Friday, November 25, 2016

A New Journey

Well, again it has been many months since I posted anything on this blog....primarily because there hasn't been much to say.  I have however decided to record a journey on which I am about to embark and which I may find therapeutic...hopefully!  For a bit of background, back in early September I was experiencing very sharp abdominal pains and also discovered a hard mass in this region.  A trip to the GP saw me sent for an ultrasound, Gynecologist appointment, CT scan.  The result from this was an appointment with a gynecologist oncologist who gave me the news that I had a massive growth on my ovaries.  Fast forward a few weeks and this saw me have a hysterectomy which removed the bulk of the mass, along with all my other reproductive organs.  I was quite at peace about this as I had never had children  and wasn't expecting to do so at the age of 53.  I was very relieved not to be too concerned as I know this can be a particularly difficult thing for many.  The surgery went well and they removed everything as planned.  Thankfully they didn't need to remove any lymph nodes or bowel.  This I saw as a good sign.  I will however need to have chemotherapy, which I was hoping and praying would not be the case.  In fact, all along, I had been hopeful that the mass was not cancerous, I kept saying that our family does not have a history of cancer and so on.  However this was not to be...and so I have been diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer...there, I have said it!  Despite this, I continue to experience the peace which passes all understanding.  I hope this narrative of my journey will be a testament to the faithfulness of the Lord.  I have felt so uplifted through this journey so far and pray that I will continue to trust in the Lord that he has my whole life in his hands.

Sadly a week after I came home from hospital, my Mum had a fall and broke her hip.  She was operated on, however a week following her surgery, she died peacefully from kidney failure....which she had been diagnosed with over 12 months ago.  Mum had been worried about me, and her health had been deteriorating slowly and she had said many times that she was ready to go...so this week we said our farewells to Mum.  Another challenge has since presented itself to our family, where my Dad, who has dementia landed in hospital having spent a night on the kitchen floor after trying to clean up some water he had spilled, but he couldn't get himself up.  Anyway, he is on the mend, however whether or not he'll be able to go home is another thing...but I am just taking one day at a time at the moment.
Well, I think I have said enough for the time being...next week I have an appointment about when the chemotherapy is to start, so I will be praying that this all goes smoothly.  Will post again soon...thanks for reading.