The story so far

I had that last test yesterday. It was a day surgery. (Click here for a picture) I had never had surgery before. The staff was friendly and everything was well-organized. I don't remember actually passing out from the general anaesthesia, although I do remember getting very groggy very quickly. It's amazing how that stuff works. When I came to, maybe an hour later (the actual procedure was about ten minutes), I was bandaged up, light-headed but alert. I was ready to go, although they wanted me to stick around for a while longer. Again, I noticed that I was a good quarter-century younger than all the other patients around me. Same thing when I was in the waiting room earlier.

Suj came to pick me up, and it was a good thing. I was feeling so good that we were going to take a walk all the way from the General back to my place. We made it to Pine and St-Dominique, a good walk. Unfortunately, I started bleeding through my main bandage. We picked up some supplies at the drug store a block away and headed to my place in a cab. Suj neatly stitched me back up. Rose was waiting for us, and I can't recall if I mentioned over the phone the procedure that was about to take place or not. Well, it wasn't a procedure really, just putting on gauze and tape, washing, etc.

After that was handled, we sat around drinking tea. It was actually quite great. I felt perfectly fine, although a little cramped in the belly. I have to keep these bandages on for 48 hours. That means no showers.

Today, I went back to work. That was difficult. I walk around all day, and walking is not pleasant when you've been stabbed very precisely in the stomach. Neither is laughing or coughing. The intubation from yesterday seems to have made me bloated, but Suj may not have taken that into account when patching me up. All day I have been very restricted in my movement because of these things, and uncomfortable to boot. I worked until 8:45 tonight, and at the end I was feeling quite shitty. I hope that I actually feel better in the morning.

I tried to eat some spaghetti today. It was a delicious normal portion. For me, it might as well have been six. I tried to eat more, but I knew that it simply would not go down. So I waited about six hours. I took a few bites, and if I could throw up, I probably would have. It's difficult to describe what was happening there. I sat with my hands buried in my face for this massive amount of discomfort for about five minutes. I had to wait and wait and WAIT for the food to slowly, glacially make its way down past the tumour into my stomach, then come back up into the tumour area and stay there; then finally move back down again. It was though I had had my solid food quota hours earlier and I was being punished for trying for more. I must be some kind of idiot.

Here is what is left to do:

• Tomorrow morning: The Cancer Rehab Group. I get yet another blood test, then I meet with a series of health professionals to tell me how to cope with this cancer. I meet with nurses, dieticians, shrinks, PT/OT and others for about 3 and a half hours. Finally I will have a program where I can figure out how to eat something.
  
• Thursday afternoon: The PET scan. This is the big test to determine pretty much once and for all how bad this cancer is. I will get the results Friday. I expect good news because of all the good news I have received lately, but then again, I expected good news two weeks ago when I got scoped.
  
• Friday afternoon: Ultrasound.
  
• May 22: meeting with the oncologist.

There is much more information that I will share with you, as there is so much more to say, but for now it's bedtime for Bonzo. This wasn't meant to be a work of art, just a brief telling of events.