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DC Update: "...the knives are out" - 3/4/2015 1:12:02 PM   
dcnovice


Posts: 37282
Joined: 8/2/2006
Status: offline 		March 4, 2015
“…the knives are out”


Dear Ones ---

“Dice are rolling, the knives are out.”

Juan Peron’s words in Evita sum up the latest twisted turn in my medical saga.

Last Friday, I met with my GI surgeon. Yesterday, my wonderful cousin and I met with my wound surgeon. Both are impatient with my slow rate of rectal healing, and they feel it’s time to return to the OR. Exactly when this will happen remains to be worked out. The attached New Yorker cartoon provides my take on the matter.

If I listened between the lines accurately, this next step is a bit of a dice roll. The first order of business is to figure out why I’m not healing. Apparently, going in will provide a clearer picture than even the best scans. Based on what they see, the docs will clear out any dead or troubled tissue, give the place a good cleaning, and perhaps create a “flap,” or bit of tissue, that ensures blood flow to the area.

They will also take a tissue sample to biopsy. I don’t know whether that’s simply a precaution or if something worrisome caught a doc's eye.

All this may happen during a single operation; it may take two (during the same hospital stay). It looks as if I’ll be in-patient for seven to ten days. Perhaps they’ll find a new ward for me to explore! Sitting will be verboten for a while afterwards. No clue how long I’ll be out from work.

I may emerge from the hospital with some sort of “vac” attached to draw out whatever shouldn’t be in there. I’d tote it around in a stylish man-purse much as I did with my chemo pump, and a nurse would come every other day to empty it. I fervently hope to avoid this. Fond as I am of Star Trek: The Next Generation, I draw the line at becoming Borg myself.

At this point, I’d like summon my positive side to tell you how grateful I am for alert docs, medical advances, health coverage, and so forth. And I am. But mostly I ricochet between numbness and feeling shattered. There were clues that this news was coming, but the actual arrival still stunned me.

My dismay so far takes three different shapes: terror of waking up in an ICU with a breathing tube in my throat (been there, done that), anxiety about cat care, and a litany of bitter “Why didn’t I?” queries. Why didn’t I get the goddamn colonoscopy the first time I saw blood in my stool? Why didn’t I manage my blood sugar (a huge factor in healing) better? Why didn’t I overhaul my diet the way I knew I needed to? Why didn’t I take care of myself (a lifelong struggle for yours truly)?

I know, I know: spilt milk. But I’m crying anyway. Knowing how much I brought this mess on myself has been one of the hardest parts of this trek.

I’m sorry to end on that note, but it’s where things stand. I’ll keep you posted as I learn more, and I, as always, appreciate your being there.

Love to you all!

Thanks,
DC

Attachment (1)

_____________________________

No matter how cynical you become,
it's never enough to keep up.

JANE WAGNER, THE SEARCH FOR SIGNS OF
INTELLIGENT LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE
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RE: DC Update: "...the knives are out" - 3/4/2015 1:16:42 PM   
mnottertail


Posts: 60698
Joined: 11/3/2004
Status: offline 		Hey, at our age, these are now 'minor annoyances'. Here is what you gotta wrap your fuckin head around.


I am gonna be HEALED UP and enjoy the fuck outta this summer. I am gonna have sun on my face another year!!!!


I lost my best friend of 48 years on Feb 6th. You have options, he doesnt. My (and our next best friend is in dialysis all the time) and his pegs don't heft enough he can ride his bike.......

Best to ya!!!!

< Message edited by mnottertail -- 3/4/2015 1:18:05 PM >

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RE: DC Update: "...the knives are out" - 3/4/2015 1:18:41 PM   
dcnovice


Posts: 37282
Joined: 8/2/2006
Status: offline 		Here's the cartoon I tried to attach.




Attachment (1)

< Message edited by dcnovice -- 3/4/2015 1:29:45 PM >

_____________________________

No matter how cynical you become,
it's never enough to keep up.

JANE WAGNER, THE SEARCH FOR SIGNS OF
INTELLIGENT LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE

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RE: DC Update: "...the knives are out" - 3/4/2015 1:20:28 PM   
mnottertail


Posts: 60698
Joined: 11/3/2004
Status: offline 		And you gotta check the box too, DC.

_____________________________

Have they not divided the prey; to every man a damsel or two? Judges 5:30


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RE: DC Update: "...the knives are out" - 3/4/2015 2:21:02 PM   
dcnovice


Posts: 37282
Joined: 8/2/2006
Status: offline
quote:

I lost my best friend of 48 years on Feb 6th.

