Thursday 25 November 2010

Home Safe

Alison came home this evening and is back in Elsie Road where she belongs. She is a little fragile but delighted to be back home with Jules and Taigh and all her own things around her. Not sure she was going to be discharged so early she had sent me the following update via her IPhone earlier today to post on her blog:

"Day seven on space station mars...den and feel like I've been run over by a steam roller-not sure where t last six days have gone but enjoyed four days in intensive care unit-told me I had four litres of blood during op and another one overnight. Icu; weird place with glass shop front windows and computers and tv's hanging from the ceiling. Almost expected tom cruise to arrive attached to another cable at the bottom of my bed.as it was a personal nurse stared at me for four days inbetwren tinkering with my body via computer link up. Realise now that the staff were trying to keep me there as long as possible as they knew (unlike me) what was coming. I'm on a ward with three other patients all with diff forms of cancer- there are def private rooms nearby but haven't managed to meet any celebraties in the enema queue yet.There seem to be lots of nurses, auxillaries, physios, pain control, etc but they all appear to be running- night time is worse with constant beeping fromachines which you realise are just informing staff about drips and medication stuff and not a sign that someone is about to kick the bucket . Realise that icu full of bright young 20 somethings called eugene- ready to pack their hellicopter bac packs (was I imagining that?) and that this ward is more about middle aged ladies and the trolley shop where noonebuys anything. Been diff doing the blog astpu can umagine do thanks to liz for updating although haven't read yet! I'm soo wooozymost of the time am liable to fall asleep mid sentence...... Sent from my iPhone"

I'll hand the blog back to Alison now and I'm sure she will update you all once she's ready. In the meantime just glad she's home safe and well.x
(posted by Liz 21:10HRS)

Mr Bean

Alison has had all her tubes and wires removed which helps her feel a little less like an exhibition piece. Her day is a constant stream of doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, radiographers, porters, pain management team members, dieticians, ward orderleys and tealadies and her head a little dizzy trying to keep track of it all. Her ward companion 'Mr Bean', who kept her in fits of giggles over the last few days, has transferred to another hospital but no doubt Alison will have discovered a new source of entertainment and distracion before long. (posted by Liz 11:30hrs)

Tuesday 23 November 2010

By Royal Approval.

Alison sitting up in bed today showered, hair washed and looking so much better. She even managed a walk (well shuffle to be honest) down the corridor to the balcony at the end of the ward for a breath of Chelsea fresh air-contemplated a ciggy for a swift moment but immediately felt sick at the idea. Alison is delighted that the Queen has decided to honour her bravery and talent by declaring her birthday a National Holiday. This just so happens to coincide with William and Kate's announcement today that their wedding will be on 29th April-Alison's birthday!(posted by Liz 20.20hrs)

Monday 22 November 2010

Chicken Soup for the Soul

Alison was moved out of intensive care onto a ward yesterday. She still has various tubes and wires coming and going and is having a concoction of pain relief to ease her discomfort. A steaming cup of clear chicken soup and spoon of jelly did little to whet her appetite however she was happy to just inhale the smell of fresh orange peel. She was thrilled to see Taigh who looked super cool in his new 'hoodie buddy'. Always seeing the humour in every situation Alison is keeping busy nicknaming all the nursing and medical staff with different characters from the Carry On films! (posted by Liz).

Saturday 20 November 2010

Operation Update.

Liz again at 12:30 Saturday.
Alison is still in intensive care but on the road to recovery. She is sitting up in bed and chatting away with the Wadley/Romanczuk resiliance and humour we have all come to know and love. She will fill you all in with details of the operation when she is well enough but for the moment it was hailed as a sucess with the removal of a 6-8kg tumour nicknamed Edgar. She was relieved to have the nasal tube removed yesterday and is desperate for some boiled sweets to suck- (much deliberation over whether they should be Wetheralls Origionals or Foxes Glacier)!! Staff in intensive care are looking after her with the utmost dedication and attention to detail and managing to make her as comfortable and pain-free as possible in the circumstances. She sends her love to all and appreciates all the well wishes, prayers, novenas and 'girl you just gotta get better' messages coming her way. It will be awhile before she is able to have visitors but I will try and keep the blog updated with her progress as the days go on.


Wednesday 17 November 2010

Liz here. Just a quick update to say that after an anxious nailbiting day have had the most welcome telephone call from Marian to say that having come through the operation Alison is awake and smiling from ear to ear in her bed-she reckons it must be the drugs. I'm sure once she's well enough we will all be entertained with stories of pink elephants and purple dolphins not to mention kamakazee pigeons and delirious dentists! No other news on the op as yet but hey if Alison is smiling then the whole world smiles with her.x

Tuesday 16 November 2010

tues eve

no time to write blog as on the loo!!! handing over to possible PA's Julian and Liz who will update the blog when they can- wish me luck! xxxx

Saturday 13 November 2010

sat 13th

fun packed day on friday when one visitor turned into four with a last minute but important dental appointment in the middle which meant i had to leave them all at home entertaining each other and making their own coffee. The dentist, who i recently scowled at after he quoted me some £6000 to fix my teeth was a real sweetie today- the C word does it again i suppose. He gave me a huge inspirational talk about being strong and positive to aid my recovery, telling me all about his success after major stomach operations and that he was back to work after three weeks, making sure he didn't bend over (he's a dentist!!?) He sent me on my way with beautifully cleaned teeth at no charge too which is definitely a first.

