Sudokuaholics Anonymous 11

'The light at the end of the tunnel is just the light of an oncoming train'
- Unknown

Apropos of the above - this is our life.
Just as things are getting back to normal and Col's eye problems are under control, he has been hit with a whammy! The following is NOT for broadcast on Facebook. Col has been given a diagnosis of bowel cancer based on a scan done after the doc referred him when he had severe abdominal pains last week. The diagnosis is 95% certain (not good odds) until it can be confirmed after a colonoscopy on this coming Tuesday. I have spent the week either in disbelief that he could be so bloody unlucky or in panic mode, remembering that his father, at the same age, got the same diagnosis and was gone 3 months later. Saw the specialist yesterday, he thinks it has not spread and was quite positive with his diagnosis. I really hope he is right.
I will update when I know more but please keep him in your thoughts.

Let's hope the doctors decide to do something immediately and radically, CynB. This is horrifying!!! For both of you. I wish I could be there to just hug you both and give you moral support.

Quick treatment might be the key Cyn. Sending hugs and SA vibes...

Kind of in shock. I really don’t want you to go through what I’m going through.

CynB - Ditto Heidi and Suzy. Horrible to have to wait so long - hugs. To you and to Suzy.

Thank you Heidi, Suzy and Midge.
Believe me Suzy, what happened to you and Don is weighs heavily on my mind always, but more since this happened.
I should have added that there are plans in place, first of all the colonoscopy - oh that prep kit looks wonderful doesn't it - to confirm the diagnosis and look for polyps and anything else amiss. Then a full body scan to completely check out everything to rule out, hopefully, any secondaries. Then the operation. The Doctor wants to do that asap. Fortunately, we do have private Health Insurance so delays will be minimal.

Cyn, my only advice is don’t let him go into surgery with “see you soon”. I think it would have been easier if I’d said something more meaningful

I'm SO glad the doctors want to move FAST. Good luck on getting results and treatment done soonest. I really hope any problem was caught early.

Suzy, thank you, I will take that advice.
Heidi, I, too, hope that the problem has been caught early enough. It seems so, but Col is the stoic type. He has the attitude that he doesn't want to be an annoyance to the doctor. He was telling my sister yesterday that he felt like a fraud seeing the doctor 'just because I had a pain in the stomach'. I'm thankful he did.

I splurged today and bought the little dogs coats, a new kitchen scale and a couple of little things Alie had mentioned before that she wanted for the kitchen

Good for you, Suzy! Sometimes you need to splurge.

We have had some massive downpours the past few days. The ground is totally saturated. There's standing water everywhere, and more oozes out of the ground with every step I take on the lawn. And we're due to get a lot more over the next 4 or 5 days. At least the grass in the pastures is growing like crazy. It's keeping the cattle, horses and alpacas happy.

Seems like I may not have posted a comment yesterday. At least, I don't see it here. Could be the computer problems? (Suzy, I also use a Mac, so am puzzled about what to do when it quits working so often.)

Great TOPP, Cyn!

HOLY COW, Cyn! You and Col have had your share! Crossing fingers and sending positive thoughts and prayers for both of you! Sure hope the doc is right in his analysis! We're here to offer support to both of you! {{{HUGS}}}

Hoping for the speediest possible appropriate treatment for Col - and for you, too, Suzy!

Suzy, your splurge doesn't seem very big - and everything seems useful and helpful - so really not much of a splurge. I hope you and the little dogs enjoy the purchases!

Heidi, I hope the weather persons are wrong about the additional rain. It certainly doesn't seem like you need it! I'm glad there's an upside and the animals are enjoying some tasty fresh green pastures!

We went to a Greek Fest sponsored by an area church with our neighbors tonight. We're both dragging, so I'm going to call it a night!

Sending healing energy, positive thoughts, prayers, {{{{{HUGS}}}}}, and for everyone!

We got nearly 2 inches of rain yesterday. The farmers out west don’t seem to have got any though 😔

Wow, Suzy, that's quite a lot of rain, it seems. Too bad there was no way to send it to the farmers! I hope things aren't as squishy in your yard as they seem to be for Heidi!

