Friday, February 27, 2009

Mayo adventure II

Sorry for being MIA.  I have been debating the future of Stolen Colon.  But anyways, that is for another post.  On with the news.

Well a few days ago I hit my 6 month mark!  It has been 6 months (and a few days) since my first surgery.  And I am happy to report that all is great!  Things seem to be working good.  The j-pouch has gotten the hang of it's job, and I know which foods it likes and others that will cause it to protest.  Minus the fatigue and the new terrain on the abdomen, I am as good if not better then I was before!  As I get back back into working out, the fatigue will start to vanish and maybe some of the tummy of yesteryear will return.  

On other FAP related news, Monday we head out for another Mayo Clinic adventure.  Bright and early Tuesday morning (six freaking am!) I'll be having another (final?!) surgery to remove the polyps on my small intestines.  The surgery will be endoscopic, the camera and tools will be passed down my throat, through my stomach and into my small intestines.  The doc will attempt to remove the growths and scrape up as much tissue as he can without puncturing the bowel wall.  He will also check the edges of the area that he worked on last time.  He needs to make sure he got it all and the edges are clean.  

The hope is (and I'm feeling very confident) that we are still one step ahead of this disease and that the growths have not become cancerous.  Hopefully, this goes smoothly and he is able to fully remove these last two buggers.  And maybe I can get to go more then two months between surgeries!  

If everything goes as planned I will be released later that same day, but I'll have to agree to stay in a hotel nearby, just in case.  We should be heading back to Michigan by Thursday morning.

We decided not to drag the Grace Monkey along with us this time.  It is not fair to her to make her sit in a car for 9 hours and then have to stay in a hotel room all day and night.  She'll be getting a nice holiday at her previous foster mom's house.  They have 3 of their own boxers (even though one of those boxer is big enough to count for two!) 1 boston
 terrier and 2 foster dogs living with them.  It will be a full house with Gracie there, but I know she will get the best care and will be completely spoiled!  

And one other really exciting tidbit, last night Gracie passed her Good Canine Citizenship (CGC) exam!  One of the proctors said she was one of the youngest boxers he's seen pass the exam.  I am one very proud mama.  Click here to learn more about the exam and what it entailed.  Here are a couple photos of Gracie being well. . .Gracie.  Hard to imagine that this goof was able to settle down and be serious for an hour straight during the exam!




10 comments:

Aunt Deb and Family said...

Best wishes on the upcoming surgery. I hope and pray that it all goes smoothly and your travels are safe and uneventful.
Loads of love,
Aunt Deb and Family :+)

Amanda said...

We'll be thinking of you and crossing our fingers that this is the last of things for a while (if not ever!)

And congrats to Miss Gracie Mae! :)

Love,
Amanda & Keith

Em said...

I am thinking of you!!

And go GRACIE!!

Rosie said...

Good luck with your surgery! And Congratulations Gracie!

Bob L said...

Thanks for taking care of my grandson Charlie-you are in my prayers.

Anonymous said...

Thinking of you and your travels today! You'll be in my prayers tomorrow morning, I hope everything goes well.

And congrats Gracie! :)

Anonymous said...

Hey Steph,

Gracie makes my dogs look like morons!

You couldn't be going to a better place than Mayo. Will Scott post for you so we know how everything goes?

Good luck!

Love Aunt Paula

Christina said...

Thinking of you and forgot to tell you that I LOVE that middle picture of Gracie running. Great action shot!

Anonymous said...

I'll be thinking about you this week, Steph.... Best wishes with everything, and keep us all posted!!

Gina (McKay) Ciaramitaro

Anonymous said...

Hi Steph,

I too have FAP, almost 30, I went through Mayo here in Phoenix and am originally from GR. I'm coming up on my one year in May and that marks the beginning of my surgeries and I wouldn't change a thing. Maybe we can talk and compare stories.