As a little kid I remember opening Christmas gifts and my mom saying, "go say thank you and give a hug and a kiss". Regardless of whether I LOVED the gift or embarassingly tolerated opening "day of the week" underwear in front of my whole family I always said thank you followed by a hug... Continue Reading →
Pump, Pump, Pump It Up
I was recently talking to my best friend about the process at the plastic surgeon's office where he injects saline into my tissue expanders. She lovingly said, "so what you're saying is, you have a pair of Reebok Pumps on your chest". I laughed but she's not wrong, every time after I leave the plastic surgeon's... Continue Reading →
Pity party, table for 1
So it's been four days since the crappy chemo news and I have successfully spent just about 18 of the 24 hours in each day sitting in my pee pants. Not really pee pants, I'm an adult, but figurative pee pants; they are wet, a little tight, depressing and uncomfortable. I have felt bad and... Continue Reading →
More drugs than 1970’s Rolling Stones
If we can't call this period of time in my life a journey, maybe it can be considered a roller coaster ride because for every happy peak there seems to be a devastating, kick-in-the-crotch-feeling valley. Tuesday = Lymph Nodes are clear. Awesome, fabulous news, super exciting. Thursday = Chemo is coming. Shit. I had this (obviously) unrealistic... Continue Reading →
The good, the bad and the ugly
Today was a big day. We got the call early this morning to let us know that the pathology report had come in and we needed to meet with Dr. Janzen (my awesome surgeon) to get my results. We packed me and my drains up and headed back to the Jim Pattison Outpatient Centre. I feel... Continue Reading →
Insane in the chest drain
I know I spoke briefly in the Glossary of Terms about the drains that I have been carrying around for the last 11 days but I feel as though they are annoying enough to warrant a full post. The drain tubes start somewhere inside my chest and are about 2 feet long with clear, plastic... Continue Reading →
Sponge baths and the art of doing nothing
I am a busy person. My fiancé will be the first to tell you that I take on too many things, have too many responsibilities and over commit myself on too many occasions. As much as I hate to admit it (and please, no one tell her I said this), she's right. I happily over extend... Continue Reading →
A Glossary of Terms
There's lots of words and terminologies that come with every new situation and in the last few weeks there have been a whole host of new words to learn, or sometimes even old words with new meanings. I thought I would list a few now and probably add to this list as the...(not going to... Continue Reading →
Why is there a 300lb man wearing metal cleats standing on my chest?
It's done. I'm home and everything hurts. But after lopping off a few body parts, I think some pain is to be expected. Up until my most recent medical visits I haven't had much experience in hospitals. I've never broken a bone, never had to stay overnight and my biggest hospital emergency was in grade 5 when... Continue Reading →