Could this be the bottom....

Checked out...thank you Hotel Calvary

Wow, I am home at Kensington House at the kitchen bench with Sylvia fiddling around getting dinner, and Mia (our adorable dog) is on the floor right next to me. The air conditioning is cranked  up as I am feeling the cold and  I have just taken my temperature. What a relief,  36.9!!

I must say I was starting to loose my nerve a bit and my confidence for the first time has really been tested. Will this ever turn around? 

If Tabitha had said I had to stay another day, I would have put up a slight protest but it would not have been very fierce. I am sitting here thinking about things and I can't think of a more challenging week for me personally than this past week. Second would probably be last week! I do remember some dark times with my diverticulitis operation, maybe time heals these wounds as well.

So home it is. Calvary were exampletory in the way they treated me. Yet again, I take my hat off to the healers, the Doctors, Nurses and all of the staff on the wards were always supportive, chatty and smiling. It makes the world of difference.

Discharge was an operation of its own. Kelly from Pharmacy set up a table of all the drugs I needed, with all the directions and instructions. Seriously good stuff.

So I have started again with the drugs. I would not want to be doing all this alone, for those of you without family or a support team, wow, that would be tough.

My brother Greg rang me from a function in town to see of he could visit. The timing was to perfection. I said absolutely, and you can then drop me home. Thanks Greg, took all my stuff to the car while I did the whole sick thing and just got myself down. It was really good to catch up. Sylvia and Gen were about to come in so stayed at home and we all had a catch up at Kensington House...nice.

I must say I felt so weak I pretty much got through a drink with them (yippie...I can get a drink down today), and went up to my Black Beauty 2 and spent the next 3 hours snoozing.

My body temperature feels all over the place, as in I was feeling hot, cold...and not a fever but just wierd. By about 4pm I was wrestless and feeling YUK so decided to take Mia for a walk. I had no idea we  just had a massive storm, I must have been off with the pixies.

Talking of that storm, how was that poor 17year old struck by lightening while on the oval at Pembroke. Now that is a freak accident, I hope he is OK.

I went back inside grabbed an umbrella and Mia and started roaming the streets of Toorak Gardens, Rose Park and Dulwich. Just what the "Doctor ordered". I put on a beanie that I haven't worn for a couple of years at least, and several layers of clothes. In no time at all I was sweating, even with a very light walk.

Given how frail I am feeling I had my mobile right there with me. It rings and it is Teresa. "Where are you, I have the third and last of the pressi's that you need to get today". I was walking past the Rose Park Primary School and said I'd meet her at GG's as I had no money, and she could shout a drink (hadn't raided Sylvia's purse yet).

Anyway, we met, we had a Soy hot chocolate, and I got it down no worries. The gift, a "Bentley Beanie", black of course, what a ripper. Can't believe that I was actually wearing my old black beanie on that walk. Was great to catch up.

She also gave me my early birthday present, it is a bit special and I am to treat it like  my personal teddy, it is actually a woollen "sheepie", it is meant to be trendy!! It sure is going to be a god send in the weeks to come rather than sleeping on the plastic of the hospital beds.

I was pretty much stuffed so we all jumped into Teresa's car, Mia too, and I was dropped home. The guys who work from Kensington House were getting a little concerned given how long I was away, and I got a call to see if everything was OK. I have to say guys, little events like all of that mean so much. 

Sylvia arrived home after a very big day at the office, and we chatted and caught up which was so nice as well, (Still need to raid that purse...cash is king).

It is now 8pm. I have just administered my Antibiotic, on time...8pm sharp. Pretty much all my medicine has been switched over to liquids to enable me to leave hospital. Another big thank you to the team at Calvary.

Mum's pureed soup has come to the rescue as solids are no chance. I am really working overtime to eat/swallow the soup. In fact, I may have to call it a day, 6 spoons is going to be it. Not bad, this morning I was still unsure about water. Everything hurts. So you get gun shy and it makes for extremely tentative eating I can assure you.

Just as an aside. I have been hearing these noises, a bit like an electric spark happening randomly in my left ear. It has been happening randomly but is getting more frequent. MMMMMM. 

 It is so minor compared to everything else I almost forgot to mention it. If I didn't have the cancer, I would have been totally freaked out by that one thing. Everything is relative, hey.

What now? A shower, and bed to hopefully get a good nights sleep and some healing underway. 

Learnings and take homes for me. # How can you know how much pain you can take until you have no choice. # How the hell do people on their own cope with sickness like this? I will tell you how, it is the likes of the Cancer Council who make this possible. # There are always people worse off than you, so appreciate what you have got. # We may have a health system in trouble, but we also have world class people trying to make it all work. # Expect the unexpected, but live in the moment.

That's it folks, I have someone to cuddle tonight. Yeah.