'm going to push for starting the middle of January.

Get it going and get it over with.

Tonight we are going to have a big storm. Figures that Sandy has to work. Which means that she'll come home to a snowed-in driveway. She was hoping it would snow on Sunday as they originally said. Then she could sleep Sunday night and clear off the snow in the AM. It rarely works out that way. Good thing we invested in that great snow blower last year!

Rocky likes the snow, even though he has the thinnest coat of all the dogs. He likes to go out and fly around...which makes us nervous that he could injure that surgically repaired leg, sliding around out there. So, he'll be happy tomorrow and Lily will be too. She loves the snow too.
Truman and Bubbles...not so much!

Well....I have a quiet day ahead of me....in the recliner, Rocky on my lap under the snuggy throw, Bub in Lily's bed, Lily on the floor, snoring. Nice.

I leave with this thought? Am I wrong for thinking very very bad thoughts about Joe Lieberman? I used to love this guy......not anymore!

GO HUSKIES!!! The new guy plays tomorrow!

Update to the post I did this morning: Landry had her spleen removed. The tumor (?) weighed 10 pounds! The doctor doesn't think the tumor is malignant and it had NOT spread to other areas....don't know what the first vet saw on the images. They also found out that Landry has only one kidney! Don't know where the other one got to. It's very rare for a dog to be born with only one kidney...but if there is a dog like that, it figures Carol and Mark would have it living with them!

So, we are cautiously optimistic here. She is spending the night at the vets. Hopefully the sweetheart can come home tomorrow.

We are so happy for her and for Carol and Mark...and her "brother" Porter, who was a wreck today while she was gone.

Oh, and they did show Sandy in the gas wars piece on Channel 3. Fortunately for her they cut out the part where she said, "this is great, my dogs are happy and I got gas!" Of course, it would have been THE BEST if they HAD let that stay in! HA HA! I would have laughed myself silly and so would everyone else who knows her.

She looked so cute on tv.

Home

Came home yesterday, climbed the stairs, put on my pjs and went to bed. Slept for five hours. It felt so good!

Carol brought over a huge pot of homemade chicken soup. Came up to see me. She got bad news about Landry yesterday. She has a splenetic tumor. She hasn't been eating right for two weeks and her stomach looked big....for reason. This news made me cry. I feel so bad for Landry and for Carol and Mark. They have had so many heartaches with their pets. Carol is taking Landry to the vet in W. Hartford today...he may do emergency surgery. The tumor is wrapping itself around all kinds of organs and it's moving fast. I hope it works out all right for Landry...she's such a sweetheart.

I had some of that soup last night, a small bowl, along with a piece of Canadian brown bread toasted. It was delish. No comparison to hospital food.

Poor Bubbie cried when she saw me for the first time. She grabbed a toy, came in the bathroom with me and cried and ran around in circles. It was cute and heartbreaking at the same time.

Sandy went to run errands and left Lily and Bub home with me....we all got in the bed and that's when I took my long nap. Didn't hear Rocky barking later and didn't hear when the Overhead Door guy came to fix the garage door. I gues I was out like a light.

Did I write here how I broke my glasses in the hospital? They just fell apart...just like they did a few months after I got them...cheap frames. The nurse got me a roll of tape and I would have to retape it three-four times a day. Sandy finally brought me my old glasses when she came to visit on Sunday and you know what? I seem to see better with the old glasses than the new ones. I think I'm going to ditch the graduated lenses (or whatever the hell you call them) next time. I'll stick with bifocals.

When I lay on my left side it hurts like hell...but it also gets the gas blowing out. It took a few hours to work last night, but when it got started, the results were fantastic! Lily was also blowing farts and between the two of us, the air was "special" in the bedroom last night.

Great to sleep in my own bed. That hospital bed was the worst. There was a "hole" in the middle that would really hurt my back. Enough of that...it's over.

I also didn't have my little snuggle bunnies (Bub and Rocky) in the bed with me in the hospital. Last night they both snuggled up to me. Rocky would lean over and kiss me every once in awhile in the middle of the night.

We started watching the last Star Trek movie on the Blue Ray player last night. Sandy had bought the movie on blue ray. That movie is fantastic. We had to switch it off as Sandy was getting tired, I could have stayed up to watch the whole thing...it was that good.

