Suzy McHale’s Diary: 2010
Events of note: I turned 40 this year. Still had some ongoing health problems.
September
Sunday 26/9
As you can see by my lack of entries, I have not felt like writing.
My second surgery last year went OK, though I found it more unpleasant than the first one – the second was through the anus, and it was more uncomfortable, in my view! I did not do the bowel prep but had an enema on the day, which was also unpleasant (I was poopy up until surgery). I’ll just copy-and-paste from my other May 2009 Journal:
Thursday 14/5
The date for my surgery arrived in the mail today, at long last! It’s for Thursday 18 June – 5 weeks away (assuming it is not canceled). Same hospital as before – Sandringham. I have to be there by 11:30 a.m., so I don’t have to rush to get there like last time (7:00 a.m.).
Tuesday 19/5
I received a phone call from the hospital booking office that another patient had canceled, so could I come in for surgery this Thursday?! Pre-Admission is tomorrow. So of course I agreed to, though it is a bit unexpected! In the public health system, you have to grab an opportunity like that. Unfortunately I have to endure that awful purging again which I have to do tomorrow. It’s the third time I’ve had to do that ordeal over the span of 8 months, and I am a bit tired of it (I would, seriously, rather undergo waterboarding). Also I can’t have anything other than clear fluids from now (I had lunch around 11:00 a.m.). I just hope the surgeon will go carefully and not hurry!
Assuming no complications, I can expect to stay 3-4 nights.
Thursday 21/5
Fasting (clear liquid diet) is really disagreeing with me. Got a migraine yesterday, threw up twice then, and once this morning (so far). I feel very debilitated. Hope this doesn’t get me disqualified for surgery.
Friday 22/5
In contrast to last time, I am back home from surgery already! It went OK (though they said that last time). I didn’t have to do the awful purging. Unfortunately I think I may have cracked a tooth during or after the general anesthetic – I woke in the recovery room and shivered uncontrollably, with my teeth chattering, and one (a lower pre-molar) is sore if I chew on it. (Have to see about it later once I have healed up.) I had a restless and uncomfortable afternoon and night, with nausea and retching. The painkillers began to become effective in the early morning (around 4:30 a.m.) and I was well enough to go home in the afternoon, though I am still sore and have to take painkillers and follow a high-fiber diet with supplements until my digestion functions normally again. I won’t be riding my bicycle for a few weeks, either.
Wednesday 10/6
Still no better, 20 days after surgery; feeling uncomfortable and unpleasant. This version of the operation is worse than the first (which was through my abdomen), in my experience. I see the specialist in 3 weeks, but am frustrated because I would have liked him come to see me the day after surgery, even just for a few minutes, and explain what I could expect, what symptoms were normal and what weren’t. I suppose I can’t expect much, being only a public patient, but the “operate and vanish” method is not satisfactory! I don’t know what the private system would be like, but it is not an option for me.
Thursday 18/6
I went back to the specialist surgeon two weeks early because of concern about an unpleasant side-effect from my surgery (4 weeks ago now). He referred me to a physiotherapist to see if they can help. I hope they can, because I am dreading the prospect of more surgery! (There is also a chance the condition itself could return.) I have lost confidence in the surgeon (I think he must be tired of me!), but don’t know where else to go. This saga has been dragging on for over a year now and I am sick of it.
I was experiencing some leakiness/incontinence, and still am, though mainly now a little just after BMs – possibly the prolapse stretched my sphincter. Not debilitating, but still annoying. The physio helped (it was expensive, so I only had 6 sessions; I was able to get a special Medicare rebate for some). There is still a chance the prolapse could return; these things can be frustratingly persistent. I still have to see the specialist for a follow-up examination (I was supposed to go a year after, but have been putting it off). I still don’t feel normal and am frustrated that I could get such a stupid condition, despite never having been pregnant. Normal people don’t have to obsess about their bowels at all! I am annoyed that the first operation did not fix it; another doctor said that they did not pull the bowel up very much in case they over-tightened it (I can’t remember the exact explanation) – but everything I read about the procedure said the one operation should repair it. I wish I could get a second opinion.
My teeth are still bothersome; my gums continue to recede. I should see a periodontist, but money is an issue, as always. The dentist could not find a crack on the tooth mentioned, but it might be a microscopic one, as it still is achy now and then.
My lower back is still sore; it has been thus since my first surgery. It got very sore just before Michele’s visit in January last year; this healed somewhat but it has been chronically sore ever since, mainly when I lie down and move to get up. Sleeping in my bed is also uncomfortable (the mattress is old).
Nothing has changed; still unemployed (9 years soon). Turning 40 in less than 2 months and I am not happy, for obvious reasons. Most of my entries now seem concerned with health issues; I have lost interest in my former hobbies and am just generally depressed.
Chris’s sister, Sandrine (Sandy) has been having her own health problems. A year or two ago she had cervical cancer, which was treated, but this year it returned as secondary cancer in one lung. She had exploratory surgery in late August-early September and a part of her lung removed, but needs further treatment.
The neighborhood I live in continues to be altered and destroyed by scumbag developers.
I saw two movies last year: District 9 and Avatar, and this year saw Predators.
October
Sunday 2/10
Email to Dad from Michele regarding Sandy:
Date: Fri, 01 Oct 2010 08:53:25 +1000
Hi Dad, Thanks for following up regarding the ‘transport’. I appreciate you doing that.
Sandy is starting radiotherapy very soon. She had to go tho the Royal Melbourne Hospital last Sunday night as she was coughing up blood caused by the large growth in her lung near her heart. She was transferred to Peter Mac yesterday to begin this treatment due to this happening and she is finding it uncomfortable and the growth is affecting her breathing and talking which is a concern. Chemo might start a bit later and all of this changing of treatment has been rather upsetting for her and us as it is only now after 9 weeks that she will begin. Apparently the cancer is aggressive so they will treat it aggressively and expect it to respond quickly. That’s all I can say for now.
November
Monday 8/11
My last day of being a 30-something. Another wasted decade gone; nothing to show for it.