Ok. It realy has been some time since I blogged regarding my surgery. I have now had my surgery & am 4 days past operation day. I will try to document each day as I remember it:

Thursday 6th May 2010 – Day Of Surgery. I arrived at St George Private at just before 7.30am. I wasn’t feeling all that nervous, just anxious to get all of this over & done with. I was admitted at Reception & after a few minutes, was escorted through to Day Of Surgery. Here Dean & I sat & waited with other patients. Throughout this time, patients were having their pre-op checks done, some were receiving visits from Dr’s & then escorted to a bed. I was told a couple of times that I had a little wait ahead of me due to 2 patients before me. I managed to get my pre-op check done around 10.00am then Dean decided to head off at 10.30, which was the time he was due to move the vehicle, with us believeing that even though there was a wait, I would be heading in shortly myself. I waited for what felt like quite some time. Finally a nurse offerred me to come & hop into a bed as I was the only person left in the waiting area. Here I changed into a gown & climbed into bed with a warmed blanket to have a small nanna nap. Finally some hours later, Dean came around the corner of the curtain with Mum T, followed shortly after by Lynda &  Little Nanna (mum). This was a very pleasant surprise! They stayed with me for maybe about an hour, before finally someone came along to escort me to the holding area outisde of the Operating theatre. I had a nice send off with the nurses waving to me & telling me how much they liked my name along with my family waving me down the corridor.
Finally I am in the holding area at what must have been about 2pm. I met a nurse who used to live a few streets away from home in Flinders & had a nice chat with another patient in a bed beside me. I watched 3 groups of patients get wheeled into theatre in the time I spent yet again waiting. Then finally my time had come! My Aneathetist came & got my canula ready then shortly after I was wheeled into theatre. This was 3.30pm. I moved from my bed onto the operating table(!) & began to relax. As I started feeling drowsy, I made a note to say out loud to those around me that I appreciated all of their help in surgery today & that their assistance was going to make a difference to my life. A tear or two later I was out to it.
When I awoke, I remember feeling extremely groggy & very very thirsty! Afterall I hadn’t had anything in my system since 10pm the night before when I had a drink. I felt terrible, but not as sick as I normally would have. I had severe pain in my left shoulder which was obviously from the gas inside me during surgery. I can remember a few conversations during this time but what I remember most is hearing words like “She is still terribly drowsy”, “She is responding even though she is not opening her eyes”, “Had to repair a Hiatius Hernia” & finally when I opened my eyes to see 3 people standing around my feet discussing how I was & a male voice saying “Is she responding at all to anything? Can she lift her head?” At which I lifted my head & nodded to them. I heard a few giggles then remember being told I was finally going to my room after staying a little longer than normal in recovery.
I can briefly recall some of the journey to my room, as I kept trying to open my eyes to see where I was & if I could see Dean. As I got closer to my room I can remembering the sound of Dean’s voice finally coming to me & I felt relieved to know he was there. Also I recognised the voice of my brother Dave. I can remember Dean holding my left hand then I remember moving into the room. My Niece Lilly was nearby as well as her voice became clearer to me. Then once the bed was settled into the room, a nurse asked everyone to wait outside while I had a quick wash. This was a very pleasant thing actually. All she did was mainly clean up the “paint” as she called it & allowed me to wash my face as best I could. She straightened up my gown, tucked me in & was finished. All I felt like I wanted to do was go to sleep & sleep it all off. I was hot & sweaty & the oxygen mask was giving me the shits. Eventually a nurse came & swapped it for a nasal tube. I don’t remember sleeping with this later in the night so I think when I took ot off to walk to the bathroom early hours of the morning, it never returned LOL.
I requested some ice just so I could wet my lips. My mouth was so dry I couldnt even handle the idea of slipping a piece of ice inside my mouth. I just wanted the moisture.
It was nice having my family around me, I tried my best to join in conversation & listened to a lot that was being said. I just could not be bothered lifting my arms to hold hands let alone open my eyes. I felt so exhausted. Eventually it was time for everyone to leave & I had some good naps which helped wear off the anaesthetic. My Left Shoulder continued to give me grief but other than that, I was feeling pretty good, just tired. Lilly was realy good, asking questions, holding my hand, rubbing ice on my lips. Harmony seemed very distant. I think Lilly handled the unknown & the fear well. I believe the fear gripped Harmony & she just didn’t know any better way to deal with it. I can understand this as when I visit people in hospital, I can get quite emotional about what I see, even though I know everything is ok. The raw emotion just gets to me. I tried my best to involve myself with speaking to both girls, in particular Harmony as I didn’t want her to be scared. I don’t know if it helped, however I have not heard from them since I came home. I am very appreciative that they came to see me however. I also love the gift they left for me xxxx
I got up during the night with a nurse to attempt a trip to the toilet. That went ok, but because my room was extremely warm, I broke into a cold sweat then felt nauseated. I went straight back to bed & was given some maxalon for the nausea & a shot in my leg which stung like hell for pain relief. This I was asked if i’d had morphene before. So i’m not too sure what that shot was. however I soon drifted off to sleep with a vomit bag clutched tightly in my fist. I slept on & off for a few hours, then felt a little more alert. I put the tv on knowing full well it was very early in the morning. WWE Raw was on! Go figure! I looked at it, rolled over, turned it off then went back to sleep. I slept well until getting hot with the sun shining on the window, so I sat up, put the tv on again & went for a wonder through the room on my own. I knew I was feeling well as the nasusea had disapeared & I was getting fidgety. Finally breakfast arrived & I was so excited! I had an ornage jelly (which i’m lucky if I had 3 small spoonfuls), apple juice & a black tea. APPLE JUICE!!!!!!!!!!! Boy did I enjoy that! I was also now having water. After breakfast I was even more fidgety. I tried to relax in bed but kept getting up & walking around every few minutes or so. I was wanting Dean. There was nothing I could do but wait. I did try to watch some tv & perhaps try to nap a little more, that wasn’t going to happen however.
Finally Dean arrived! My Man! I missed him so much & felt so bad about my lack of response the night before. I also wanted to make sure my nieces were ok with what they saw the night before.
Dean settled in beside me & I felt the warmth of our love. It helped pass a few hours before lunch arrived (pureed soup, yoghurt & lemon coridal) & the anticipation of  the Dr coming to visit, which he told Dean before I arrived back at the room that he would be in around 1pm.
As soon as the Dr arrived, he left LOL. Everything went to plan, he was very happy, explained about the Haitus Hernia being repaired & said he would see me in a week, but for now, I could decide myself wether I went home or stayed. You can guess exactly what happened next! Within the hour we were packed, dressed & in the car heading home. Recovery was just beginning.

