To everyone who has posted recently and those who have supported me. I hope I have tagged you all and not missed any of you below.
I received some good news on Friday. I am booked in for surgery in a major Sydney hospital on 9th February. It all happened very quickly via a phone call on Friday morning, and I am feeling a little bit overwhelmed by it all.
My specialist had told me when I saw him 2 weeks ago that he had determined that my surgery was urgent. But I didn't think it would all happen this soon. Late on Friday I got referrals for lots of pre operative testing which all needs to be done by this coming Wednesday (a week prior to surgery).
So first thing tomorrow when businesses reopen, I need to be on the phone to arrange for blood tests, ECG, Xray and MRI. I know its incredibly hard to get in for some of these tests, especially the MRI. But I hope I may have some sway given the need to have it done asap in order for urgent surgery to take place. So fingers crossed.
I already have an appointment with a cardiologist tomorrow (Monday) to obtain a cardiac clearance. That was brought forward from 18th Feb, thanks to intervention from my GP when I saw him on Thursday. And that's what has enabled the surgery to be booked so quickly.
I also need to make travel arrangements to get to Sydney. Cant fly unfortunately because there are no flights from here on the day I need to be in Sydney. So I think I will need to book a seat on the train, which is a 5 hour trip. Not ideal, but no other viable option at this stage. At least I have a lovely friend who lives in Sydney who has offered to pick me up from the train station and deliver me to the hospital. So that is a plus ... being able to, albeit briefly due to no visitors in hospital, seeing my friend.
I've been told I will be in Sydney hospital for 2-3 nights, then be airlifted from Sydney back to my local hospital where I will undergo a week's rehab.
Surgery of any kind is cause for anxiety, but spinal surgery seems more daunting to me somehow. I am more concerned about this surgery than I was about my breast cancer surgery 14 months ago. I guess there are more things that can go wrong with spinal surgery. But I feel I will be in good hands, with my surgeon, so just have to accept that this is necessary.
I never thought I would feel a sense of relief to be told I had a booking for surgery ... but I did this time. It represents a likely end to the considerable pain I have been in for the past 8 months. And hopefully an end to the many pain medications I have been on lately to try to relieve the pain enough to get me through to surgery.
So wish me luck in getting all those tests done by Wednesday. Not sure what will happen if I can't, cancellation of surgery I expect. Really hope that's not the case.
@Shaz51 @Peri @HenryX @Sophia1 @Bow @Jynx @Eve7 @BlueBay @Anastasia @HenryX @outlander @NatureLover @Zoe7 @Appleblossom @Snowie @Owlunar @Judi9877 @pancakes @Bellarose75 @Faith-and-Hope @Rosemary4 @Former-Member @Clawde @Zahlia @Sweet_cheeks @TAB @Bunniekins
Regarding my dear little dog Holly ... I am closely monitoring her each day to try to determine how she is doing. But it seems like her health is deteriorating rapidly now. I'm not sure she will be around by the time I head to hospital, as I think I will need to make the difficult decision within days. I had her to the vet again on Thursday, and he confirmed there is nothing more they can do for her.
Her bouts of breathing difficulties are getting more frequent and pronounced. The tumour growing in her sinuses must be growing. I don't think she is in pain as such, but I do believe she is in discomfort and gets distressed when she cannot breathe. Obviously I don't want her to suffer. But nor do I want to be without her. Such a hard decision, but one I think I will be forced to make this week. It isn't fair to let her linger, especially when I will be away for a week and a half and she would need to stay with my neighbours. She is happy with them, but it would be very wrong of me to leave the difficult decision to them while I am away. And of course I want to be with her when her time comes.
So much on right now. Like I said, I am feeling pretty overwhelmed by it all right now. Anxious for Monday to come so I can at least start to make some appointments. Thanks for listening to my ravings. Appreciate you all very much.
Emelia 💕
