Sunday, September 07, 2008

Shark Bait

I figure some of you may (or may not) be curious as to exactly what was done to me. Here are some of the stats:

Sixty percent of my liver -- my entire right lobe -- was surgically removed, along with two lymph nodes that were enlarged. Those were the ones my surgeon, Martin Hertl, could visualize. My common bile duct was also removed, and my left hepatic duct was connected to a loop of my small intestine. This is called a hepaticojejunostomy. My friend Shelley thinks this would make a dynamite National Spelling Bee word!

Personally, I think that Dr. Hertl, who hails from Germany, put on his lederhosen and performed a Bavarian shoe-slapping dance in my guts, but that's me.

My scar is roughly eight inches long, and starts just under my sternum. The remains of Hurricane Hanna blew through last night, and in typical barometric style, my incision/scar nearly drove me batshit. How can something be numb, ache and itch all at the same time? And since it still has about 3,285 steri-strips on it, and is only two weeks old, I can't even scratch my itch. Maddening.



There is some good news in all of this. I saw Dr. Hertl on Wednesday, and he declared me 99% cancer-free! He demurred about only being the surgeon, and that the oncologist could give me more details, but he was very optimistic and brought up again that he has a patient who had the same course of treatment and is still doing well five years out. Five years is not enough for me -- I am thinking more in terms of decades. I have no choice. Five years from now, Anneke will be 10 and Fritzi the Wonder Boy, will be 7. And I will still need to be here and be well. The doctors and the cancer have no choice but to bend to my will and just go away and stay away.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

oh wow colleen! look at that lovely piece of art :D lodei would be jumping for joy to have half as many steri-strips as you have ;)
99% cancer free at this point is absolutely fantabulous news, if you ask me. i really think the doc was trying to err on the cautious side with the 5 year thing. i am sure you will be around into grandmotherhood, wont that be a hoot ;)
love and light and tons of positive thoughts and vibes,
michi

Kim said...

hugs and love to you colleen :)

Spiffy Knits! said...

you said, Michi! Thanks for the Wollmeise, BTW -- it is a gorgeous red, and I needed a semi-solid for Monkeys or Embossed Leaves! Perfect! CGK

georgia said...

i am glad to hear the surgery was a success! and hey, you could draw two eyes on your stomach and make it into a smiley face.

i wish you continued health and happiness!

xoxoxo

Heather J said...

Hi Colleen
Loved the comment 'The doctors and the cancer have no choice but to bend to my will and just go away and stay away'
Best wishes Heather from the bottom of the world in New Zealand

Knittiana! said...

I am so glad you are back! And it is very brave of you to present yourself that way. Please take good care of yourself!

Jess said...

Youch! Oy!

You sure do sound like you're back to your sassy self. :) I love it!

Anonymous said...

OW but glad the spelling bee joke made you smile ;)

We are pulling for you in every way possible.

Love
Shelley