Saturday 8th May 2010:-  Not sleeping so well overnight. Got up a couple of times to walk around as I am feeling some discomfort in my chest. Obviously this is the repaired Hiatus Hernia. My Left shoulder is still giving me some grief however mostly I am feeling ok. I am having pureed liquids to a watery consistency as well as jelly, custard & yoghurt. I make sure these melt in my mouth before I swallow them. It feels very strange to have such small quantity of food going in me however.

Sunday 9th May 2010:- Feeling a lot of discomfort today, in particular in my chest. To the point that it even hurts to take a deep breath. However I am soldiering on. Not much else I can do LOL.
Mothers Day today. Dean, Lynda, myself, Mum T & Little Nanna went to the beach at Shellharbour & sat by the water for lunch. I had an Orange Juice. The mums & Dean enjoyed a Seafood Platter & Lynda had something else as she doesn’t eat seafood. We stayed afterwards for a short while & enjoyed the day as it was. TWe went to Woolies to do a little shop then came home. The mums did their presents & enjoyed the attention they deserved.

Monday 10th May 2010:- Today. I slept realy well last night. Still woke up numerous times but was able to get comfy again & drift back into slumber. Got up around 8.30am. Feeling the same discomfort in my chest & the pain in the left shoulder is noticable but not as bad. I am noticing bruising around my surgery wounds & the skin is getting itchy all around them. I have 5 wounds. 4 in a line around my tummy & 1 higher up, which I think is the Filling Port. I have showered with the help of my mummy(!) & am just resting as usual. I venture downstairs for a drink every now & again but mainly so I don’t get too bored LOL. Facebook has become a closer friend to me than it used to be, however I know I have a long week of recovery ahead.

I haven’t updated for a few days, things have been steady with meals however emotionally I have been a little everywhere. I haven’t had too many negative feelings, which is fantastic. We have had so many things going on in our household.

