Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Real quick update from Scott's crackberry. The main polyp was sucessfully removed. We had a minor scare afterwards and I was admitted for overnight observance. I was doing better this morning and was discharged. So now we are on our way to FL! I'll fill you all in on the details later, but for now it is FL or bust! Happy holidays!

Friday, December 19, 2008

No, thank you

  I just wanted to take this post to thank you, my beloved readers.  Without you, Stolen Colon would have no point.   It is nice to have someone there to "listen" to me rant and rave, to provide support, offer advice and to just laugh at (oops I mean with) me.  It is your comments, letting me know you are out there listening, that help keep me going.

The blog averages around 150-200 hits day,  Holy crap?  How am I that interesting?  All the same, thank you.  You have helped to make this journey easier.   

I always appreciate all the well wishes, good vibes and prayers.  It is nice to know others are thinking of you and hoping for the best.  So this big and heart felt thanks goes out to all the people I have never met in real life, the family members I have drifted from, the long lost friends I had lost contact with, the second cousins I haven't seen in 25 years, my support group of "nesties" and "P&Fer's", and my new online family of FAPers.   

I hope everyone has a warm and wonderful holiday.  I will post when I can.  Hopefully, I will be able to update after the procedure at Mayo and let you all know I will be getting to keep my digestive organs, for a few more years anyways.  

Peace Out.  

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Figures

As of last Tuesday, I had to stop all NSAIDs (aleve, tylenol, etc) due to bleeding risks during next weeks procedure.  And wouldn't you know it, I got a POUNDING headache.  I guess that's life.  I have completely slathered my forehead in HeadOn and I'm pretty much inhaling peppermint oil.  

I'm getting pretty excited for Mayo.  I want this done with, all behind me.  I am ready to move on!  Yeah I know I'll have to have screenings for the rest of my life.  But, I want these polyps out of here.  No more worry, if they are growing, invading my bile ducts.  No more wondering if I look a little yellow today (jaundice is a sign that the polyps have invaded the duct).

And. . . wait for it. . . it is starting to looking like we might make to Florida after all!  I really hope I didn't just jinx us. Things are looking good for the Stolen Colon Fam.     


Tuesday, December 16, 2008

One Week Out

This time next week, those buggers in small intestines will be meeting their match, hopefully.  I am pretty excited for Mayo.  We have found a doggie daycare that Gracie can go to on the day of the procedure.  Since, it could end up being a long day at the hospital, we didn't want to leave Gracie alone in the hotel all day.  We also have arranged for Mr Dexter Cat to have a nice holiday vacation at my Mother in law's.  He loves Becky, and he will relish in some quiet time way from his always pestering little sis.  

Just in case, we are packing some of warmer clothes.   Um, no, not for Mayo.  The high there today is only  6˚, brr.  But maybe, just maybe, we'll make the 30 hour hike to Fl to see my family.  (Where it is a toasty 84˚ today.  Much more my style!)  

Here is to hoping!  

Monday, December 15, 2008

All I want for Christmas

Dear Santa,

I have been a good girl this year (well at least most of the time), and all I want for Christmas this year is for the doc at Mayo to remove the polyps in my duodenum.  I really just want to avoid or at least postpone having the pancreatoduodenectomy (I am no longer going to refer to it as "The Whipple", as that is just too whimsical sounding for such a serious surgery.  Very misleading.)  

I promise to leave you some of my awesome peanut butter cookies, and I guarantee they will be the best peanut butter cookies you will have this year.  With all of my crazy baking while in recovery mode I have perfected the peanut butter cookie.  Chunky peanut butter, more peanuts, salt.  Ah, the perfect mixture of salt and sweet.  

Anyways I digress. . .  So, if there is anyway you have some pull with the people upstairs, I'd really appreciate it this year.  

Thank you.  

PS. Your elf that was covering for you was a bit scary.  He freaked Gracie out.  First he hated puppy kisses, and then he told Gracie he'd mate with her.  So, um, I just thought you should know.  

