Hello Everyone,
Well this might be my last entry for a while.......
It is now 10 days after surgery and I'm in a normal post surgery hospital room. I had my final drains removed today so I can sneak around at will rather than being a poor imitation of Marley's Ghost draped in plastic rather than in chains!
I had my barium swallow yesterday, this a X-Ray where you swallow Barium fluid which shows up on the image and lets the techs know if any of the joins in my new throat are leaking or not. It was the usual comedy; I of course cannot speak, I communicate with pen/paper or a drawing board. So they stand me up and strap me between the plates of the machine and the put a glass in my hand to drink from. Cindy stands there like a mannequin letting off steam and eventually someone gets the idea. "Oh, there is no room for her to get the glass to her mouth!!" (well done Noddy thinks Cindy).
So they unstrap me and repeat the procedure. Eventually it all gets done and I'm cleared - no leaks! Way to go.
The histology came back and my surgeon sits with me. The cancer was confined to a 1 x 4 cm ulcerated area and was of a high aggressive grade (as we already knew). The lymph nodes around the area were all clear. The tissue underlaying the larynx etc was all clear. I have no histological evidence for cancer.
There is no further treatment that I need following the surgery. However there is no further treatment available if it returns.
So today I got rid of my last neck drain, I cleaned my stoma and more dressings were removed. My nasal-gastro tube was removed (it fell out) and I started to eat and drink using Throat vMkII.
It is an unusual experience. I swallow at the back of my mouth but there is no secondary 'gulp'. Food and drink just go to my tummy. Even without a sense of taste and smell hospital food was still not very appetising but I will eat to get out of here.
Again my experience has been nothing but wonderful. The medical staff and the nursing staff have been wonderful. Although the interns did have to do a duck this morning when I had a lung cough in front of them.
A lung cough? I can no longer cough but I get mucus and muck build up on my airway so I have a reflex cough to clear it. The mucus comes out of the stoma with great force and if you are in the way you wear it. For some reason no one warns the interns of this happening
So I'm in excellent spirits. I get tired quickly and require a heap of pain killers to keep going. I am looking forward to the rest of my life and I am going to get off my arse and do more things.
Oh and tomorrow is 1st April, so I shall return to work as Forum Admin tomorrow, what better day could there be.
My Love to All of You
Cindy.