Sandy took Rocky and Truman to their PT appt this AM. I read in the paper that gas in Colchester is the cheapest in the state...so I called her to suggest she tank up while she's there. She did and the guy from Channel 3 was there doing a story on the cheap gas and interviewed her. She might be on tonight. We'll have to record it. I want to hear that voice on the tv.

Well...Bub thinks Sandy is home, she's barking at the door. I didn't hear the garage door, but I have headphones on. Oh wait....they are home!

Gotta go.

Going Home

Big day today. Sandy will be en route in an hour or so. I'm getting out this morning. Had some rough patches over the past few days with the gas, but last night I blew out a HUGE amount of gas and this morning when I woke up, I felt FANTASTIC!

Katie, the resident that I know from UConn came in this AM and took out the Jackson Pratt drain that was in my right side. That went well. I gave her my email address and she's going to drop me a line from time to time to let me know how she's doing. I really like her and she likes me. Nice person.

Every day is pretty much the same here. I have my little routine now. I walk, eat, wash up, play on the computer, sleep, eat, walk, walk, walk, and sleep. Play on the computer some more. I'm so glad I am connected via the laptop and the iPhone. It makes the time pass faster and more pleasantly.

So, that's it from here. Going home. Will be happy to be in my home, with my puppies, in my own bed, on my own toilet, etc. Eating Jean and Carol's food. It's going to be so good.

I don't know when I'll get back to this blog again. I hope within the next couple of days. Maybe sooner. We'll see.

Until then,

The Goal

Is to fart.

That brings life down to it's simplest components. I have to fart. If I can manage to eke out a fart...I will be allowed to eat, more than the liquid diet that I am on now.

Once I'm eating, the next goal will be to get on a "regular bowel schedule" as Dr. McCourt says. My heart sank when I heard that and I told her that last time it took almost two weeks to get me "regular." She told me that they would be a lot more aggressive with the meds this time to get me back to regular.
I hope so. If not, I'll be spending Christmas here in Providence.

Yesterday Sandy brought Rocky to visit me. I have the dog's pictures hanging up on the bulletin
board here in my room and all the nurses and aides love them. They were very excited at the prospect of seeing Rocky. Sandy just had to take him to Security, show them that he was all up to date in shots, etc. Then they took his picture and issued an ID badge with the picture on it. He wore it on his harness.

I heard the nurses in the hall yelling, "Rocky's here!" It was a good five minutes before they let him come in my room. My nurse Janet, had taken him away from Sandy and she carried him in to see me, kissing him and he was kissing her. That fickle guy!

Rocky and Sandy went for a walk with me, around the corridors. He was SO GOOD! Everyone loved him and they were buzzing about him for the rest of the shift.

Last night was a little tough. They discontinued my "on demand" morphine and are giving me percoset and oxycodone. Thankfully, those meds work. But when they start to wear off......YOW!

So, I have my liquid breakfast, lunch and dinner, run back and forth to the bathroom to pee (like a race horse); take my meds and walk, walk, walk, to get the gas moving down and out.
That's my day.

Last night I slept in three hours increments, so it was almost like "normal." I do doze quite a bit during the day. It's not a bad life, really.

The "sound machine" app that I downloaded (at Lynne's suggestion) works great! I use it every night. Last night I used "white noise #3" and it put me right out. It was well worth the $1.99 I spent on it.

Tomorrow Sandy is coming up with more supplies and with Jean. I think she might bring Rockster with her too.

So, I'm fading now. Think I'll take a little nap, then get my meds, then a shower. It feels so good to shower. Yep, that sounds like a plan!

Nighty night.

The prone position

Monday night I heard from lots of folks, it was SO NICE. People sending emails, texting me, calling me, from all over the place--Peggy in Maine, Carol and Jim in Tennessee, Steve en route to Montreal, Maggie from Delaware. That felt so good and I really got energized by it all. Made me feel like I had a whole Army getting "my back."

Everything went like clockwork yesterday. Sandy got home a bit early thanks to Lindsay (one of her co-workers) coming in early and letting Sandy get out of there. She got to sleep for an hour and a half or so and then it was time for me to rouse her and we got on the road.

