Out of The PIT

I was feeling good enough yesterday that I decided to go back to work today. Things went fairly well. I spent most of the time going through my e-mail and clearing out the backlog. My work is sedentary enough that I made no notice of my wounds. Apart from the fact that I was weaker than normal and had limited mobility, I was able to work from home as effectively as I did before.

I'm feeling good enough to start responding to all of the e-mail and posts I got after I announced my diagnosis. Of course, I don't think I'll respond to every single response, since most will be "thanks". But anyone with specific questions and comments I'll try to answer. This will probably take all day..

I had my staples removed yesterday. It was a lot less painful than I had anticipated, although I did proactively take some pain-killers before to dull the sting. The tool that was used to extract the staples bends the staple in such a way that the hooks come out in the same angle that they were put in, meaning that it was a lot easier to extract without cutting any flesh. Of course it was not perfect, but the process went by quite quickly. I did not feel much different afterward, but it is just another sign of recovery. Although seeing all of those red dots on my stomach was a little concerning. However, a bit of cleaning and dressing and things have been covered up again. Full disclosure: I did not actually see the extraction process directly. I was trying to look at my phone during the extraction, but MJNL was recording the session and I was able to watch after the fact. Still, I would like to go for a walk soon. The cherry blossoms should be in full bloom by now, and I should get so

I was hungry this morning, so I made my normal bowl of oatmeal, I actually managed to finish the whole thing, with a bit of effort that is. I am still feeling the effects of all of that food in my system, but the fact that I can actually fit all of that material in my stomach is a good sign that I am on my way to recovery. Being able to eat more will definitely speed up the healing process.

Now that I'm finally off the drugs and getting back to a normal schedule, I'm trying to continue to keep eating and resting to recover completely. The wounds still prevent me from eating more than a dinner roll size of food, and I lost a bit of weight, but I think after the staples come out tomorrow, things will start to turn around. I found out results from a blood test that indicated that I was slightly anemic. This basically confirmed my suspicions from that time, and even from now as I still feel weak and wobbly. I can technically work, but not for very long. I need breaks to recuperate from any sort of task. That even includes sitting up to watch a show. I do want to get outside and get some fresh air, but I am currently walking at a snail's pace and will not get very far. At this time last year we were already wandering through the ravine and watching the plants bloom and the animals return. The cherry blossom season is coming soon and I do hope I will be well enough

I stopped taking all of the painkillers and other drugs yesterday. I slowly ratcheted down the acetaminophen when I realized that most of the pain was gone. I proved myself right since I have not felt any real pain since stopping, although any sudden moves, heavy lifting, or sneezing will cause issues. I definitely have to stop from sneezing. Apart from all of the constipation issues, the main reason I wanted to stop the pills was so that I wasn't always woken up in the middle of the night to remind myself to take these pills. They were great at the beginning because the painkillers let me sleep, but now, I'm just exhausted because I never get to sleep more than a few hours at a time. I will admit that I am not always woken up by the alarms, but they clearly didn't help. But apart from that, recovery has been going well. Everything seems to be healing properly and I look forward to getting a full night's sleep tonight. Hopefully get to eat regularly again, and I really

So I've stopped taking the hydromorphone a couple of days ago. The pain is much more manageable now with just acetaminophen although the main reason I wanted to stop was because of the constipation. A combination of the drugs and the low food intake has made my trips to the toilet unproductive. Even after taking senokot for days, nothing was coming out, and that stuff was supposed to work within 12 hours. It was definitely not because of a lack of appetite. I do get quite hungry, but my stomach can only hold so much food now. I would estimate that I can only fit about 1/3 of the food that I could eat at a regular meal now. The tightness of my abdomen caused by the lacerations as prevented my gut from expanding during any meal, so it has made it quite difficult to put in any more food than can fit. Even with a smaller meal, I would fell tired and bloated afterward and need to sit down for awhile. As a weigh lost technique, I would not recommend. 0/5. Things started moving again last

I actually got up in the morning and felt pretty good an hungry. I made some oatmeal and discovered that I could only eat maybe a third of what I could normally down in a sitting. My stomach could take no more food. I knew that I needed to take in as many carbs and protein as possible to help with healing. Over the day I tried to rest and relax. HKL and PL came over with JL to play with EYS so they helped keep her busy. EYS eventually went to sleep over at their house tonight which freed us up to work on my recovery. By the end of the day, my appetite had mostly disappeared, partially because I was not moving much and partially because things weren't really moving internally either. The drugs I was taking do cause constipation so we started taking the laxative to help, but it would take time for things to start working.

I woke up and found myself in a bit of a daze. I felt sore and not very mobile. The doctor came by and told me that the surgery was a success. I was wheeled into my room and was told to move myself onto the bed, which I somehow managed to do through the pain. I got strapped with leg pressure devices and left to rest and recover. I tried to fall asleep, but things kept bringing me back to consciousness. A loud sound here, a little pain here, trouble breathing there. The time went by quickly and I do remember feeling famished. I asked about food and was given a box of apple juice to drink. It tasted wonderful, despite the fact that I do not like drinking apple juice. I spent the remainder of the night trying to drift off to sleep, but could only manage short naps that felt like mere moments. It became easier to fall asleep when the sun went down, but the sleep was not very restful. When I awoke the next morning, I was cleared to eat some orange flavoured jello and another box of apple ju

The day started as with any other day, except that MJNL was the one who took the kids out of the house, while I was able to take that time to shower up and prepare for the surgery. There was not really much that was needed. Clean up without putting on any creams, etc. Wear the surgical stockings, and that was about it. The day back held some comfortable clothes and a robe, toiletries, some paperwork, and more importantly, my phone charger. The process was quite straightforward and streamlined. It reminded me of checking into a hotel. I was asked who I was and what was being done, they told me where to go, what to do, what to wear. They asked me who I was and confirmed the surgery being performed. Tubes and pills were put into me. I was asked for my name my date of birth and what I was there for. I got told to sit on the surgery table, I joked with the staff. The surgeon asked my name and went over the process and plan. The anesthetist told me how I'd feel. I felt woozy and faked fa

Well, after an appointment with a second urologist (this time one that can perform surgery), I've been given some numbers as to my situation. It seems like I have 90% chance of kidney cancer. The fact that I have two tumors kind of push that number up, but let's leave it at that. I should get the tumors removed through surgery and there's a 95% chance that things will go without a hitch. There's a 90% chance that the cancer won't come back. So the prognosis is pretty good. I was lucky that we caught this early. But, we have not even started the process yet so we can only stay optimistic. My surgery for the first tumor is in a couple of weeks. It is good that I was able to get such an early time slot. Mostly because cancer is usually something that gets put up on the priority list. Then we will see how things go before we tackle the second tumor..