Warmest sympathies, Ron! That's a rough one indeed.


quote:

You have options, he doesnt.

Good point, thanks.


quote:

And you gotta check the box too, DC.

Ah yes. Kept blanking on that.

_____________________________

No matter how cynical you become,
it's never enough to keep up.

JANE WAGNER, THE SEARCH FOR SIGNS OF
INTELLIGENT LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE

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RE: DC Update: "...the knives are out" - 3/4/2015 2:49:15 PM   
UnholyBear


Posts: 661
Joined: 10/19/2012
Status: offline 		Bear hugz for ya dc.



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RE: DC Update: "...the knives are out" - 3/4/2015 2:51:23 PM   
outlier


Posts: 1111
Joined: 10/22/2005
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: dcnovice

March 4, 2015
“…the knives are out”


Dear Ones ---

“Dice are rolling, the knives are out.”

........ and a litany of bitter “Why didn’t I?” queries. Why didn’t I get the goddamn colonoscopy the first time I saw blood in my stool? Why didn’t I manage my blood sugar (a huge factor in healing) better? Why didn’t I overhaul my diet the way I knew I needed to? Why didn’t I take care of myself (a lifelong struggle for yours truly)?

I know, I know: spilt milk. But I’m crying anyway. Knowing how much I brought this mess on myself has been one of the hardest parts of this trek.

I’m sorry to end on that note, but it’s where things stand. I’ll keep you posted as I learn more, and I, as always, appreciate your being there.

Love to you all!

Thanks,
DC


DC,

I thank you for ending on that note. You see, 10 years ago this month I lost my partner of
20 plus years after an 15 month battle with lung cancer. After being her caregiver during that time,
her voice when she had none; I resolved that I would not volunteer to put myself in that place.

Some of the people I have met since then think I am too focused on being healthy. That I worry
too much about the diet I eat or my exercise. But I have seen up close someone go through the
kind of thing you are enduring. That is part of the reason I have such respect for you and the way
you are dealing with it.

As I have said before, Hemingway famously defined courage as "grace under pressure".
I admire your courage and I envy the quality of your grace. You continue to set an example for us all.

All the best,
Outlier


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Worth the time, the thought - or rather, the thoughtfulness - and, often,
the waiting." Pete Seeger

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RE: DC Update: "...the knives are out" - 3/4/2015 3:16:18 PM   
sexyred1


Posts: 8998
Joined: 8/9/2007
Status: offline 		As always, DC, I wish your troubles would go away and stop blaming yourself. We did nothing to get these illnesses, just bad fucking luck.

Hang in there.

(in reply to outlier)
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RE: DC Update: "...the knives are out" - 3/4/2015 4:55:23 PM   
kallisto


Posts: 1185
Status: offline 		Hugs DC ... Hang in there.

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RE: DC Update: "...the knives are out" - 3/4/2015 9:48:07 PM   
Marini


Posts: 3629
Joined: 2/14/2010
Status: offline 		Sending all the positive energy I can your way.
Thoughts of healing blessings channeled to you.

I hope you see a light at the end of the tunnel, and you
have been through the worst of it.

Try to ignore the what if's and focus on what you can control.

Hang in there, dc
Peace and blessings to you.

_____________________________

As always, To EACH their Own.
"And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. "
Nelson Mandela
Life-long Democrat, not happy at all with Democratic Party.
NOT a Republican/Moderate and free agent

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RE: DC Update: "...the knives are out" - 3/5/2015 8:48:54 AM   
SeekingTrinity


Posts: 1834
Joined: 5/29/2012
From: The 'burbs of Portland, OR
Status: offline 		~FRing it~

Continued prayers for you, DC

On a personal note, I can fully understand the desire to not have to spend time attached to a wound vac. I felt the same way myself back in July when I was being wheeled into the OR to have my own unhealing wound (from a c-section complication) cleaned out and a wound vac put on. However it honestly wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and I think it really helped heal up the wound quicker than it would have on its own.

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RE: DC Update: "...the knives are out" - 3/5/2015 8:50:43 AM   
mnottertail


Posts: 60698
Joined: 11/3/2004
Status: offline 		doesn't anyone use maggots for that anymore? what is this country coming to?