Today I find myself strangely at home alone with a very cute dog who has settled down in my space on the sofa- like someone has sent me an excitable and adoring teddy bear who stares at me and wants to be hugged, maybe it was a plan set up by nephew and girlfriend pretending to need a dog sitter for the day. They brought a home made card from roma and limerick from brother in law;

'my sister in law is a mate
who found she was putting on weight
after a spell in the theatre
she felt a lot neater
and came out feeling sexy and great'- well heres hoping dave!

As i sit reading the guardian magazine i'm reminded by Ju that out lives are constantly reflected in this magazine (which clearly feeds into his middle class guardian reader status that he likes to bestow upon us). Today the first article is about Antony Hegarty (an idol of mine from Antony and the Johnsons), the second is about a guy who nearly died eating wild mushrooms (we recently went on a wild mushroom forage in the woods)and the third large article is about a woman who went in for stomach surgery which went wrong and spent the whole time hallucinating on morphine in a pretty bad way. (is there cctv in our house that we don't know about?) As i'm writing this I have a call from my sister who last year had surgery and so i rather jokingly enquire about the effects of morphine, expecting her to tell me of a slightly woozy feeling and she tells me in her matter of fact way, that there was an elephant in the next ward (actually turned out to be a squeeky door) and dolphins swimming about on the hospital floor- oh jesus!

Friday 12 November 2010

five days to go

operation is getting closer now- in my mind i've included tuesday as i will be out of action, sitting on the loo all day with the medicine i have to take. I have moments of panic because the wait is too long and it gives me time to think about all the horrible possibilities of surgery. Such as pancreas panic- the consultants mentioned it in the meeting and if they have to remove it i will be type one diabetic and the outcome is not good- but i'm reminded by Ju that they promised not to take the whole thing so i guess it will be my second question (after- did you get it all?) when i wake up. Ju is worried that i wont be able to make the stairs when i come out and is probably designing a temporary shower cubicle made from mdf as we speak- he is also wondering when i will be able to ride a bike again?! I suppose he was only responding to my concerns that although I am getting rapidly thinner- it appears that the muscles in my legs are decreasing, leaving me with weird cellulite- must knock the current hot chocolate on the head and continue with green tea that sara gave me three weeks ago!


Monday 8 November 2010

monday-

busy weekend- made it to the annual Jan and Tony fireworks party and was hugged and kissed to death, so to speak, so lovely to be part of such a strong community- had to leave after an hour as my body doesn't like standing upright or sitting in a chair for too long. Tig stayed for the whole party though and had a great time- apparently only one child melted their coat. Spent sunday in Dulwich village with the family trying to find a table big enough to feed us all (Robert my brother in law is refurbishing the french restaurant next to the greyhound and wanted to tell us all about the guy who is making the oven and who has to be slotted into it like a pizza so he can finish the brickwork).

Ju says he will have to make a rota for all my visitors as they will be queueing down the Fulham Rd- if my stomach doesn't burst my ego might! Kate asked me how long I will be staying at the 'hotel'(quite like this idea) and i think it will be about ten days. Was explaining this to marian and how they wont let me go until the blood bag stops filing up- reminds me of a story of our mother she said; do you remember when she had breast cancer and was in St Georges- well she took the bag with her and went shopping in Tooting market!- probably told the nurses she was going for a little walk; just one of the many stories that kept us laughing over the years.

Had some delusions myself when i was in Kings- getting miffed because there were no chairs for my 'guests'. On hearing this Liz said she would buy me a visitors book so that all my 'guests' could sign in. Misha said this was a good idea eg; came to see you but you were unconcious....came to see you but you were asleep....came to see you and you were still asleep but boy can you fart! I can well imagine some of the other comments- Gemma; came to see you but you were asleep so ive gone shopping down the Kings Rd, Liz; came to see you but you were asleep, even the scent of a peeled orange didn't rouse you- but hey had a great chat with the woman in the bobble hat in the next bed who turned out to be from County Claire!

Wednesday 3 November 2010

letters

these days we are copied into the letters that get passed around the hospitals and GPs about us- which is a good thing- given some of the correspondence i've had recently. The best one had to be from Kings which stated; you did not attend your antenatal checkup- it is advisable to have regular check ups to ensure the health of you and your baby- Edgar would be very disappointed in his host mother! Today i had a letter stating a bed has been booked for the 16th and that i can eat lots of lovely things up to six hours before when in fact its for the 17th and i must starve apart from clear fluids (although not gin i'm told) for 18 hours before i arrive.

The second letter from kings states i had a large intra abdominal mass thought to be a kidney??!!-that i smoke 20 fags a day and over the recommended alcohol limit- think i was just trying to be compliant when i answered their questions that day. It also states the two lumps which are actually one big lump in fact measure 24cm x 21cm- explains why two mushrooms (supposed to be anti cancer) battered in beer (not so good) today made me feel like i was going to keel over there and then. A really good walk over miles of hillside in Surrey made me feel wonderful and normal for a while today and i am blessed with good friends who aren't going to let me wallow for a second ( unless i really need to of course) I look forward to your visit Therese all the way from Galway- I don't think its the a*****le of nowhere at all!

Monday 1 November 2010

update

operation now rescheduled for wednesday 17th November- a day later. had vaccinations today for flu and pneumonia in preparation for not having a spleen and am told i may have to take antibiotics for the rest of my life (that or become the girl who lives in a bubble i suppose?)