ianunderhill vs. cancer (RIP Nick)

Thanks, that's needed. Today has not been so good. I've been nauseous several times, and at one point gastric fluid/bile came up. It's blue-green and thus nothing caused by the clear fluids they allowed me. Pretty nasty. Thankfully, they increased my Zofran dosage and it seems to be keeping things in check.

The Toridol and morphine are doing a great job of pain control. My urinary catheter was removed this morning but I have not needed to pee, even though they're running an extra saline bag - one of the docs said a lot of the fluids are going into the drains they put into my abdomen to draw out any blood and ascites that may be present while I'm healing. I hope he's right, and the drains can go away sometime prior to discharge.

Biggest positive today has probably been catching up on my sleep. There's a whole lot of listening to my body and bouncing things off the staff. Hopefully I'll have a better tomorrow.

Ian, glad to hear it went well. Hoping for a quick, less painful recovery.

Today was better. No nausea at all. There has been activity in my bowels, which the doctors say is indicative of things healing and starting to work in the new, shorter configuration. And I walked around some more and had a few visitors come by and I was out of bed for a good five hours. No cartwheels or somersaults, just sitting in that corner chair again. I really feel like I'm back on track after yesterday.

Oh, and I even got to eat a popsicle. Surely real food must be on the horizon.

Double post. I blame drugs.

That's great news

That's great to hear Ian. Hear's hoping tomorrow brings more good news.

Awesome. Get some rest. Next time I come out that way, I'll treat for the BBQ.

It's great to keep reading your updates, especially since things seem to be trending awesome.

Any big plans for your first "real" meal once they let you out of your food cage?

Ferret: pretty much whaytever they wind up letting me have. There are going to be restrictions based on the type of surgery amd type of cancer for sure, but we haven't gone through that yet. Thankfully, I'm highly adaptable. We'll see what happens.

ianunderhill wrote:

Ferret: pretty much whaytever they wind up letting me have. There are going to be restrictions based on the type of surgery amd type of cancer for sure, but we haven't gone through that yet. Thankfully, I'm highly adaptable. We'll see what happens.

Well, broccoli is good...not maybe your favorite. But there is some food known to help getting back on your feet much quicker, than others.
Although I can imagine you are thinking more of pizza right now.

Very tired today but did get to rest up. I'd guess yesterday's exertion factors in there somewhere. But it's also been a decent day, as the surgical team decided to get me on to broth and Italian ice in addition to all the juice and water. A lunch and a dinner on, things are staying down with no apparent adverse side effects. With any luck,  I'll be to heavier liquids shortly and then real food thereafter.

The staff remains as supportive, helpful, and considerate as ever. Things are healing and quite expediently at that. I'd say I'm hanging in there, but the fact is that I'm doing well.

Oh, for the record, broccoli is one of my favorite green vegetables. I'd be stoked if it proved useful in the upcoming slog.

Hang in there and like the Tour de France, the stage days will vary but the goal is the podium at the end.

ianunderhill wrote:

Oh, for the record, broccoli is one of my favorite green vegetables. I'd be stoked if it proved useful in the upcoming slog.

http://phys.org/news198204877.html

Essentially, broccoli has proven anti-cancer benefits. While I am not sure how applicable they are to your own cancer, you really cannot go wrong with eating broccoli as it is widely recognized as having many beneficial properties in addition to being one kick one ass tasting vegetable.

IMAGE(http://rps.net/QS/Images/Smilies/thumbsup.gif)

Glad to hear things are going so well, Ian. As soon as you can walk out of the hospital, we should get on our bikes!

Posted this over in Groan's thread too but Ian - here's one of those good stories for you.

Not sure how many of you know the back story by Amit of Photojojo has an update:
http://tumblr.amitgupta.com/post/320...

Quintin_Stone wrote:

IMAGE(http://rps.net/QS/Images/Smilies/thumbsup.gif)

+1

Dr.Incurable wrote:
Quintin_Stone wrote:

IMAGE(http://rps.net/QS/Images/Smilies/thumbsup.gif)

+1

Is that...? Is that a penis rubbing its face?

EDIT: Ooooooohhhh, I get it...it´s a thumbs up, and that´s the palm/thumb portion, ok, ok...I see...interesting...awkward as well...

kexx wrote:
Dr.Incurable wrote:
Quintin_Stone wrote:

IMAGE(http://rps.net/QS/Images/Smilies/thumbsup.gif)

+1

Is that...? Is that a penis rubbing its face?

EDIT: Ooooooohhhh, I get it...it´s a thumbs up, and that´s the palm/thumb portion, ok, ok...I see...interesting...awkward as well...

Now I will never be able to unsee that. The face job smiley.

Today's update is brought to you by The Association for the Unscarring of BadKen's Eyeballs.

This morning, I skipped from clear liquids to solid foods. So that's real breakfast and lunch and dinner. So far, everything seems to be working fine, though it's worth noting I've been focusing on stuff that digests pretty easily to cut down on discomfort en route to the exit.

They've also just taken me off the saline drip. This should give them some more info on the output rate of my abdominal fluid, which has decreased substantially over the past few days. Ultimately, I'm hoping that the saline solution is what's mostly pooling and that the rest is from the tiny bit of irritation caused by my colon getting shortened (stitches as foreign material, things healing slowly, and so on). The closer to normal this surgery leaves me prior to chemo, the better. I'd rather not need any more draining after leaving the hospital.

Sounds positive Keep it up!

kexx wrote:
Dr.Incurable wrote:
Quintin_Stone wrote:

IMAGE(http://rps.net/QS/Images/Smilies/thumbsup.gif)

+1

Is that...? Is that a penis rubbing its face? :shock:

Perv.

Just found this thread crazy late. I'm glad the surgery went well, and I hope you just keep focusing on the daily improvements. Keep kicking cancer's ass!

Great to hear you're on solid foods so fast! Hoping for great results!!

Solid food nom nom nom! May whatever chemo regime they've got planned be kind to you though it sounds like you've got this one covered even if it isn't.

krev82 wrote:

Solid food nom nom nom!

WOOOOOO!

It's been a long day involving new pain and anxiety over drain hoses, but ultimately, the following saved it:

-a new, effective trio of painkillers
-the removal of the aforementioned drain hoses
-getting discharged from the hospital

So that's right: very, very late in the day, I was allowed to go home. I am tired and drugged up, and in no particularly sociable mood, but between getting to go home and getting all the short-term concerns addressed before it, I'm presently about as happy as a cancer patient can be.

Good progress, even if you're not feeling as gung ho about it all. Awesome that they removed the drains already. Mom had to go home with 2 of them which was one primary reason I had to stay with her to maintain them. She was very happy when they were removed 5 and 9 days after discharge.

I know your surgery was different, but from what I experienced recently with my mom, just remember to let things heal one step at a time. Be patient, and ask for help sometimes.

Congrats on going home!

Fantastic! Now I can finally add this to my favorite threads without feeling weird about it!

Welcome home =)