I know I've been quite and gone for a while. I promised updates but I wasn't sure if and when I would be able to return to work and reopen my shop. I was waiting until I was sure of a date. My surgery went well. I was in the hospital for a little over a week and was able to come home under the care of a visiting nurse.
I had a minor setback two weeks after my discharge and had to be re hospitalized for 4 days due to an infection. Once that was behind me I decided to take it a little slower and follow doctors orders to a T. I had fallen into a cycle of "I feel great !" then working on a project or playing with Bella, then spending the following 24 hours with a heating pad and pain pills.
I wanted to get to my 6 week post op when I would receive my final test results and pathology reports . I had to have another ct scan ( my 4th) and something called an otreo scan where you are injected with a radioactive isotope and then scanned. My tumor was a neuroendocrine tumor the oncologist said the otreo scan would show if any cells from the tumor had traveled elsewhere.
The day before my post op visit I took my daughter for an ultrasound. She had been losing weight , yet her abdomen was growing larger, almost as if she was pregnant. The ultra sound revealed a large cyst. So the following day after my visit with the oncologist , she had a visit with a surgeon to see about having it removed.
Last Thursday she had "Edgar" ( as she and her surgeon named it) and a smaller "Gertrude" removed . The surgeon told us that "Edgar had been growing inside her for 10 years.
Yesterday was her first full day at home and now we'll wait for her biopsy reports.
So much upheaval in our lives. My tumor was found by accident after a serious intestinal infection last November revealed a "hazy " area on my pancreas. My daughter has had many vague, mild symptoms. She had been to the doctor many times and had numerous exams and tests, none revealed anything, until the ultrasound.
Needless to say, we both have a new lease on life. My tumor was found before it could do serious damage to other organs and while I miss( most of) my pancreas I have enough left over to see me through. Now that my daughter's tumor is gone she already feels better without the pressure of Edgar pressing on her organs.
She will be ready to go back to school in the fall, until then we both plan to enjoy the summer , go places and do things we didn't have the health or time for before. My husband has been amazing through all of this and I'd like to spend some time taking care of him. I may start Saltygal back up again, I may not , I think I need some long walks on the beach to think about it .