_____________________________

Have they not divided the prey; to every man a damsel or two? Judges 5:30


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RE: DC Update: "...the knives are out" - 3/9/2015 8:38:50 PM   
tiggerspoohbear


Posts: 19141
Joined: 6/27/2010
Status: offline 		Thoughts & warmest wishes headed your way DC. As always, you show us the grace & strength in the face of this insidious disease/war your body is waging. You CAN Do this, as scary as it is. Look at how you've handled everything so far. You're still fighting it, I believe you'll continue to do so. That sense of humor hasn't left you either. 😤

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RE: DC Update: "...the knives are out" - 3/10/2015 3:18:26 AM   
ShaharThorne


Posts: 11071
Joined: 2/24/2009
From: Somewhere in TX
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: mnottertail

doesn't anyone use maggots for that anymore? what is this country coming to?




Time to get the leeches out! I think I need to go to the barber and have a few teeth taken care of (hides the pliers).

Ron, you don't watch "Untold Stories of the ER" on TLC. There was an episode where a lady had a weight drop on her foot 2 weeks prior to the ER visit...there were maggots under the nail of her right big toe. Apparently she did some damage and the maggots were eating away at the dead tissue. Mom and I went

Seriously, DC...Mom and I are praying for you to kick this situation to the moon. Hopefully the upcoming procedures can get you all fixed up so you can enjoy life again.

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You are making two and a half feet of irresistible, tubular sex! -Lola, Kinky Boots

Founder: Bitch with Tits

Whip me, beat me, make me feel cheap and have great sex

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RE: DC Update: "...the knives are out" - 3/10/2015 9:28:42 PM   
Kirata


Posts: 15477
Joined: 2/11/2006
From: USA
Status: offline
Why didn’t I get the goddamn colonoscopy the first time I saw blood in my stool? Why didn’t I manage my blood sugar better? Why didn’t I overhaul my diet the way I knew I needed to? Why didn’t I take care of myself...?

Don't even go there, dc. On the one hand there's the person who watches their health, exercises regularly, eats only wholesome organic foods, and ends up diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at age 39, and on the other hand there's the little old lady who at 102 attributes her longevity to whiskey and cigars. I mean, yanno? What the fuck? Nah, you live your life the way you choose, and if in the end you pay a price for that, well, fuck the Universe if it can't take a joke. It's a lot better than doing everything right, and finding out in the end that the joke was on you.

K.





< Message edited by Kirata -- 3/10/2015 9:56:27 PM >

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RE: DC Update: "...the knives are out" - 3/10/2015 10:18:22 PM   
dcnovice


Posts: 37282
Joined: 8/2/2006
Status: offline

_____________________________

No matter how cynical you become,
it's never enough to keep up.

JANE WAGNER, THE SEARCH FOR SIGNS OF
INTELLIGENT LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE

(in reply to Kirata)
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RE: DC Update: "...the knives are out" - 3/11/2015 1:42:48 AM   
needlesandpins


Posts: 3901
Status: offline 		as always, DC, wishing you only the very best with everything. We can all live on what ifs, but we all know it does us no good. it's wasted energy for a start. if time travel exists it is not available to the puny likes of us. therefore we can only live in the now. You are doing such a great thing by giving us your story, and your experience for us to learn from. now the really bad thing would be someone that has read all this, and still ignored the signs.

the cancer demon isn't fussy about who it gathers. if it were, it wouldn't touch children with it's stick, but it does. it just enjoys watching the fight.

You're a warrior, DC xx

needles

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I deserved better. Not than you, but from you.

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RE: DC Update: "...the knives are out" - 3/11/2015 9:00:20 PM   
DesFIP


Posts: 25191
Joined: 11/25/2007
From: Apple County NY
Status: offline 		Kicking yourself while you're down is the least productive or helpful thing you can do.
Just know we're all rooting for you because as someone else said, you personify the word grace. Best of British luck as the saying goes.

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Cynical and proud of it!


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RE: DC Update: "...the knives are out" - 3/14/2015 10:03:30 AM   
Rule


Posts: 10479
Joined: 12/5/2005
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: dcnovice
Both are impatient with my slow rate of rectal healing,

Why didn’t I manage my blood sugar (a huge factor in healing) better? Why didn’t I overhaul my diet the way I knew I needed to?

This.

The healing may proceed better if your level of insulin would get up higher, especuially if applied topically. Consult your wound surgeon or physician about this.

_____________________________

"I tend to pay attention when Rule speaks" - Aswad

"You are sweet, kind, and ever so smart, Rule. You ALWAYS stretch my mind and make me think further than I might have on my own" - Duskypearls

Si vis pacem, para bellum.

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