Friday, December 12, 2008

Sexy Specs

I feel a bit better after my pity party yesterday.  It helped that a little elf gave me an early Christmas gift, an Ulta gift card.  Retail therapy can lift even the most dire spirits.   I decided I need a new nail polish, so I picked out a color that matched my Ebenezer attitude.  Baby It's "Coal" Outside by Opi.  A sparkly charcoal that throughly matches my mood.  

Also I picked up my new sexy specs yesterday.  Last week I paid the optometrist a visit.  After many arguments with Scott over my poor passenger seat direction giving, I thought maybe I should have my vision check.  Especially with the road trip looming in our near future.  

Last weeks visit to the eye doc turned out to be quite the event.  Besides finding out my eyesight is pretty bad and that I should be wearing glasses all the time, especially while driving.  (The doc was surprised I was able to pass the vision screening at my last license renewal, I didn't inform I got lucky guessing half the letters.) I also learned that I have some manifestations of FAP in my eyeballs.  (Can I please escape all things FAP for one week!?) Turns out I have a few CHRPEs (stands for Congenital Hypertrophy of the Retinal Pigment Epithelium.  Yeah, CHRPE's, pronounced chirps, is much easier on the tongue) on each of my pretty eyeballs or actually my retinas.  CHRPEs are much like freckles or birthmarks on the retina, and are present since birth.  While all the reading I have done on CHRPEs, indicates they are a benign condition, my eye doc wasn't as laid back.  He talked me into getting these crazy pictures taken of the back of my eyeballs, so we had the size and location of the CHRPEs on file.  He was concerned if they grew or changed in anyway it would be a sign they are cancerous.  So basically, he said it is now really important to go to my yearly eye doctor appt. if nothing more then to monitor these eye freckles.   Oh yeah, and that super high tech eye ball picture taking, think insurance covered that?!  Of course not.   

After learning about my new FAP apparition, I had to pay.  (I am seriously wondering what is the point of eye insurance at this point)  As I whipped out my wallet to pay, I accidentally threw my back-up undies across the office.   Life with a j-pouch doctrines that you  must carry a back up pair of underwear with you at all times.  You never know when you might read the new plumbing's signals wrong, and I have learned it is always better to be prepared.  Over the next 30 seconds (which felt more like 10 mins.) I had to decide if I wanted to ignore the neon pink under-roos that were now sitting 15 feet away, or calmly say "excuse me" and saunter over to them and pick them up.  If you're curious, I ended up embarrassingly walking across the office and cramming then back into my purse, the whole time with a matching pink face.  

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Bah Humbug


Two weeks until Christmas.  It sure doesn't feel like it.  This suppose to be the "most wonderful time of the year".  I'm just not feeling it this year.  There is no holiday spirit at the Stolen Colon house.  No tree, no lights, no holiday music, no gifts. . .  What's the point?  We'll be at Mayo over most of the holiday and my medical b.s. has eaten up all the finances that would have went to Christmas.  Don't mind me, I am just throwing myself a Scrooge style pity party.  Originally the plan was to drive to FL, to spend the holiday with my family.  We have only spent one Christmas with my family in the last 7 years.  I had high hopes that after the Mayo procedure, we could hop in the car and make the 30 plus hour trek to FL.  But yeah, once I quite dreaming I realized that A. we might not get the a-ok to leave mayo in time and B.  that it is contingent of Scott's job letting him have more time off.  Ha.

And yes I realized I lied to you all yesterday.  I had intentions of doing another post, but my pity party got in the way.  

Today's picture is from Christmas at the lake last year.  

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

The Final Exam

Here are a few pictures from our "final exam" on the last day of puppy kindergarden.  




Congratulations Miss Gracie!  I'm proud of you, now on to the next level.  


*There will be another post later today.  

