Grit your teeth

The ghastly stitches have now gone and so have the nose plugs. When the consultant said, “Grit your teeth,” I knew it was not going to be easy. Then he proceeded to hoover my nose which is an unusual and fairly unpleasant experience. Ray had been invited into the consulting room and although I was behind a screen, I think it all made him feel very queasy.

However, one of the things I learned was that the operation had taken two and a half hours which explains why I felt so ill after the anaesthetic. They took pictures of each of the sinuses as they were opened up, not something you want to put on your wall but at least I could then see the necessity for the procedure.

I do have to follow up the operation with lots of daily saline sinus washes which is a bore but I cannot afford to waste all the good done by the operation by not following it all up properly to keep infection at bay. That is going to be so important over the next few months.

What I have felt is that when seeing this consultant, not only are we treated properly and seen on time, but he has all along looked at the bigger picture of what I am going on to, i.e. the bone marrow transplant. Everything has been done in terms of action and timing with that in mind. It has given me more confidence especially after some less than perfect treatment before.

Starsky, too, is picking up and seems to be getting over his anaesthetic. He is eating more now and Anna will be home soon to look after him which is a relief. I am now planning for the days ahead and have received a schedule of procedures from the Royal Marsden. I am not looking forward to the insertion of the central line or the removal of a bone marrow core on Thursday. I feel I have had enough pain for this week.

However, at least now I do have a schedule to look at. The Journey into the Bubble has been long with many hurdles along the way but we could be getting there.