So basically, it is the night before surgery. I am about to attempt sleep for the night as I am being admitted to St George Private at 7.30am. We will be leaving here roughly a few minutes before 6am. I am excited & a little nervous. But mostly I am feeling positive about how I will feel in the future. I am also looking forward to tasting real FOOD again LOL

I will post again after the op, perhaps in the hospital bed itself, as apparently there is internet access.

Ciaos for now xxxx

Yes, I know I have skipped a day…. Sorry! Was a shit day all up, however I made it through the day at work & don’t have a great deal to mention for Friday. So here is the breakdown:

Breakfast: Vanilla shake, Berrocca.

Lunch: Optifast Choc Bar & Benefibre.

Dinner: 2 cups of thick veg soup (zucchini, carrot, beans, broccoli, cauliflower, Garlic & Ginger) & 1 Optifast Berry Crunch Bar.

So as for today……
Had a nice sleep in & a quiet morning. Then Mum, Mum in law, Dean & myself went shopping at Stocklands  Shellharbour. Mum & I had haircuts, then continued on with a little retail therapy. Bought some new clothes for mum. Lay-byed a new Tshirt & Nightie for myself. Went to the food court so the others could have lunch (which I suffered through for the first time in this journey) then purchased seafood for tonight’s dinner.
We came home to relax & watch the V8s on tele & were shocked at the incident that occurred at Ipswich Raceway where a Mini hurtled into the crowd injurying 2.
Dean & I began preparing the meal for the household – Shallow-Fried Spice Coated Squid & Fresh Prawns with oven cooked homecut chips & Salad. Lynda doesn’t eat seafood so I coated strips of chicken thigh fillet in Chinese Five Spice & Cornflour. Apparently these were all nice, however of course I ate my 2 cups of salad without too much complaint(!) & hoped that the rest of the family enjoyed theirs.
After dinner we went upstairs where Dean, Mum & myself relaxed in the lounge watching Avatar for the first time. OMG! We were so blown away by it & loved every minute! I even asked Dean at the end if we could watch it yet again LOL. We can totally understand what all the hype was about it, though we never realy expected it not to be exciting.  We do however regret not going to see it at the cinema. Now I am ready to settle down for the night before spending time housecleaning tomorrow in preparation for next Thursday. Only a few days to go now!!!!

Today:
Breakfast: Strawberry shake.

Lunch: Optifast Choc Bar & Benefibre.

Dinner: 2 cups salad (Baby Spinach Leaves, Cherry Tomatoes, Cucumber, Green Capsicum, Alfalfa Sprouts with soy sauce) & 1 Optifast Choc Bar.

Not much to write about today. Except that it is 1 week today till my surgery, so I am on the (queue song) final countdown now.

Breakfast: Choc shake, Berrocca.

Lunch: Optifast Berry Crunch Bar.

Dinner: 2 cups of steamed veg (zucchini, carrot, beans, broccoli & cauliflower) & 1 Optifast Choc Bar. 1 hour later Benefibre.

I weighed myself today, 2.5kgs lost. That’s a realy good start. This time next week I will be getting ready for the trip to Sydney for the surgery. I am a little nervous, a little anxious, even a little scared but I guess most importantly I am excited. Watching the video(s) I posted last night realy helped answer a few questions that may have come up.

My Mum-in-Law came home this morning & she is in good spirits with hardly any pain & discomfort. We are all very proud of her & will help her through the next part of her journey.

I got an early mark from work today & enjoyed getting home a little earlier. ShadowKnight had to go & pre-bowl for his league, so I tagged along. I bowled 3 games to help pace him & it’s the first time I’ve bowled in perhaps almost a year! I bowled fairly well, getting a strike or 2 & a few spares. 130-132-114. When I last bowled in a league I had a 125 average. So yeah, I was pretty chuffed with todays efforts.

Breakfast: Vanilla shake, Berrocca.

Lunch: Optifast Chocolate Bar, Benefibre.

Dinner: 2 cups of classic salad (lettuce, tomato, cucumber, carrot, capsicum) with a little salt reduced soy sauce & 1 Optifast Berry Crunch Bar.

Here is a video (Part 1 of 5) that shows exactly what I am about to have done during surgery. I learnt almost everything I had questions for from watching it & for me, it served as a great tool of reference. Please consider wether you actually want to watch it or not, as it can be fairly graphic throughout most of it.

