I’ve decided to stop numbering these as they’re in date order anyway!
OK, so an update on my situation. It appears that I had a pretty bad GI infection (which happened in Scotland), and various medical staff have pointed out, this is a full-on thing anyway, on top of whatever else is going on. So, in short, I’m in “convalescing” mode, which still dealing with my prognosis.
Things are going…. OK. It’s a moving target and difficult to know what’s the right thing to do, but my appetite is returning (T made the most amazing egg-based (no cream) carbonara) last night, and I had a long chat with a Macmillan nurse who gave me sage advice as what to eat and when and what’s the best way to approach this. In terms of physical strength I think I’ve made great strides forward (literally) as I’m able to stand and walk unassisted and don’t feel like I’m going to fall down – not something I could have said a week ago. Now obviously I’m not how I was 3 weeks ago before all this started, but I feel much better physically and therefore mentally. I’m obviously taking a lot of meds at the moment (some for the GI, some to combat the swelling in my liver, others the routine stuff), which is a full-time job in itself.
It’s incredible how this really is a full time task for someone. If I wasn’t being given so much care by T (who is working pretty much flat out as my carer now), I don’t think I could keep up, aside from the positive effect she has on me which is raising my mood and my ability to fight this. I actually got things done yesterday, replying to some emails which had been in my inbox, chasing up some legal stuff and doing some programming! My head was clear enough to add some more things that are useful for T, and to look at other things with a clear focus. This is light years away from where I was last week, although physically I’m not going to be doing much, we’re going to work on moving about more today and going for a short (1-2 minute!) walk, as things have fallen that far physically that in itself will be a challenge. I do have the same pain, but know what it is more (thanks to the Macmillan nurse and her in-depth explanation and knowledge), and I’m still taking oromorph for it as advised.
Mentally, I’m improving, but I’ll be honest, I still cry a lot. Nearly anything can set me off. My physical appearance is one of those things, and taking a shower is difficult because of that if nothing else. I’ve still not read the fathers’ day cards as I know I’ll be in bits. Which probably sounds weird, but hopefully I’ll feel strong enough to read them today without turning into a blubbering mass for an hour. But that will be after breakfast, which I am looking forwards to, which is really great.
