Category Archives: health & happiness

the best bed…

02 Friday Sep 2011

Posted by in cats, health & happiness, home, hope, hospitals

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THIS is all I could think about while I was at the hospital. Being home again in my bed with my boys. So you can imagine my joy when I found out this morning that I could go home.

I was sure in an out in record time – from operating table to home again in less than three days! I think in part because there was a serious bed shortage and also because my doctor knows that I’m a veteran, this being my fourth major abdominal surgery there. So he could rest assured that I knew what to do and how to take care of myself. But I was also surprised at how quickly I bounced back, being up and about in less than a day after the operation. So perhaps I’ll be able to do that Gourmet Tapas Tour on September 10th after all!

But don’t worry. I plan on taking it very easy. When I got home this afternoon the first thing I did (after snibbling the cats) was take a long hot shower and wash the hospital off me. Then I had a bit of lunch and then I had a lovely three-hour siesta with the boys. This is a photo of my rather rumpled bed after getting up. And oh man! I just felt like the luckiest person in the world to be back here. Sure I’ve still got a lot of pain and it’ll be awhile before I’m back to normal, but I’m still determined – perhaps more than ever – to stick to all the changes I’d been deciding on just before this happened.

Well, time for a light snack and a DVD before hitting the hay again. And thanks again for being with me through all this – it really meant the world to me.

up and about

01 Thursday Sep 2011

Posted by in change, health & happiness, hospitals

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Finally got my little office set up here at the hospital and have been getting some work done. I’m really recovering fast from this operation, even though I was slit open from sternum to pubes again. Considering it’s been less than 48 hours since the op I think I’m doing very well.

The doctor said this morning that I should try to be up and about as much as possible and so as soon as they got me off the morphine and removed the catheter I was able to move around. I just have a saline/antibiotic drip to move around with me on a wheelie pole and the icky drainage bag hanging off my belly, but compared to all the tubes I had me when I woke up from the op, this is nothing.

I just caught up on emails and have had more tapas tour requests. Also had to get in touch with the tours I have booked for Saturday, Monday and Tuesday to see if the clients would mind going out with Peter, and they are fine with that so at least they still get a tour and I don’t lose any money. I might actually be well enough to go out on the Tuesday one – hope so!

Feeling okay, but a bit depressed by all of this. Out of the blue I am back in hospital and hating it, worrying about Azar at home (he’s blocked up again) and generally wondering how I’m going to keep things together, including myself. But I’m very grateful for all the company online here at casa az and on Twitter.

Well, think I’ll take a wee siesta now. Not much else to do…

reorganising

25 Thursday Aug 2011

Posted by in health & happiness, home, life stuff

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So okay, my closet will never look this organised, and goodness knows I don’t have a tidy mind, but I have spent most of today reorganising my house and my life.

This past week Nog has been over at Anna’s cat sitting. He was supposed to have been there all month, but because I had to go to Málaga and all that he didn’t go over until last week before Jessica arrived (though he did visit the cats regularly while he was still here). Anyhow, I had a lovely week with Jessica, just the two of us hanging out. Even though I was sick most of the time it was very relaxing. And I started thinking about how I wanted things to be different around here.

Today Jessica officially “moved out” (though she and Thomas will be here for a visit next month) and I decided to move Nog’s stuff into her old room, thereby freeing up one of my bedroom closets. As Nog has been sleeping on the sofa bed and didn’t have a room of his own he’s been keeping his stuff in mine. And the act of sorting and organising all this stuff had helped clear my mind about a lot of things, just like this past week’s illness cleansed me physically.

I’ve often said how September always feels more like the “new year” to me than the first of January, and it has never felt more so than this year. You’ve probably guessed that Nog will be moving back in next month. He really wants to stay and I’ve decided that (for now) I’m better off with the devil I know, so that will be a month to month deal. And it looks like work is starting to pick up for me. I’ve already got six tapas tours booked for September and two possible new social media clients to finish wooing next month.

And the best thing is… I’m really feeling good. About my work, about the future and – wait for it – about me! I can’t remember the last time I felt so much like myself and liked who that was. I just had to write that down in case I forget it.

pretty good for his age

22 Monday Aug 2011

Posted by in animals & pets, cats, health & happiness

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Azar finally got to see the vet today, and it turned out better that I was there so I’m glad he didn’t have to go while I was in Málaga. Of course it’s always so traumatic taking cats to the vet’s and so I woke up at 5am and started fretting. Idiot. And Azar, being the clever thing that he is, knew as soon as he wasn’t given any breakfast that Something Was Up and immediately hid under the bed. Anyhow, Nog came over to help around 9 o’clock and somehow I got Azar into the carrier, and off we went.

From the second he was put inside the carrier Azar started screaming his head off and, once out of the apartment, it got so bad that everyone we passed in the street, whole groups of people, stopped to see what was making such a racket. We were lucky to find a taxi driver to used to have cats and didn’t mind, and he also got us to Yolanda’s in record time.

This photo was taken on the way there, with me stroking Azar under the chin in an effort to try and get him to shut the fuck up… awww.

Anyhow, once at the vet’s he was good as gold, let Yolanda poke and prod him pretty much everywhere, and didn’t even put up too much fuss about getting blood drawn. Won’t get the test results back for a couple of days, but the general impression is that Azar is doing pretty well for his age. I thought his last check-up had been about a year ago but I’d completely forgotten about his visit last January when he also had a blood test done. Well, at least we’ll see if much has changed in the last eight months.

Azar was a lot calmer on the way home and, once there, had a nice late breakfast, a big drink of water and got straight back “on the job” doing typical cat stuff, as you can see (if it had been dark laundry then it would have been a job for Loki).

So he’s going to need extra care, and help with his digestion/elimination problems. But otherwise he seems to be doing just fine.

gastroenteritis or cancer?

18 Thursday Aug 2011

Posted by in cancer, health & happiness, home

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On Monday evening I had a bit of a dodgy stomach, including a touch of diarrhea, but this does happen from time to time when you are a semi-colon. The next day I went out on that crazy lunchtime gourmet tapas tour, which I know couldn’t have helped matters. In fact, I went to bed that evening very early after having just a slice of melon thinking I’d feel better after a good night’s sleep. Yesterday I felt weakish but still made myself go to the gym because I’d missed ten days, what with going to Málaga and all. Stupid! I could only manage a bit of melon for lunch and had started to get cramping, which happened just before every “dire rear” episode. Unfortunately, I had a tapas tour booked last night and, although I really didn’t feel like I could do it, I went because a) I’m responsible like that and b) it was only a two-hour tour, so I thought I could handle it. I just nibbled on a couple of things and generally took things easy, but didn’t end up getting home until midnight – four hours later!

This morning I woke up feeling awful and have barely been able to get out of bed. I have a bit of a fever (37.4º) and the diarrhea and cramping continues, plus I feel achy all over, which gives me hope that this is just a bout of gastroenteritis and not a cancer recurrence. The symptoms are quite a bit different from that first time I went to the hospital over four years ago, because the only symptom I had then was the excruciating abdominal pain. This is bad, but not nearly as awful as that time. So I have spent today in bed except for a couple of attempts to sit up a bit. Like now. I managed to eat a little melon and some toast, but really don’t feel that hungry. And I am trying like hell not to WORRY. But if I feel the same tomorrow then I guess I’ll have to pop over to emergency.  😦

Okay, back to bed…