This Is IT.

This is where I stopped stitching on March 10.  For some time now I have been having digestive problems, but that week it came to a sharp (and unpleasant) pain, so I made an appointment to see a doctor.  On Friday, after a few blood tests she confirmed that I was dehydrated, anemic and running a raging infection.  To find out what was going on, I went into the hospital for a CT scan . . . and didn't leave for six days.  During that time they filled me up with blood transfusions and IV antibiotics.  They also continued scanning and testing, but the results were inconclusive.  Unlike the television medical shows where the doctors love to dive right in to exploratory surgery, no one wanted to open me up unless they knew exactly what they would find.  Eventually they scheduled surgery with two surgeons (general and ob/gyn) for Tuesday, March 23.  I went home for the weekend and came back Tuesday morning. 

The surgery went well, but they did find colorectal cancer.  It was not the cancer that was making me ill, but the fact that it perforated my bowel which resulted in peritonitis (infection).  After another six days in the hospital with more IV antibiotics and TPN (nutrition from a tube) I was released; wobbly, groggy, and with painful staples that made my abdomen look like something attacked by an axe murderer.  I would never have made it through without the constant care of my beloved husband, who certainly went beyond the traditional marriage vows of love and cherish.  Two and a half weeks after surgery, I am walking around and starting to resume some of my family duties, especially tech support.  I installed a new color printer/scanner and fixed the wonky DSL.  Now I just have to setup the new computer I ordered before all this happened.

I thought that all this hospital time would make for plenty of stitching, but when you have IVs in both arms/hands attached to a seven foot tall silver pole with four drip monitors, holding the needle, Q-snap, and chart was a little beyond me.  I did stitch one thread of gray on the pie plate for Easy As Pie, but that was it.  Mostly I watched bad television or slept.  I couldn't even concentrate on reading.  I am starting to THINK about stitching.  Maybe not today, but maybe tomorrow.