May 11th, 2021 (Tuesday)

     It has been a few days that a new entry has been written. A lot things have happened and I will do my best not to bore <yawn> you! Look forward to sharing them with you all.

On May 7th, 2021 (Friday) at 7:35pm, I had a surgery to put a J feeding tube into my stomach due to not gaining weight as we get ready to fight this Esophageal cancer through radiation and chemotherapy starting the following Tuesday. I went from 126 lbs (9 stones in UK) this past January (2021) down to 102lbs (this month in May 2021). In order to receive radiation and chemotherapy, I had to increase my weight to be able to handle the rigorous treatment schedule.

As I was wheeled into the surgery room, there must have been nearly a dozen people dressed in surgical gear in the room. I laughed aloud and (a repeat gratitude joke with a different set of doctors & staff) said “Thank you all for being here per my memo and on time for my party!” Lots of laughter could be heard as the countdown from the anesthesiologist began “...and that’s one, two, three, four!” I am out like a light!

  Finally woke up from my deep sleep, my stomach was hurting like hell! It felt like someone took a part of the stomach and stomped on it and then gave it good slap before putting it back inside. The last nurse in charge of me was a sweetheart and took great care of me. We had good hearty chats and laughter. It made me wonder if there should be a clause on their job contract stating “Do not make client laugh after any surgery." because each time I laughed, my stomach hurt even worse...for a few minutes only. Thank goodness!

To Be Continued...

May 12th, 2021 (Wednesday)

  The food was terrible there at the hospital. OH WAIT! I had a feeding tube placed in the stomach. What was I thinking?! LOL I had not eaten (liquid diet) since 10pm the night before. Dang, was I hungry!! I could only have ice chips to last until they gave me some apple sauce. Woot hoot! They didn’t want to take a chance that if I ate something and it didn’t agree with my stomach, I would most likely vomit.

  They released me FINALLY around 5pm(ish). I cannot stand staying in hospitals. NO FUN. However, most of the nurses and staff were wonderful. So, there is that! OH! And they had CNN! I was a happy patient. I never got into politics until just before the former president was elected in 2016. But, we won't discuss politics here. 😏 I prefer listening to piano music to be honest. I like to have background noise when I turn the TV on wherever I am, especially at home. That helps me to shut out the negative stuff going on in this world. Too much is going on that is not good for me to watch but instead focus on healing through this challenge with more positivity.

  The minute I got home, I went straight to my wildlife habitat garden in the back of the house as I so desperately needed fresh air and to see what has grown (yep even one day can make a difference in plants!). It was soooooo wonderful to be home and spend time with Damon & Amanda. 

  That Amanda is a GEM and has been doing more than I ever dreamed she would be doing. SHE needs to be awarded the Medal of Freedom or some medal recognizing a person going over and beyond the call of duty, in my humble opinion. She is meticulous on organizing my medication information, on top of when I should be administered taking my medications and etc. My admiration for her went up a few notches. That degree in Molecular Cellular Developmental Biology has paid off and MORE! 😀 It is fun to watch her interact with the doctors (oncologist, thoracic and nurses) who are delighted that she knows quite a bit in the medical field and language. It all sounded Greek to me! 😂

  May 11th, 2021 (Monday) was my blood draw day which will be on my schedule for each Monday for the next 6 weeks. Then Tuesdays, I have both radiation and chemotherapy (lasts about 2-3 hours). Radiation yesterday was a little over an hour as there were things to go over and to get set up for the process. Radiation was a little claustrophobic but I am working on that small challenge. I told Amanda that to get through the radiation,  I think about the fun times with her and her brother, Jack when they were toddlers when we were living in Greenlake. There were some great memories there. I choose to think about positive past times to distract myself for the 15 minutes of radiation which hurt somewhat. As they say, "No pain, no gain". Right?! 

  Chemotherapy was not at all what I expected. I have never really paid attention to any of the scenes in movies or tv shows where they show a person going through the procedure of receiving chemo. There aren't going to be much of my veins left, if they don't put a portal in soon as they are always hooking me up to IVs. I used to be scared of needles but am getting over it as it happens so often that I just go with the flow of things now. I used to even brag about how healthy my veins were. Not so much bragging now. Sigh.

  The oncologist said they will give me some Benadryl to counter any allergies that might happen when receiving the chemo. I warned them that I will be asleep for most of the procedure. Well, after I awoke from the Benadryl, I apparently, missed out on some visitors that were scheduled to come and see me to ask how am I doing. Thank goodness Amanda was there as they could talk to her about my condition and ask how I was doing. I did awake to barely make sense of what was said or what I could answer for them. Next week will be the last of the Benadryl. They just want to take every precaution, especially any allergies that may appear. I am not a fan of Benadryl as it makes me sleepy. Very sleepy.

  I have to say yesterday was a very productive day as I went straight to my garden the second we got home after a full day at Northwest Hospital where I get the radiation, chemotherapy and other medical care. My love for my garden has given me peace and joy when I need them most. It is so exhilarating to garden or simply sit in a chair and listen to the birds chirp and the water fountains. 

  I would like to say I slept like a log but that didn't happen as having a tube stuck in your stomach is very uncomfortable and annoying. I cannot sleep on my back any longer and can only sleep on one side right now due to the fact that sleeping on top of the left side where the tube is would hurt the tube or make it move which would then hurt me. But, this is only temporary as I say and others remind me of the same.

  Today, May 12th, I had radiation this morning. I thought we were going to be late! It's because I had a bowel movement FINALLY within 10 minutes before leaving our house to get to the radiation appointment which is a 20-30 minute drive depending on traffic. I know. I know that sounds gross. But, it is HUGE to my doctors and me! I have been constipated since last Thursday due to the amount of pain medication I take. That's what pain medication does to the bowel. I have never liked Prune juice but know I have to take it to keep my bowels going naturally and continue to stay on the healthy side of life. So, I have had to drink that crap (sorry if I offended those who like that drink) and take some laxatives to get the job done! It worked. This is going to be an ongoing thing. FUN times! 😉

  Today was, actually, fun at radiation and when I left I did a little dance on my way out. The staff was just cracking up. AND there wasn't any music playing! LOL

  Just wanted to add that my food consumption has decreased since having this feeding tube put in me. I figured that would suffice for the nutrients and calories. However, I need to get back to eating some additional food outside of the feeding tube to boost up my energy even more. And I was able to take a short walk with Amanda late in the afternoon. A very short one. Sadly. I think I was just doing a little too much thinking I have all this energy to get gardening done, dishes (just a few) and etc. I better listen to my body and rest which is also a part of healing. Right?

  Two more days of radiation and I have the weekend off until Monday!! Yay!!!

  Thank you all for being a part of my journey. You have no idea how much each of you mean to me. Truly. 

When you have your best friend with you (that would be my husband, Damon) to go through this journey with you, life is truly still beautiful. 💕

  Guess what I did when I got home from radiation today?? 😉

With love and gratitude,

Liennie 💗