Monday, November 5, 2012

Sliced. Diced.

The gall bladder is history.

Friday, I went in for routine arthroscopic surgery. There was an adhesion (complication!), so they had to cut me open old-fashion style. OW. Instead of a few teeny bandaids, I have four gauzy gashes, surrounded by great swirls of purple and red bruising. All of which will look nicely, combined with my giant colon scar. And all this just two days AFTER Halloween, as misfortune would have it.

I'm home now, and I can barely walk. Wasn't expecting this little curve ball. Kind of was thinking I'd be able to spend the week doing things like sitting up all by myself, and walking from here to the kitchen in less than 10 minutes, without groaning all the way.

Good ol' abdominal wounds. I think I now know how it feels to be shot. If I used words like "bucket list", I could comment here about that.

Spirit-wise, I'm ok. This too shall pass. However, I did un-friend two people on Facebook today, for the crime of chronically using their status line to complain about how rough their lives are. So maybe I'm feeling un peu feisty after all.

10 comments:

  1. You should feel more than un peu feisty, Shelly. I'm so sorry they had to open you up for this surgery. I'm really glad it's behind you and hope you'll begin feeling much better within a few short days. You've had WAY more than your fair share to deal with these past three years. Sending much love to you and hoping that this is the last of all the baloney you'll have to deal with! -Jen(ny)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well, I guess won't complain about stepping in cat poop this morning...bare foot, no less! Hope you have a speedy recovery Shelly!

    ReplyDelete
  3. SO GLAD your surgery is done! I am so sorry they had to use the "traditional" method because of the adhesion, ouch! I am thinking of you lots, and after reading your post before this one, am enraged with your insurance compnay for refusing to pay for a PET scan. That is just SHIT. I don't want you to have to endure a day/hour/minute more of chemo than you need to. It makes me want to organize a fundraiser to pay for the PET--we can make brownies in the shapes of the OTHER kinds of pets--dogs, cats, fishes--and frost them with neon goo to represent how a PET scan works, by lighting up. Let me know if you want me to start baking, lady. And in the meantime--may your gut be forever freed from gallstone hell. xox

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh Shelly, I wish I was there to help! You are beyond tough, I seriously don't know how you get all this shitty luck but you (thankfully!!!) make it through everything. xo- Mo

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love your attitude. I hope the recovery is quick!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Holy shit Shel!! I'm so sorry for the hell you have endured, now and before. Ugh. There just aren't any words for it... And, by the way, I've unfriended people for complaining too much on Facebook and I haven't even been through any of the major shit you have, so I'd say you're pretty tolerant. xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  7. Glad to hear you got rid of that pesky gall bladder. Hopefully the wounds heal quickly and you will be chasing your kids around in no time. I am amazed and in awe of your strength and positive attitude. Stay tough!

    ReplyDelete
  8. un peu fiesty, indeed. So fiesty that you are bringing your fancy bilingualism to the process. Good to see your cognitive skills are better than ever, and that your humor remains, even as you shuffle to the kitchen. YES, shel, THIS TOO SHALL PASS. THIS TOO SHALL PASS. (one more time, all together now!) THIS TOO SHALL PASS.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hope by now you are feeling like a million (or at least a couple hundred thousand) bucks and doing cartwheels in your backyard. So sorry to hear your surgery was not quite the minimally invasive procedure you were anticipating.
    I think The End of Fifteen Months of Chemo/Farewell to the Gall Bladder calls for some sort of celebration. Perhaps a shot of Jäger for each month of chemo? We could somehow tie this in with Tim's wedding weekend. I realize this could be a challenge since we wouldn't want to take away at all from the bride and groom; looks like it would need to be an after-hours type event. Fortunately we have a few months to plan.
    Thinking about you and hope you're feeling MUCH better!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Shelly, It sounds like your new Mercer Island home is great. Philly was over tonight and I asked how you were doing.... so I thought I would check out your blog tonight. Keep staying strong for your kids and Neil. You need them and they need you. I hope you get off this chemo pronto before the holidays, permanently! Take care.

    ReplyDelete