A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Brunei...

Statement Calendar GIF from Statement GIFs August 27: Step forward: I didn't throw up yesterday! Step back: I'm on IV antibiotics and may need an antifungal med.  August 28: Step forward: I didn't throw up yesterday or today! Step back: I'm probably getting additional antibiotics and at least one antifungal. I'm also being tested for MRSA .  August 29: Steps forward: I ate THREE MEALS without vomiting! And they were all solid food, not liquid! I went for three walks! And they MIGHT not need to do any additional antibiotics or antifungals, I'll find out tomorrow. Tiny step back: I ate too much for dinner and my stomach hurt a little, but I didn't lose it! August 30: BIG steps forward: still eating well, things are still staying down, yay!!! And I am OFFICIALLY OFF IV and on oral antibiotics! I'M GETTING DISCHARGED TOMORROW!!!!! BIG step back: they found cancerous cells in some lymph nodes, which means I will need chemotherapy.  Well, fuck. 

  Oh boy....That's gonna leave a scar.... Hi all, Nik here. Surgery is all over, and here I am with the report! The Good It's over!!!! And it went really well. I but longer than expected, 8 hours instead of 5, but better than the 7 to 11 hours they first quoted. They believe they got everything out, we're just waiting on the pathology report. UCSF is SUPER nice! The food is actually decent, at least what I've been able to eat, and the people are all sweet. Epidurals are the bomb! If anyone had ever said I would be happy for an epidural, I would have thought they were nuts! Even the removal was easy! The Bad Getting the epidural was kinda horrible. Painful, scary, I cried. If it weren't for the fact I didn't have a choice, I probably would have refused it. As it was, I'm glad I got it, but OUCH!!!! Post-epidural pain management has not been great. I have a lot of options, but they haven't worked as well as we'd like. I'm basically having to layer ...

  Doomsday has arrived.... dun dun dun!!!!!! The day started off with a bang - I totally overslept! I meant to get up by 5, do yoga, meditate, take my shower with Hibiclens (gotta wash away those germs!), and hop into the car about 6:15 to head to the hospital.  Instead... I woke up at 6! With my brother saying, uh, we need to leave in 15 minutes. I shot up and started rushing! Luckily I had everything ready and only needed to shower, but still! But we got to UCSF on time, I'm currently in preop, absolutely starving (I was on liquids only yesterday - so hungry!), and keeping calm for a long day.  Well, I'll be asleep for it, but it'll still be long.  See you on the other side!

He looks competent. I've been going through my checklist of things to do before my surgery. I have my advance directive, all my bank accounts have my beneficiaries' information, as does my life insurance, my mother is coming into town the day before, and I have a place to stay when I am released. And I had my preop appointments with the nurse and the anesthesiologist today. Oh, boy. Those were doozies. Apparently I'm going to have a SIX TO EIGHT INCH SCAR on my abdomen. And the surgery is going to take SEVEN TO TEN HOURS. With SIX TO EIGHT WEEKS OF RECOVERY. AND I might have a bile drain - basically a baggie hanging outside my stomach - for a few days. I really don't want this. I mean, I really don't want to do this. But I know the other options are so much worse.