OMG - Week 7

Hello everyone!! Yes, I am still alive :)

The last three weeks have been challenging to say the least. On Sunday Jan 29th, Claire and I decided that it was time for a nasal-gastric tube as I had moved to a fully liquid diet the previous week, and was now having problems keeping my nutrition levels up. In the previous 48 hours, I had lost 2 Kg, and had eaten and drank nothing. The doctors recommended we come and get the tube inserted, so in we came.

Oh wow, we had no idea that our lives were about to get turned upside down!

First off, an emergency department doctor put 30mg of morphine into me, then inserted a nasal-gastric tube. I was then wheeled across to the public wards of St. Vincent's Public as we were told there were no empty beds in St Vincent's Private Hospital.

As I'd had a (small) procedure performed on me, I was told they needed to keep me in for observation after the tube was checked by x-ray for collect placement etc.

I was then wheeled up to Ward 6W in a morphine-induced haze.


Here's me on Sunday evening with my new feeding tube; rather fetching, no? For those of you who are unaware, even when our swallowing muscles give up, we still need food. A liquid diet would now be sent through the tube directly to my stomach. No taste, no swallowing required, all the correct nutrition I need, delivered direct. 

I was now up for Week 7, my last week of treatment. 5 days of radiotherapy, and Chemotherapy, the next day on Monday.

Mmmm.


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