The day of my second surgery dawned. On 3rd September Ryan took me to the hospital early in the morning. I was nervous but tried not to show it. I know Ryan was worried although he joked with the nurses and appeared in control. He had been with me when the risks of surgery were explained. When I got to the ward there was no time to settle in … I was to be first on the slate! I was surrounded by nurses who took my vitals and got me ready for surgery. I was taken for chest x-rays and then taken back to the ward. The anaesthetist, a Specialist Anaesthesiologist and Critical Care Subspecialist, popped in to the ward to introduce himself and have a quick chat to me. Before I knew it I was wheeled down to the theatre. The cut would be over the same cut as my recent surgery. I was not looking forward to the pain and discomfort that I knew was to come. I would be in ICU following surgery and ‘downgraded’ to general status a day or 2 after but I would remain in the same room until discharge a few days later. Ryan had a list of people to communicate with and he did this well.
I woke up to drips and monitors and was not able to do much for myself. I had a special mattress to lie on and compression pads wrapped around my lower legs to massage and stimulate them to prevent deep vein thrombosis. I was also in a lot of pain! I was given my first proper bed bath from gentle caring nurses the following day. It would be at least 2 days before I could get up and go to the bathroom with assistance. Moving was exceptionally painful especially when I had to get off the bed. I had to sleep on my back as I could not turn on to my side or lie flat. Thank goodness for my supportive mattress! It was just as well that I was alone in my room as I tend to snore when I sleep on my back! For some reason hospitals are not really designed too well and the cellphone plug was behind the bed which meant that I had to be careful to tuck the cord under my pillow from behind so it did not drop back as I could not stretch my arm back too far to grab it. You would think that they would have a plug closer to the bed so your phone could be reached easily especially after the type of surgery I had just had.
Day 2 had a bit of excitement, if that is what one can call it. I felt very tired and sluggish despite needing to rest and recuperate. Trying to type messages was an effort and I think I dozed off a few times whilst doing so. It turns out that my blood pressure was very low and they thought my one lung had collapsed. My oncologist was called in to check up on me and ordered oxygen; a physician also came in as did the physio. My room was a hive of activity and I was vaguely aware of the comings and goings of everyone. An ECG was done and echo ordered which turned out to be fine. I had to blow into a gadget with a little red ball every hour and that took some effort. It even took effort to remember whether I had to suck or blow!
My VAC (vacuum assisted closure of the wound) was removed the following day and a normal dressing applied.
By this time my ward status had been downgraded from ICU to General and by the Saturday my oncologist felt I could go home.
My first at night home took some getting used to once back in my own bed without the special mattress as I kept slipping down. The problem was that it was painful to move and it would be some time before I could sleep on my side or even my stomach. Eventually I made a plan by putting a pillow under my legs to stop me from sliding down.
I made a point of getting up early every day, as I had done after my previous surgery, having a shower and getting dressed. I would settle in the lounge with my books and DVDs’ – Ryan has me watching West Wing. I say watching because I am still trying to finish and being back at work there are just not enough hours in a day. I also come straight in from work and cook dinner. Most evenings I am in bed by 8.00p.m. but if I am not ready for bed early I type. Not sure what I will do when my story has ended. Perhaps I shall finally finish watching West Wing.
My friends in Australia had decided that instead of buying me flowers they would buy me a new duvet set for my bed. They chose the colour but thought it better to check with me first before ordering. It was perfect! Derryn knows me well. Better than I know myself sometimes. I had decided to go for the king size instead of the queen size as I had at long last treated myself to a new king size duvet inner. It was something that I had been wanting for a very long time. The delivery came and excitedly I opened it up and made up my bed. It looked so pretty, feminine and cool. Green is also a healing colour and the colour of the heart chakra so it was actually the perfect choice for me then and more so in the next few weeks.
It was while I was busy making up the bed that I received an email inviting me to consider writing for an online spiritual magazine … Spirit Connection … the very magazine you are reading my story in now! I nearly dropped my phone! What??? Me??? Why me out of anyone and everyone else??? I knew it was a genuine invitation but I could not believe I had been asked to do this. I decided to re-read the email later.
I had mulled the invitation over for a while before re-reading the email. Over a period of years I had been told by various mediums that I would write … a book? … I had thought that maybe one day I would write my story but had no idea when and I had thought no more about it. That is until I got the invitation from Glynis.
I took a deep breath and before I could change my mind I replied to the email … YES! I had no idea what I was going to write about but I was putting my trust in Spirit and I told Glynis this. I was obviously being guided, or prodded rather! I also told her about my 2 surgeries and what I had been going through. That is when I decided to write about my journey. I made some rough notes and guidelines. I asked how many words and she replied 600 – 1000! I mopped my brow and thought to myself how on earth was I going to do this? I started typing … I got to 400+ words and I wondered how I was going to get to 600 words. Then the words started flowing and my fingers flew across my keyboard … 1 198 words!! I could not believe it. I read through what I had written and again before I could change my mind I emailed it off to Glynis. I had started … there was no going back now. I was committed and had no idea how this was going to take shape. A few days later I started on the 2nd chapter. By then I had decided to do this in segments and the more I wrote the more the words flowed. I found myself having enough material that I could use some for the following chapter and so it went. A friend reads through what I have written in case I need to polish it up or have repeated myself along the way and when she says it is all good I send it on to Glynis. So here I am writing about my journey and all I have been through and how I have managed to stay strong and not crumble in to a heap. I hope that even if it gives hope and strength to just one person I will have made a difference by sharing my journey.
My sister flew to Durban to spend some time with me and to give Ryan a break. It was good to have time together again and also to get out of the house for a while. Ryan also got to focus on his work without having to worry about me, he had already spent quite a lot of time away from his office. Bron and I went to the shops, she spoilt me with a pedicure which was a real treat especially as I could not yet bend over to get to my feet; we visited Dad and took him out and we also just spent time relaxing and chatting. The time went by too quickly and before we knew it she was flying back to Johannesburg.
A few days after Bron went home I had my follow-up appointment with my gynaecologist who was happy with my progress. An ultrasound showed good healing and I left with instructions to see her every 6 months for follow-up and to have a PAP smear. This will be for the next 2 years.
I will see the clinical oncologist in December to be given a “surveillance plan” and have another CT scan. After that, as far as I am aware at the moment, I will have an annual CT scan and follow-up consultation with her.
In the meantime I have seen an orthotist who measured me for compression pantyhose. I requested open toe so that I could at least wear sandals in summer. These arrived and I had to go for a fitting. That was an eye opener! What a mission to put these on as they are very tight and thick. A little silky half slipper is first put over the foot which help the stockings to slip on although not without difficulty. Getting them over the ankles is a struggle and then they have to be pulled up very carefully whilst trying not to ladder them! The orthotist wore special gloves to get them up. The first time that I put them on at home it took me 15 minutes! This means that I need to get up earlier in the mornings just to put the stockings on. Thank goodness I work in an air-conditioned office but outdoors in summer it is going to be very uncomfortable.
Having been one to help and do rather than sit back my lesson here, which was reinforced by having a 2nd surgery, was to ask for help when needed and to accept it! It was also time for me to do for myself what I am good at telling others to do… to listen to my body by resting when I felt the need and thus recuperating. Not wanting to have anything go wrong and land up back in hospital I have been a very compliant patient.
Until next time…
Namasté
Yours in Love & Light,
JennyJennifer Harris McGarvie
Hands on Healing
Author: Spirit Connection
Spirit Connection is an online platform to facilitate connecting light workers with people seeking their help.