We brought Lily with us so she didn't have stay in the kennel all day. She and Sandy slept in the car while I was in surgery.

I liked the gas-passer, an Asian guy named Joe. He and I exchanged a few yuks....we have same type of humor. Dr. McCourt explained that the description of what she planned to do was being kept very general...as she wouldn't know the whole story until she got in there. It reminded me of the exploratory surgery my mother had when her cancer came back, they opened her up, messed around inside for hours and then closed her back up and stop fighting, she was "full of cancer." That gave me a little chill...but I shook it off quickly as everything was moving fast.

I signed up for another Tissue Study trial. No skin off my n ose to help out....get it? No skin....
Then they gave me the good stuff....Versid and wheeled me into the OR. I got a little treat as they had to wait for my blood type test to come back. So, we all chatted about music and such. Dr. McCourt even sang a bit of "Whole Lotta Love" when I said I liked Led Zeppelin. I had asked what kind of music they would be playing and they said whatever I liked...as if I was going to be hearing it. I told them I like all kinds of music and of course they whip out the "even opera?" wise guy question. So I told them I DO like opera! And Led Zepp and Sinatra, blah blah.

Then they got me on the table and I got to see how they put you in the "cruxifiction position"....your arms straight out on table extensions. Then the tests came back and they told me it was time to go under. I said, "oh, the big stuff." To that Joe said, "you're getting the Michael Jackson stuff" and I said, "cool, just make sure I wake up!" He said, "no problem" and the next thing I know I'm waking up in the Recovery Room.

The surgery was quite involved and took five or more hours. Dr. DiSilvestro came in and helped Dr. McCourt. She was very happy about that as she said it was a "mess" in my pelvis, which is where she focused her efforts.

So, I lost my uterus, my left ovary, my cervix, part of my colon and they had to do a resiection of my small intestine. Sandy told me that they had to remove part of my rectum, but they left enough that doodies won't fall out while I walking down the street! And that is a good thing!

I got up to my room around 8:30 and started appreciating the beauty of the pain pump right away. Ah, morphine......

I slept in five minute increments all night, until around five...then I started sleeping for about 15 minutes. There were people in and out all night, doing all kinds of things to me. Some of it good, some not so good. I started itching in the most inconvenient, hard to reach places. That drove me nuts for awhile...so I got the iPhone out and played Bejeweled Blitz...another maddening thing, but it took my mind off the situation.

In the early morning I read all the response from folks to the update post Sandy had made on my FB page. That really perked me up. I've said it before but I must repeat it...I am so lucky to have such a wonderful family and so many supportive friends. I get so much energy from them.

Dr. McCourt showed up early, looking beat. She was exhausted after the surgery Sandy said. It took a lot out of her. I told her she really earned her fee yesterday. She didn't argue with that.
She gave me the good news that I can't eat until I pass gas. Now, as most people know, farting is not a problem for me...unless farting too much is considered a problem...which is how Sandy looks at it. She gets annoyed with me and my gaseousness.

But after surgery, I have trouble farting. I am really going to have to apply myself. First have to get the catheter out so I can sit on the toilet instead of peeing in the bag. That's another conundrum for me. Ordinarily I can pee my lit. tle heart out....24/7. Yesterday they said they needed a urine spec from me. I had JUST peed not 10 minutes before, but I was still able to produce a goodly amount for their test. It's just a talent I have. Hard to be modest about it. Not everyone has this talen
Anyhoo, after surgery things are different. I have to really focus, meditate, will myself to pee. So, I'm still not doing enough to warrant them pulling the catheter out and I can't fart with the catheter in....so I don't get to eat until this is all resolved. I think the catheter will come out tomorrow...my pleadings and focus exercises are working. Once that is out, my focus switches to farts.

It's all about the basics in life.

When the Resident and Fellow came in to do their morning rounds, the Resident was looking at me oddly. I asked her who she was and she immediately lit up and started gushing, "I know who you are, I know who you are!" Turns out she graduated from UConn School of Medicine and knew me because of my job up there. Not only that, she says I was the one who worked with her to learn the complete physical and she also had me for a few scenarios. She said I did a great job. I told her, "that's nice, we don't get much feedback on how we are doing." She said "are you kidding, you were our favorite Standardized Patient!" I don't know about that, but it was nice (and smart) of her to say it.

