♥ Believe

XoXo ~Ashley

Pancreatic cancer/ colon/ Michigan/ surgery UPDATE

Happy St. Patricks Day everyone!!

Friday:

Oh my dear Friday. Ok, well I get up early and head to my “study”.   I did the whole enema solution FUN STUFF Thursday night and I get to the hospital early am Friday and see my doctors orders and it says “CT scan w/ contrast”  I’m thinking…. damn, thats an easy study.  This will be my 3rd CT scan in the last 2 weeks.  I find out that NO, it’s a “colon study w/ contrast” THEN another CT scan.  Ok, what the hello does that mean?!  Oh, I find out.  It means I get in a hospital gown and a male doctor sticks a long catheter into my rear-end where he proceeds to fill up my colon with contrast.  Can you say AWKWARD?!  I don’t know any young girls getting colonoscopies so NO, this is nothing I am familiar with or had convos about nor expected to go through this.  The doctor was doing this study to see if the contrast would leak into my abdomen at the top where the air sac is.  He said it does not appear to be leaking at all, so I was happy, though he wanted to take a few more images and check them on the big screen in the back with another doctor. I couldn’t believe this “$hit” I was going through!

This whole situation was very uncomfortable, I mean major cramps because thats what happens when your colon is full apparently.  Yes of coarse I was wide awake, no type of medications were given to me whatsoever so that made my experience even better.  Yay.  The images were checked on the “big screen” and viola there was contrast leakage.  The sac that is between my spleen and colon has a small hole in it where it is leaking the bacteria that my colon takes into my abdomen.  My doctor was amazed that I am not any worse than a fever and side pain because they said this makes people very sick.. Yes and I’m Ashley…always throwing a curve ball.

So what now?

Patch that hole!   Oh you know how my husband described to people in the hospital that asked what happened?  That they pressurized my pipes and found the hole, like plumbing in a house  hahaha

I had to wait at the hospital for the phone call from my Dr. who advised this is serious and I will be admitted Sunday for surgery Monday.  I didn’t tell her about the wedding in Michigan.  My husband did and she said “NO, NO MICHIGAN and if she gets another fever you have to rush her to the ER immediately” ….then we headed home.  I didn’t ask because I didn’t want to hear the wrong answer.

Got home at 5pm…my husband decides at 8pm that we will take off to Michigan. Ok?  We are out the door by 9pm and away we go.  Looks like we will be asking for forgiveness since we didn’t get permission.  drove all night long and arrived at 9:30 am.. good timing!  We had a vet appt at 10am that was made prior so we went there so our home vet could check out Toby again and see how they thought he was doing and the boys got their shots updated.

We got to the wedding. It was a BIG surprise to everyone because they knew about what happened and my situation so the fact we drove all night anyways just for them they couldn’t believe… haha!  We love you!!  If you didn’t know, you do now.   This is Tims cousin whom I’ve know over 11 years since she was a young girl. I was always closer with her younger sisters probably because they were little girls like 6 and 8 or so and would come running up to me when I’d come over before they’d say hi to tim, it was so cute!  Ang is funny though!! Love her!   We were told this would be super redneck.  It wasn’t as redneck as I was expecting, yes there were camo and cowboy hats and tree stump things on the table. No one popped a top during the ceremony or shot guns salute.  There was a coon skin on the table though and someone wore a ball cap at the ceremony.  No one could drink until 7pm many people were upset about or dance because I guess it against the Amish religion we were told. It was interesting because no one knew the groom, they only met a year ago but she seemed happy and thats all I cared about!  If she is happy then we are happy for her! 🙂   I just want people happy!! Life is too short to be anything else.   I liked seeing everyone on my husbands side of the family, great catching up with good people!   My husband was trying to liven it up and get people up and dancing and so he started the train, haha!  He also did the dollar dance as a group with me and the bride and groom which I thought the groom was going to be like “what the hell is wrong with this guy?!”  hahaha thats Tim!!  Welcome to our family 😉  haha!  The drinks were hitting Tim and with no sleep he was getting tired.  After the reception when we got back to my friends, he was glued to the toilet for a bit.  Beer + Shots = No no for Tim.