We went to a concert version of Verdi's opera 'Aide' today. The singers just wore gowns or suits and soloists stood near a music stand - no staging or elephants! It was extremely well sung and played (and lasted about 3 hours). I was pleasantly surprised that hubby even enjoyed it and was able to appreciate the effort that went into it.

I've been thinking of everyone today and hope all are well or improving. Sending extremely positive thoughts, healing energy, {{{{{HUGS}}}}}, prayers, and <3, <3, <3 (no Smilies again).

It's even squishier here! The rain is coming down heavily right now. Walking across the lawn is like trying to walk on a waterbed. It can almost make you seasick. Yes, we're under flood watch again.

Heidi, I don't envy your squishiness! It seems like we get some rain almost every day, but at least we also get to see the sun for part of some days. Thank goodness we haven't hit the squishy stage yet. Here's hoping for the next week (was going to say month, but that may be pushing our luck) that you get ONLY as much rain as you and area farmers need. If that can be accomplished for a week, we'll try for 2 weeks next time.

Sending good feelings, extremely positive thoughts, strong healing energy, and warm {{{{{HUGS}}}}} for EVERYONE!

Okay, the colonoscopy yesterday confirmed the diagnosis, it is a tumour in the ascending bowel and it's almost blocking it. They could not get the camera past it. Consequently it has to be removed quickly. He meets the surgeon on Friday, has a full body scan looking for anything else suspicious (fingers crossed there is nothing to be found) and then an operation next week.
We're hopeful that this can be done easily and rid him of it. Please keep your fingers crossed and keep him in your thoughts.

My fingers are crossed, CynB, that they get it all and that's the end of it. I'm so glad that they're moving fast.

I ate a little too much last night. I'm supposed to try to get up to 1 full cup of food a day, and I ate a meal of about 3.4 cup. My tummy couldn't take that much and I started throwing up after 3 minutes. What worried me was that there was quite a bit of blood in my vomit. I'm going to stop in at the surgeon's office tomorrow, since I have to be in that area anyway, and discuss it with them. Blood in the vomit is not good.

that's 3/4 cup, not 3.4 cup.

I'm sticking to a pure liquid diet of protein shakes and protein water until I talk to them. They've told me before that if I have problems to revert back to a previous dietary stage.

Cyn, Sorry to hear the bad news, but happy to hear surgery is being scheduled soon.

Oh Heidi, not good. To 'clarify', is that one cup per day or meal?

Went to the neighbor's the other day. They said the hound was welcome. They should have consulted their dog first. 'Charlie' immediately went into attack mode. My guy, in his 7 years has never had an experience like that. He went, instantly, passive, flopped on the ground and yelped, loudly when Charlie bit him. Fortunately, no blood. Charlie ended up being confined to the house and my guy was able to enjoy his interaction with the human folks. They thought he was a sweetheart...

! cup per day. I'm not up to that yet.

CynB, I'm so sorry to hear that the tumour's presence has been confirmed, but SO glad that the surgeon is able to quickly get everything scheduled. Hoping nothing else will be found in the full body scan on Friday! Sending hopeful thoughts and prayers that the operation next week can remove all traces of the tumour! I'll be keeping both of you in my thoughts throughout this week and next!

Heidi, I'm so sorry to hear that you had problems after your dinner 'meal' last night. That is certainly not fun, and the presence of blood is a concern. I'm glad you'll be able to stop by your surgeon's office tomorrow for his input!

DOrA, how nice of your neighbors to include your 'hound' in the invitation. They apparently had no reason to suspect that their Charlie would not be as welcoming as they are. What a frightening situation for you and your guy! Fortunately, his passive response probably kept things from escalating into a very serious situation. I'm so sorry Charlie bit him, but so glad the bite didn't draw blood.

Thinking of all of our fellow Sudokuaholics and wishing them all the best this week. Sending healing energy, prayers, , positive thoughts, and {{{{{HUGS}}}}} to each of you!

*** WARNING.... TOO MUCH INFORMATION ***

I talked to the head nurse at my surgeon's office. She was quite concerned about the blood in the vomit. She said I should have gone to the ER, and if it happens again I MUST go. Since it hasn't re-occurred again, we think it was just a small blood vessel that burst from the violence of the abdominal contractions. My color is fine, and stools are normal, so the bleeding has not continued.