Work was fairly good today, even though my mind was elsewhere. My mother in law had her surgery to remove the Breast Cancer. All seemed to have gone well. She will get results by the end of the week. Hopefully her follow on treatment won’t be too invasive & her recover speedy.

Breakfast: Strawberry shake, Berrocca.

Lunch: Berry Crunch Bar, Benefibre, Black Tea.

Dinner: 2 cups of classic salad (lettuce, tomato, cucumber, carrot, capsicum) with a little salt reduced soy sauce & 1 Optifast Choc dessert.

I also accomplished drinking almost 2.5 litres of water today! YaY mE!!!!

They shall grow not old as we are left grow old. Age shall not weary them nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them.
Lest we forget.

Today we commemorate ANZAC Day. We celebrate the achievments of those who fought the wars, & remember those who gave their lives for us to live the life we have today. Without these fallen heroes & those who came home to suffer a life of torment in their hearts this country would be a different place. One I wish to not begin thinking about. To all of our past, present & future Diggers…. Thank You!

It has been an emotionally charged day, yet I have managed to get thru it just fine. In fact, better than the past few days. Up until now. I have just spent the last hour & half looking after mum as she is now feeling quite ill. She had the vomits & pains in the tummy. So I have had to shower & clean her up, clean up after her then put her to bed with a bucket & towel. I have had to revisit her a few times afterwards to help her, but now she is quietly sleeping. I will have myself an extremely restless night with the door open, sleeping lightly enough to hear any sound, mumur or peep from her. But I do have to return to work tomorrow morning! I have had 3 days annual leave last week & considering Monday is a Public Holiday, I cannot stay at home to care for her. So I will have to depend on Dean. I hate doing this. This is my mum & she is my responsibility when unwell. But my hands are now tied. We have had such a spate of illness in our family recently where I have been required to leave work & lend a hand. With my surgery coming up I just  cannot afford any more time off work not related to myself. This sounds harsh & no matter how much I wish it wasn’t the case, this is life. Reality.

Breakfast: Choc shake.

Lunch: Strawberry Shake,  Berrocca, Black Tea.

Dinner:  1 Optifast Berry Crunch Bar, 2 cups vegies stir-dry-fry LOL (Zuccini, Bok Choy, Carrot, Red & Green Capsicum) with Garlic, Ginger, Lemongrass & Salt Reduced Soy. These are all on the allowable list so I was a happy chappy indeed!

Well today is meant to be a special day for me. Today I turn 33. However it is by far got to be the worst Birthday I have ever had to experience. In saying this, it hasn’t been all that bad.
Because of the surgery coming up & the diet I am currently on, I am unable to celebrate this Birthday in the fashion that I am used to. Normally we would either be having a special dinner at a restaurant with the family, or having the family down to our house & celebrating with our favourite meal or BBQ. I am missing this more than I ever imagined possible.

Also Breast Cancer was diagnosed in our immediate family last Thursday & she will be due to have surgery on Tuesday. Hopefully we will get some good news following it a few days later.

So emotionally our house is a little unstable at the moment. However, we will continue to support each other as usual & work on fixing things as they come to light. For now, I will enjoy the rest of my Birthday quietly in the arms of my soul mate.

Breakfast: Choc shake, Berrocca, Black Coffee (drank 1 sip only… ew!)

Lunch: Strawberry Shake,  Benefibre, Black Tea.

Dinner:  2 cups salad (Baby Spinach Leaves, Tomato, Cucumber, Red & Green Capsicum) with a couple of drops of Worcestershire Sauce.

Well today was a total write off for me. I am extremely glad I am on Annual Leave currently as I spent the best part of today in bed with a headache. So much to the point that I was nauseated & couldn’t bear to have my eyes open. So basically I had a migraine. This bothers me as I was sick mererly 1 week ago with a migraine as well.

Anyways, so today:

Breakfast: Nothing. Sick & in bed.

Lunch: Choc Shake, Berrocca, Benefibre.

Dinner: Strawberry, 2 cups Steamed Veg (Beans, Broccoli, Carrot, Zucchini).

Breakfast: Choc Shake, Supadryn, Benefibre.

Lunch: Strawberry Shake.

Dinner: Lemon Creme Dessert (tasted like shit!), 2 cups Steamed Veg (Beans, Broccoli, Carrot, Zucchini & Baby Spinach Leaves), Black Coffee.