About Me

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I'm Carole, living in London, happily married and mum to two amazing boys.I was diagnosed with Stage 3 Rectal Cancer in April 2010. Surgery took place in November 2010 and I now have a permanent colostomy...Spinal mets were then diagnosed in October 2011...In January 2012 I was told of further spread to the hip area (multiple lesions)..My life expectancy is now 6-9 months. Walk alongside me on the last part of my experience with this..

Wednesday 17 November 2010

In the words of Yazz "The Only Way Is UP"

Hello all cyber friends,

I have to thank you all for your lovely messages of encouragement and support, it is really great to feel the sense of community.

So what has happened since the last update on Friday............ seeing mum on Friday afternoon she had made a very small improvement since the day before, still looking totally exhausted but I understand we can expect too much and this will be a long road to recovery.

We had a chat about maybe getting Dj up to see her soon as it had been nearly a week since he had seen or spoken to her, only problem being is that the plan was to end the epidural at 6am Saturday morning, I could sense the fear in trepidation in mum when consultant confirmed she would then be put on pain relief by mouth. Think we all had the same sort of feelings of nervousness as we know this has to happen to enable her to get some mobility back (epidural had made one leg virtually dead and unable to support her, fairly normal for extended epidural use) but also mindful of the fact it could lead her to be in extreme pain, although the doctors state this won't be the case. I rang in the morning to see if she was up to seeing Dj and to my relief she was, we all met up there on Saturday afternoon, mum had been switched to Tramadol pain killers, still looked exhausted but again a small improvement from the Friday, still has her sodium and saline drip in and drain for the wound but no longer required the oxygen mask to be on and BP had increased to around the 100 mark again and seem to be staying there.

Dj stayed for about an hour and then Leanne, Dj and left as he was going to stay at ours to give Rab a little break. All in all a great weekend, Dj got a new Ed Hardy hoodie and finally convinced him that jeans don't need to be uncomfortable, he tried a pair on and was very happy with them so a couple of new purchases and then on to Nandos to meet Loretta, Tony and Jake to complete the Nandos extra hot challenge (soak a chip in their extra hot sauce for 10/15 mins and then eat when you finished), Dj loved this and proceed to tell us it wasn't hot at all, think he takes after his father on that one as chili used to be a staple part of his diet. also managed to have movie night with popcorn and Avatar, Arcades, Wii and home paid Pizzas before coming back on Sunday evening. Al in all Dj was pleased to see mum, relieved more than anything I guess and pleased he could see we are not hiding anything.

Mums condition for Monday, Tuesday was fairly similar, physio getting her move a little, she rates her pain as now uncomfortable and not unbearable. Still remains very tired but just taking each day one at a time with short term goals, just a case of her resting as much as possible really now.
Her surgeon came up with a crazy idea over the weekend that she would be ok to go home on Monday/Tuesday, laughable really, anyway his registrar agreed this was crazy and discharge would be discussed later in the week, now set to be review Thursday or Friday, stoma team insist she won't be going anywhere until she is happy dealing with the bag. So just a bit of a waiting game at the mo but the end to phase 1 is insight and she promises me she won't be doing anything this side of xmas once she is back at home, luckily there are enough helpers around to ensure she does stick to this.

Rab, just wanted to say a special thank you to you, you have really stepped up to the plate to take care of things at home, the fact Dj is dealing with things so well is down to you, Nan and Grandad. As I've said this is only part one and a lot of work still to be done but we are all here to help.


Update you all again towards the end of the week with more news.

Love from James & DJ

xxx

11 comments:

  1. Just want to say a very big thank you to everyone for your lovely messages and best wishes to my daughter Carole for her recovery, it means a lot to her that you are there wishing her well,
    as you can understand what she is going through and how she feels more than her family can, as you have either been there or still going through this horrible journey with cancer.
    Also thank you to James for keeping everyone up to date with your mums blog, your doing a great job,love you loads.Nan and Grandad xxxx

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  2. Thank you for the update, James. It is a very long road ahead, but your mum will get there, taking one step at a time. She is a brave lady and has all the fabulous support from you, DJ and Rab. I was so pleased to hear about DJ's visit to see her and to hear that you all had a good weekend. Well done on the Nando Challenge!

    Please give your mum my love and some gentle hugs from me. xx

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  3. Thanks for the update. Continued prayers. Sending hugs and kisses, love Rose Mary xoxoxo

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  4. Hello boys. Great to hear from you James. Was beginning to get a little bit anxious that we hadn't heard anything more, but recongnized that you have a lot more on your plate to worry about than blogging!

    So good to hear your mum is making improvements - albeit it slowly (but that's probably the best way forward for her at the moment). So very glad to hear Dj is doing ok. Was worried about him worrying about his mum but, as you said, now he can see nothing is being kept from him, probably much easier for him to cope with her absence. Would also like to say again a huge "well done" to Rabah for holding the fort and for keeping Carole on an even keel when she felt like life was falling to pieces. And to you for all the support you've given your mum these past months - you and Leanne. So very, very proud of the way all of you have coped so far. As you say, still a long way to go, but you've all been amazing so far. Much love to you all. Hope to see you all when Carole is back home. In the meantime, please give her all my love when you next see her and tell her she's in my thoughts. xxxxxxxxxxxxx

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  5. Thank you once again James for the update, very pleased to hear things are going ok for you all, and glad Dj is also bearing up well with it all, but then he is bound to be with all the family around him, you, leanne, rab and your granparents are such a fab bunch! Give Carole my love once again and can't wait to see her 'Im home' post, as long as she sits in front of the computer all day and does nothing much else!!
    Take care and big hugs to you all xx

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  6. Well done James - a very positive update. You must all be exhausted, so I'm very grateful to you for bringing us the latest news.
    Much love to the whole lot of you - still thinking about you all every day.
    Shents
    xxx
    PS Nice to see Carroll (that's the big ugly Geordie Carroll with the pony tail, not your mum!)on the same team as Walcott the other night!

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  7. Hey, James. Thanks for the updates. Reading about you and the time you spent with DJ really touched me. What a neat family you have. Carole has every reason to be proud of you guys.

    Carole, you still have a cyber friend in Utah on your get well team wishing you all the best for a steady and sure recovery. It'll be my turn in two weeks. I suppose then I'll really be praying for you.

    Smiles and a very gentle hug,
    Steve

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  8. Please pass on our love,your mum must be so exhausted but I bet she was thrilled to see Dj.You,re doing a fine job ,thank you for keeping us informed,it would be so worrying oterwise as we have such a huge regard for your mum.Onwards and upwards.
    Love Rose xxx

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  9. Hi James
    It's great to get your updates even tho Leanne keeps us updated.You write so like your mum if it was'nt signed I'd think it was her!
    Give mum all our love along with Rab and Dj.
    Were so lucky to have such a wonderful son in law
    Take care
    Luv Woo and George xxx

    By the way Jeans are ready!

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  10. Hi J, DJ always enjoys spending time with you guys! Nan tells me family care is all under control but I'm not surprised you are all organised. Just hope it doesn't get too much for sis as she does need support but also likes her own space. Just over a week and I'll be able to give sis a gentle hug too. love to you all xxx

    Steve, good luck with your turn in two weeks.

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  11. James, thank you so much for these updates, they're very welcome, although we all understand that you've got a lot on your plate.

    I'm so glad to DJ was able to see his Mum. He must be so reassured by that. Carol emailed me just before she went into hospital and she told me how supportive you all were, and how she relied on Rab so much.

    Well done guys, you doing so well.

    Loce to Carol and to all of you

    xxx

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