Heidi, maybe TMI, but I'm glad to know things are now normal and whatever it was has settled down.

We told all 5 of our grandchildren about Col's diagnosis the other night. We were worried about how they'd take it, even though 3, almost 4 of them are now young adults and even Chloe the youngest is a mature 13yo. After the initial shock, they rallied. I now have 5 offers of someone to sit with me while the operation takes place. And many other offers of help with Col's recuperation. They really are treasures.

It’s good to let them help Cyn, feeling useful will help them cope better

Heidi, it really isn't TMI. I'm SO glad you went to your surgeon's office and spoke with the head nurse. She gave you good advice. You may very well be right that it was a small blood vessel that burst from the strong vomiting, but it doesn't hurt to be safe! And it's good to know that the bleeding has stopped!

CynB, you and Col are truly blessed with wonderful grandchildren! How thoughtful of them to offer to sit with you during the operation and to be of help during his recuperation! It will be good for them and for you to share and support each other. Suzy is right, the experience and being able to feel useful could certainly help their coping!

Only a few days until the week-long music camp starts. I received 2 emails yesterday telling me first of 3 classes scheduled for Sunday afternoon, then telling me of a 4th class. So Sunday will not just be checking in and picking up a schedule, but 4.5 hours of class! I may keep track of how many hours of class I'm scheduled in and how many hours of additional practice I do. Should be interesting!

There's so much work I need to do in the house, including organizing all my music and accessories (such as tape, pencils, erasers, colored markers, etc.), doing laundry and packing everything as compactly as possible. Luckily, hubby will be with me each day and help to carry the cello!

By the way, it's unlikely that I'll find time or energy to check in with all of you from Sunday through late Friday night or Saturday morning.

And now, I'm off to get a few things done. Sending healing energy, prayers, positive thoughts, , and {{{{{HUGS}}}}} for Everyone!

Agree with Suzy - Too hard to put on a smiley face when that is the last thing you feel like doing and all of them knowing will be a great support to you both. x

Saw the surgeon today. Lovely man, answered all of our questions before we asked. He decided against a PET scan because he has an abdominal scan so he just sent him for an upper body scan today to check on the lungs and brain. Fingers crossed there.
Operation is scheduled for Tuesday 2nd July. If all goes well he may not even need chemo. He will be in hospital 5-7 days depending on recuperation and can go back to work in 4-6 weeks. We feel cautiously optimistic.

So just a few short days to wait. That's good. The sooner the better. My fingers are crossed that they get it all, and nothing has spread.

CynB, how wonderful that the surgeon anticipated and answered your questions and understands your concerns. I certainly hope the upper body scan is clear in all areas. May the next few days pass as quickly as you need them to for peace of mind. Sending extremely positive thoughts for the surgeon to find and remove all that he needs to and everything else is clear! {{{HUGS}}} and warm thoughts for you, Col, and family! Unfortunately, I won't have computer access during the coming week, but will keep prayers and positivity flowing in your direction!

Thinking of all of the Sudokuaholics and sending positive thoughts, healing energy, prayers, {{{{{HUGS}}}}}, and <3, <3, <3 <3. (Darn computer isn't letting Smilies work again tonight!)

Just popping in to with everyone a wonderful week!

CynB and Col, I'll be keeping you in my thoughts and sending positive vibes for all!

It's unlikely that I'll be able to find the time until late Friday or Saturday to drop by again. I'll have about 6 or 7 hours of class per day, and will need to practice in between!

Sending everyone healing energy, positive thoughts, < 3, <3, <3, <3, prayers, and {{{{{HUGS}}}}}!

I finally have an epidural scheduled.... tomorrow morning. It;s been about 5 months since the last one and I really need it.

We're about to get hammered with a massive thunderstorm.... of course. I just finished heavily watering a bunch of day lilies, hollyhocks and hibiscus I planted last week.

Planning / timing is everything, Heidi...

I had to water them heavily yesterday, knowing that I will be laid up for a few days. I had my epidural this morning, and I have to take it easy for a while. It wasn't a lulu, just an average one. I hope it does the trick.