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Cue the "Pomp and Circumstance"

Last night was graduation from puppy kindergarden.  Gracie passed with flying colors (of course).  Originally, I had dreams of doing therapy work with Gracie.  I saw Gracie and I visiting the residents of the hospital, especially children, and sharing some boxer wiggles and snuggles.  Ever since my stints in the hospital, it was something I wanted to do.  I pictured Gracie and I going through all the different levels of obedience classes and eventually ending with being certified as a Therapy Dog.  But, as Gracie's personality has blossomed, I'm a realizing that therapy work might not be her cup of tea.  She is a constant bundle of bouncing electricity.  Being calm is not her strong point.  Now something more energetic like Flyball might be more her style.  (Video below has sound, just a FYI in case you are pretending to be working)  
I guess I'll just have to wait till I adopt my over looked badly misunderstood rescued male pittie to do therapy work with me.  

In other news, Bentyl is my miracle drug.  The difference is day and night when I take it.  When I don't take it I have very painful spasms and cramps in the j-pouch.  Constant running to the bathroom with the sense of extreme urgency only to pass what is the equivalent of mouse turds.  This will go on all day and night, equaling well over 30-50  trips to the loo.   But, when I do take it regularly I'll go to the bathroom only 6-10 times a day and 1-2 times at night, fully emptying every time.  No cramps, no spasms, no urgency.   I love Bentyl.  

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Holiday, what?

Recently I spoke with a nurse at Mayo about my upcoming holiday appt. The plan is to meet with Dr Gostout on Monday, the 22nd, to go over everything.  Then Tuesday, the 23rd, is the procedure.  The Doc is going to do an ERCP to make sure I am a candidate.  And if he says all is go, then he will continue on and attempt to remove the polyps.    All of this will be done under general anesthesia (like I had for the two main surgeries) instead of the sedation I am use to receiving for scopings.  

I stumbled upon this article about Submucosal Endoscopy with Dr Gostout.  If I am not mistaken, this is the procedure he is going to attempt with me.  It is fairly interesting.  Pay particular attention to the side pictures and text and the text under the heading "A Shift in Thinking".  

We will be staying in Rochester from the 21st through the 24th.  The doctor wants me to stay in town for a minimum of 24 hrs after the procedure in case of complications (but I am due to be  complication free, damn it).  I have a feeling this will be the extent of our holiday this year.  I'm working on  trying to find things for us to do/see/eat to help keep this from feeling like a ruined holiday.   So, if I have an Minnesotan readers out there, any must sees or restaurant reviews?  

Well, I must get back to Gracie.  It is cram time.  Graduation from puppy kindergarden is next week and we just hit the adolescent "I-do-what-I-want" and "I-can't-hear-you" phase.  
Dear Anonymous,
Thank you for your concern for Gracie.  I feed meaty raw bones as treats with the consent of my vet.  As long as bones are NOT cooked and not weight bearing bones, they are perfectly fine.  When they are cooked is when they are dangerous.   However, I do not feel that my blog is the right forum to debate canine nutrition.  I invite you to email me if you would like to discuss this further.  I have many different websites and authors I could pass on to you if you are interested in learning more about raw feeding.

Thank you.
smahyes1@gmail.com

For the rest of you, I'll do another post later today. 

Monday, December 1, 2008

Thanksgiving Recovery

I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday weekend.  Ours went well, but all that cooking and hosting really wore me out.  I am also paying the price for the over indulgences too.  I just took 2 Bentyls (the antispasmodic) and I plan to have a couch day (I also need to finish this post before the bentyl kicks in and I start getting loopy).   It was all worth it though.  On a whole the day consisted of a lot of eating, Playstation football and some more eating.  And I got to feel like a real person again.  I ate normal food, had no major pain and I even got to indulge in the bubbly.  Everything was going smoothly in the kitchen, until I ended up taking a Bentyl, and then the next thing I knew the gravy exploded and I knocked over the 5 Lb bag of flour.  Hey, at least I was entertaining.   
  
 
Little Miss Gracie Mae got to enjoy the holiday too.  She had her first raw turkey neck.*  I guess even dogs can go into post-Thanksgiving food comas.  



*Believe it or not but raw meaty bones are perfectly fine to give to dogs.  Just never ever give cooked bones, they splinter and can do major internal damage.