She was so excited about seeing me, she was telling everyone on the floor and her fellow residents. I heard from people all day about her telling them about me.

So that was a nice start to the day. Mostly I layed in bed, playing games and dozing on and off all morning. Late morning they got me up; washed me; changed me and changed the bed. I got to sit in the chair by the window for a few hours, which gave me the chance to get the laptop out and get on the "net.

Then I went for a little stroll down the hall with Janet, my nurse. Since I had no idea where my room was located in relation to my old room, it was fun to see what was out there. I did get a bit nauseated walking, so we came back and I got back into bed. That felt good. I didn't blow my record...no vomiting since 1986.

One goal I had for a long time went by the boards yesterday. I had always said I wanted to go through life being a blood DONOR not a blood recipient. Well, I had to have two units of whole blood yesterday...so that dream is over. SOB SOB! Ha ha! I just hope the donors lived "healthy lives" if you know what I mean.

My nurse just came in and told me they are stopping the morphine. They want to give me percoset...and I'm leery about it. I wanted the Tramadol I had taken last year, but she said that "wasn't enough for the surgery I had." She suggested vicodin! That really got my attention. I do NOT want vicodin....I'll take the percoset thank you.

She's coming back with the pill and we are going to go for another stroll. Hope I don't get the nausea again. I can take just about anything, but nausea levels me. I'll keep my eyes on the horizon as we walk, so I don't get seasick!

The walking today did get the bowel sounds going. I can't wait to be unhooked from the catheter so I can walk, walk, walk. Walking cures a lot of ills.

Sandy is going to bring Rocky to see my tomorrow. They will let him come in if she brings proof of his shots, etc. It will be so much fun to see my little guy running around here! I know they are going to love him. I just have to keep him off my abdomen....which is where he likes to sleep.

Huskies playing Kentucky tonight. I can't stand Calipari....I hope the Huskies paste Kentucky! Of course, they had trouble with Harvard this weekend, so who knows how it will go. I'll be watching, 9:30 on ESPN.

Big day tomorrow--nighty night!!!

Prep work

Today's the big day....for sitting on the potty and purging for the surgery. I screwed up right away and dropped one of the two pills I was supposed to take and it promptly disappeared. I crawled around the kitchen floor with a flashlight, searching for it, no dice. So, I took the one pill and hoped that my bowels would respond.

Lynne came over for "lunch"...which I can't have. She was nice enough to bring me a jar of boullion so I have something to have for supper. She crawled around the kitchen floor with a flashlight, looking for the pill....no dice. She boldly predicted that Sandy would find it when she got up from bed.

After Lynne left, the trots started. I guess I only needed one pill after all. Then the process demands that you drink 8 oz glasses of that "golightly" stuff EVERY 10 minutes! OHMYGOD! I have found something that is worse than the CT scan stuff. I dutifully set the timer for 10 minutes and follow the directions to the T. Guess what? The stuff works!

So, Sandy got up from bed and found the second pill. I just took that one and we'll see what happens. I mean, everything is moving quite nicely on just one pill...that second pill will probably rocket me to the moon!

I'm all set for the hospital. I even downloaded a sound machine application for my iPhone....so I can use it in the hospital. It has lots of neat sounds on it...I have a big choice.

Jean and I went to Sears yesterday to get tires put on Sandy's car. Sandy was sleeping at home. Jean told me that she bought me a Blue Ray DVD player...UNBELIEVEABLE! It is a Sony, so it is compatible with the new TV. I hooked it up last night. I tried a Harry Potter movie in it and Deanna is right...you can't believe how it improves the picture! Parts of movies that are dark are so lightened up that you can see so much more detail.

Jean is so good to me. She said that when I'm stuck home this winter because of the flu fears...she wants me to be able to enjoy DVDs on the player. Isn't that the most wonderful thing? I have to come up with something special to do for her. It's so hard to do anything for her, I'll have to put my thinking cap on.

So, next time I write here I should be post-surgery and probably loopy. Who's knows what I will write? Can't wait.

Nighty night