Final Countdown...

Show time...

7am check in, 8.30 to 9am hook up, 10am first cuts, and we start on the stomach. Early afternoon I get rolled over, and we rip out the cancer and the offending Oesophagus and join it all up again. 

Goodbye cancer, time to recover.

Thanks to my Diverticulitis and the surgery January 2011 (thank goodness I fixed that and am not dealing with that now as well), there is around another hour of surgery tomorrow thanks to adhesions. That's where the organs attach to each other post operations. 

Dr. James Sweeney may be calling for a look in tomorrow, but I think he might have the flu, anyway, I won't know a thing about that. I am rapt Proff Watson has been chatting with James about what to expect from his fine work on my colon last year.

We had a really good chat with Proff on Tuesday, and we have now run out of questions. 

I am just on 12 hours away from check-in now. Am I anxious? What do you reckon?? 

Am I panicking, nup... But I must say I have been on the mobile all day, and the SMS's have been going off, the support and well wishes have been quite astonishing. The only down side is that the reality of all this is really sinking in with all the attention. 

Our former neighbors - the Ash's - are Professors & Associate Professor of Psychiatry and David wanted me to touch base with a colleague of his, Dr. Maura Kenny, regarding my anxiety and I actually did that yesterday. I must say, with Janine over the past weeks and Maura and all my other friends in Psychiatry... I am well connected in sorting out age old phobias. I will be fearless if all this training of the mind works, and even if I am a hopeless student, I am learning so much.

Sylv wonders why I do all this stuff, I must say I am learning so much I am really enjoying that part of my journey. I bet it is just the attention I enjoy, who cares, I am soaking it all up.

So back to tomorrow. In at 7am. First cut around 10am, all being well, hopefully in recovery around 5pm. Long day, hey!! The last operation had a challenge and the operating list was cancelled and I took up the entire day. This time, I have the whole day booked so I am hoping for an early night, not a late one for the Professor (and me), and of course Sylv and the girls.

Gen has volunteered to blog as soon as practical after they are advised how things have gone, I just hope it is straight forward, I think I am due for a routine run this time.

Now as far as any visitors, I will have tubes coming out of all directions, these pretty much go around 6 to 7 days if we are tracking ok. Then I can have a shower, and I can not wait (and we haven't even started yet). All being well, I will be feeling so much better once I can move around a bit, and that first shower will be a milestone.

Today I chilled out all day, took heaps of calls and had a really big walk around the vineyard. The girls all arrived home around 1.30 pm from work for a family lunch, Suz is sick as a dog so no hugs... Damn. 

I cooked a massive chicken that Gen told me over the mobile how to cook (sitting up on an open beer can with legs spread), it was awesome. My last tasty meal for ages, really nice. Tonight a very light meal, and that is it. Gen cooked a magnificent chocolate pudding, oh, and of course the final satchel of Hospital Shake!! 

From now on, it will be a week of Hospital Shake through a tube, can not wait! 

Red wine? Yep, had to do that but go real easy as the nurses said NO, Dr. winked and indicated just a smidgen. I cracked a Burge Family Wine 1994 Barossa Valley Draycott Shiraz, and it was magnificent. This was a present from Gen and Suz for my 40th birthday... 15 years ago. I have been wondering when I would crack this bottle, there would be no more perfect a day than today. It was a really nice family Christmas like lunch. 

I have some amazing wine as presents from friends over this cancer ride and my focus now shifts to visions of that moment. Marty and Emma Ewer this week dropped off a ripper bottle of red, I have a Grange from Popeye and the list is long...A couple of RWT's from Joe and Chris and so on. What a great KPI for my recovery, something to look forward to. 

Flinders Medical Centre is my new home from tomorrow and they have been amazing with information, pre admission, and I just literally took a call then (6.20pm) from a nurse checking tomorrow's details. Another coordinator also called earlier today just to check how I was going. Pretty full on.

Tonight Simon and Cecelia will pop in for a very quick catch up, and then an early night and that is it... SHOW TIME!!! 

Want to visit? We figured it is so hard to get to Flinders and is a water bottle journey for many, best to give Gen a call on 0418 824 178 and see where things are up to. She can let you know what the lay of the land is, but I doubt there will be much happening until after those drains all go, a week probably. 

That's it folks, it is over to the girls for a while.

See you on the other side...

Remember last nights quotes, "When you are in Hell, keep going", I suspect I will need to remember at times over this next week to keep going.