long overdue

Wow, it really has been a while. Where do I start?

I’m having trouble concentrating as of late, which is part of the problem. But also it seems like sometimes I just have nothing new to say.

So now there’s something new:

I spent this past weekend in the hospital. And why? What for? I was in the hospital to get a CT scan.

I have, as I have stated before, issues with the fecal of it all. I tend to be constipated and the chemo and all the drugs I’m taking don’t help. But this time was different. This time, things were... well, I’m not going to get into the description but let’s just say I was having a new bowel related issue. And according to my doctor, if X, Y, or Z happened over the weekend, it was imperative that I be admitted and checked for a partial large bowel obstruction. And just my luck! X and Z happened, so off I went, dutifully obeying the orders of the ones in charge of my health.

I checked in on Saturday evening into the Palliative Care Unit. I waited until 11pm to see the doctors on call, who seemed confused about why I was there. They hinted that the CT scan will come as soon as it can, possibly in the middle of the night. Turns out, it didn’t happen until 3pm Sunday afternoon. In the meantime, I didn’t sleep, I was uncomfortable, I was miserable.

They had me on so many meds that made me feel wonky. Everything started tasting and smelling the same. Like the paper cup they had me drinking out of. Water, soda, popsicles, cereal, meatballs, jello, oranges, juice. It all tasted the same - and not good. And the smell. I know it was just me, a reaction to the drugs I was taking, but the smell that permeated the place was making me gag.

Now I am happily home. I had a really bad day on Tuesday, but since then I’ve felt a bit better. Not actually myself, but better.

Before all that, I skipped my chemo this month. I was supposed to have it on June 15, but when I went to the doctor’s that day they found that I was severely lacking in Potassium. Isn’t that what you get from bananas? I don’t eat bananas. So they hooked me up to an IV for 4 hours giving me potassium (which I must be back up to snuff on now because during my hospital stay they actually stopped giving it to me). They also gave me an x-ray to check for the aforementioned blockage, but they found nothing.

And speaking of the blockage, what it turns out to be is that I have a slow colon. A leftover from the radiation I went through in 2008 - you can read all about it in the bonus blog (<--click).

In the midst of all this, I have a Urinary Tract Infection. This is typical for those with indwelling catheters. But it doesn’t make it any more fun for me.

To be honest, none of this has been fun for me lately. It has been a big fat annoyance.

My birthday is tomorrow - I should be happy about this. 41 years old, 3 years surviving cancer, and yet instead I feel blah. Maybe this is because at 9:30 in the morning, I have to have and endoscopic procedure - YAY. What a way to celebrate, no?

The good thing is that it’s summer, and I have visitors to look forward to. A friend from high school will be here next Wednesday. A cousin and a nephew will be visiting sometime in July. I’m doing my best to entice the Griswolds away from their Georgia retreat. I’m hoping for a couple other cousins and maybe yet another nephew. As long as I’m awake, I enjoy visitors!

On a sad note, one year ago today, our family lost our beloved Pops. I speak to him often (usually when I’m going through a yucky procedure) but he hasn’t answered. I love him and miss him, and the family does not feel the same without him. Love you Pops!