Today is a very special and important day for me, the biggest milestone so far. The feeding tube (PEG) was put in on 8th April 2013. 8 months and 15 days later it’s been removed. The nurse came round my house to perform the procedure. All I had to do was provide was hot water, soap and towels. Those words remind me of the TV programme “All Creatures Great And Small”. I’ve been enjoying watching the repeats recently. Every time the Vet visits a farm to insert an arm into some unmentionable part of a cow’s anatomy he always asks for hot water, soap and a towel!
So the tube is out and I’m tucked up in bed with the electric blanket on. I have to rest while the wound closes over. No bending, stretching or lifting. I’m quite comfy and could happily stay here till Christmas morning. My husband is being very attentive as usual. I’ve got Mister Panda (don’t ask!), an assortment of magazines, my Kindle, my phone, the TV remote control, the laptop with stereo speakers attached, and I’m sipping a small glass of wine. Yes I know it’s the middle of the afternoon but there are times when you just have to celebrate. I had my last glass of wine on the evening of April 7th, a nice Merlot if I remember rightly. I was a bit dubious if wine would ever taste the same again. My taste buds aren’t quite what they were and I still struggle with anything acidic. I was advised to try a low alcohol white wine to start with and I’m glad I did. It tastes just right and I suspect anything else would be too strong for me at the moment.
I very much feel that now the tube is out that I can take a massive step forward and move on with my life. The tube has been a constant reminder of cancer. It’s been impossible to ignore the tube as I’ve seen it every time I’ve got undressed. It’s stopped me giving people a proper hug when I greet them, and it’s been impossible to snuggle up to my husband in bed on a cold night. What I am particularly looking forward to is nice long soaks in the bath with lots of bubble bath. And to be able to wear proper clothes again. I have been spending far too much time in my Minnie Mouse pyjama bottoms.
And to make the day perfect, I woke up this morning to find my hearing has improved considerably overnight. I think the fluid has been slowly draining over the last few days. I’ve been turning the hearing aids down and they are now on their lowest volume setting. This morning when I put the aids in everything was unbearably loud. So I just put one hearing aid in, and I can still hear OK. I have rung the hospital and they are arranging an appointment in the New Year for me to get my hearing reassessed. Apparently my hearing aids can be reprogrammed at the same time. I thought they’d need sending away somewhere, so that is very good news.