Ah, so nice to get a little sleep but I woke up at 6:30 and said we gotta GO!  We were out by 7 and as Tim went out to start up my SUV to warm it up in snowy Michigan, he comes in “You aren’t going to believe this!!”  Ok… I am thinking that someone broke into my car?  It was unlocked and someone stole something?  He spilled something?  What?!   “I LOCKED the keys in with it running!”   How do you do that?!?! The locks don’t lock with it running.  If you hit the lock button it will automatically unlocks.  The genius even took his keys out of my purse and put it in the counsel… awww aren’t you smart because I NEED TO GO BACK TO DC!!!!!!   I’ve been meaning to reprogram my keyless entry, the keypad on my door so this would never be a problem… guess I will now!!

3 hours were spent with Tim using wire hangers to finally get the keys in the counsel and bring them to the pry’d window and broke the key off the ring to get it out the pry’d door opening. I opened it up with the key.  I sat in the seat and hit the lock button and it would unlock so the only thing Tim could think of was that he opened it up with the key and relocked it accidentally to take the key out (so manually locking it) and started the car and shut the door… there ya go.  My phone is dead because the chargers were in my car so I have no idea if my hospital called.

We are on the road and there are 3 voicemails from my hospital all around 9 am advising me my bed is ready and I need to come in.  GREAT! I am in Michigan and due to arrive a 10:30pm.  I called and said I am having car trouble and said I’d call back with an ETA.  I call  back at 2 pm SO SCARED to tell them what time, but I did it! They said to be there by 10pm and they will inform my nurses who will inform my doctor. I mean, what are they going to do with me tonight?!  I will not be sitting on the toilet all night so they can think again and prep me tomorrow and delay surgery until Tuesday.

We will find out I guess. Surgery will entail them going through my colon to the sac to probably seal it with a stent. No these questions weren’t asked.  I was too traumatized Friday… hahaha 😉  With that said, the prep that was supposed to happen all day today was like a colonoscopy prep……. AWESOME!  This is why I don’t know why they still want to admit me tonight instead of tomorrow morning other than they want me locked in the hospital and nor “running at large” like someone suggested.   I will NOT be up all night doing this prep.  They can delay the surgery because I am always on time and waiting on them for one reason or another so they can work around me and my life. haha! 🙂

Well time to get off here.  We are in Maryland now!!! GPA ETA says 10:13 which means unload stuff, pack my bag and get there late. CRAP!  Trying to make up time on the highway between now and then. Maybe I should drive… haha well he’s done a good job thus far.

I will update in the morning if I do get surgery or let you know when! Eeks!  I will send my own prayers that it all goes well like they have in the past year + months I’ve been doing this.  If I do get this tomorrow then I need to heal quick because i am scheduled for a PET scan and chemo on Wednesday.  I have an appt Friday too… wait, I might as well keep my room until Friday night… haha!

xoxo ~Ashley

I need beach therapy…

Hello everyone!  I want to express my since apologies for not writing yesterday or will I be tonight.  I am simply exhausted and need to rest.  I’ve had new e-mails or I should say rather e-mails from new people which I am so grateful for but in terms to the question about my diet affecting my pain as a possibility, I can say it isn’t that.  I thank you for asking! 🙂   I do have a very clean diet and am very educated in many of the “cancer fighter” foods as well as easy to digest and I’m cautious of taking it easy on my pancreas.  I live an organic life and very balanced.  I will say I am ready to try acupuncture though!  It is time.  I think beach therapy will help as well…. 🙂

I will upload the video/pics this weekend and write all about last night and my weekend…. this weekend!

xoxo ~Ashley

12-12-12

^ Day after the wedding (I look too tired! haha) at the Casino with the in-laws.  I lost $50 in the first 3 minutes we arrived then slowed down the gambling and won 1/2 of what I spent back.  I am baddddd luck when it comes to any contest/gamble.. never won a thing.

I’m starting this post at 12:12pm because they say today is a lucky day, some say luckiest day, and although I won’t finish it until later I am trying to up my luck in any way. I thought I heard the same thing on 7-7-07?   There are a lot of people getting married in Vegas or wherever (again), and it’s the last time most of us will ever see a sequential date.  Hey I’m not knocking today. I can use any luck on any given day.