83. Quasimodo has been evicted

Sydney and surrounds got a LOT of rain a couple of weeks ago.  We got 158mm and most of that was in a short time overnight.  My old room got flooded again.  We think that it came in the window frame as there was a river of water coming down the path.  It probably isn’t water tight.  I had some flute music books that got wet and Mither has some papers that got wet.  A lot of those were super old and could be thrown out anyway.  Many other places got much worse flooding and the news showed lots of videos and photos.  

I’ve been doing sewing as usual.  Had another sewing class and now I have finished off my blue shirt with the fish buttons and I have finished off a red/black top that the pattern was made using a top I like to wear.  I made the straps attach at the back closer to the mid back so that they don’t fall off my shoulders.  Not having boobs or wearing a bra means that is something that happens a lot.  My blue dress I am making is almost done.  Just got to stay stitch the facing and then attach the straps.  

I’m making another apron out of old jeans and did some sewing on that while waiting for Pither at an appointment where the specialist was over an hour late.  He had been called into an emergency consult apparently.  I also did some work on that when at a class a friend did called Journey to Self Discovery.  I’ve been working on and off on the Manx quilt blocks and am over half way for that quilt now.  It’s looking great.  I’ve now made 3 fabric baskets and have been given some more long fabric pieces from old sheets and duvet covers and so more will happen soon.  Such a fun process and getting a unique basket at the end is always exciting as I don’t know how it will turn out and trust the process.  I did a black and white one as a friend commissioned it and the bottom ended up getting an awesome spiral pattern which I hadn’t planned.  

I’ve been tired a lot the last couple of weeks.  Perhaps because I haven’t done as many exercise classes (Lewis was away, then he got covid, then I got Quasimodo cut out) or there could be other reasons.  Sleeping is still an issue.  Sometimes I can get a block of sleep, other times it takes AGES to get to sleep.  Sometimes it’s hot flushes (a lot of the time), sometimes it’s pain.  During the day I can be doing something, even sitting and sewing, and my head just goes all weird and I have to lie down.  Sometimes I’ll nap, other times I just need to lie down and I put some calming music on or watch something calming on YouTube.  Something I don’t have to think much about.  

I applied for a job, Support Planner, with Mable.  It was remote and full time.  Two days after I applied I got an email back to say even though I had a lot of experience and qualifications they had a lot of applications and they would keep my application on file for future.  They also said I should go on LinkedIn to keep track of jobs being offered.  I sort of read that to mean they couldn’t stalk me online.  Anyway, a friend of a friend does know someone high up in the company so maybe they could put a word in for me. It’s really who you know, not what you know these days.  I would rather a part time job from home but there isn’t that many that I have found yet.  I’ve only just started getting my head into the right space to start looking and it uses up a whole heap of brain power.  Probably another reason I’ve been tired so much.  

I had breakfast with a friend who is also going through a similar path with her cancer and we are on the same hormone therapy medications.  So many similarities in diagnosis but yet so many differences in treatments and side effects.  It’s good to talk to other people who are going through a similar thing.  That’s why the breast cancer support group every month is so helpful.  Not only is there often a guest speaker but just chatting with other people and checking in helps.  

Talking about guest speakers, Brent Collier is an Exercise Physiologist and he spoke at the start of the month. I have booked in to see him next month for some help with my energy levels and my exercise classes.  I had an appointment at Restore for some scar light treatment and they use the same sozo machine that tracks body composition.  Usually I would just get the fluid reading for my arm but it also does body fat, body muscle, hydration, nutrients and all sorts of other things.  I got a print out of the last year’s report so I can take it to Brent to give him some background.  My arm fluid reading went up from last time but isn’t higher than when I first started. It makes sense as I had less exercise in the last month and also another surgery.  Minor surgery but it’s the same right side and means less movement.  I am seeing the OT at the hospital for a check up in June so will get another reading then.  Hopefully it’ll be going down again so that I don’t have to wear an arm pressure sock.  Being high risk of lymphoedema means working hard daily to stop my arm blowing up like a balloon.  

I had dinner with a friend at a Thai restaurant.  It was nice and I got a chicken and vegetable stir fry with garlic and pepper sauce.  In hindsight I probably should’ve said no sauce.  I was driving home and had to do a made rush across 3 lanes of traffic to a petrol station to do an emergency poo.  I knew there was no way I was going to make it home and if I didn’t do that petrol station the next one was too far away.  By too far away I mean even another minute would’ve been a disaster.  Another learning curve for me to remember when I go out and eat something different from my usual.  I had lunch yesterday with a friend and had a chicken salad with avocado. I have had it before and no emergency poo needed.  We went for a walk afterwards, I took my knee brace, but it started to rain after about 9 minutes and then by the time we got back to cover it was raining quite hard.  It tapered off a bit for us to get to the car and then poured quite heavy driving back home.  My knee has been sore and stiff since the walk so even the knee brace didn’t really help much.  It’s also been hot to touch again.  I love bush walking and it’s hard to think that it’s something that causes me pain.

I had a fun afternoon a week or so ago where I picked up two nieces from school and then took them back to another niece’s house for a play date.  We played The Game of Life which was fun until the kids got tired and hungry and then I got tired, hungry and had a headache.  One niece retired from the game before she officially went to the retirement section.  Another one wanted to keep going and was getting annoying when she got big numbers instead of small ones on the spinning wheel (which is in place of dice).  We have had that board game for years since I was a kid.  I’ve always enjoyed playing it.  This one is an updated version and I like that all the people are different colours, not just pink and blue, and you can choose to be married or not, choose to change a career, choose to have kids, you can get a pet, etc.  Zaeli won the game.  I ended up leaving soon after dinner as it was dark and I had to drive back along the coast road as the Bulli Pass had a breakdown on it and extensive delays.  They only have one lane open going up as there is embankment stabilisation work going on (from previous crazy rain weather).  Along the coast road at Coalcliff there is section with only one lane open too as there is a massive hole in the north bound lane. That happened two weeks ago in the torrential rain.  It’s probably going to take quite a while for that to be fixed.  

My niece Aneria had her 7th birthday party last weekend.  It was ten pin bowling but I had an optometrist appointment so the parents and I went down for the after party at her house.  I love ten pin bowling so we worked out that we can go another time together.  I made her a slow stitched Japanese Rice Bag as a present.  This coming weekend April will be having her 8th birthday party.  Harry Potter themed so that will be fun.  

The optometrist is happy with how the new contact lens is fitting.  He worked out a glasses prescription to go over the top of my contacts for my astigmatism.  It will be for when I’m reading music, reading a book, using a computer.  I can see fine for driving, I’m also ok for sewing as I can get my work up close enough but I guess when using a sewing machine they would come in handy too.  He wants to see me in a month again to see if the contacts have settled more. He’ll do the prescription again and if it hasn’t changed then I can order the glasses.  If there is a change he’ll see me in a month again and then we will see.  My health fund will reset on July the 1st so I probably will wait to order them until then as they will give me $200 off.  

My sister gave me some Bowen Therapy last week.  Since then my toes have been a bit less numb, especially my little toes.  They have been fully numb since March last year.  She’ll do a follow up next week, I think.  We didn’t settle on a specific date yet.  We had dinner afterwards. I have found a really yummy Paleo butter chicken recipe on cauliflower rice which I made for us.  

Quasimodo was evicted on Tuesday 16th.  I got a text message a few days before confirming my appointment. I was a bit confused as the doctor had said it would be June 4th unless she was working a day in the school holidays and then reception would call me to make the booking.  So I called up and it was a real text message and not a junk one.  I asked how long it might take and she said 15 minutes. I queried that and she had a close look and said “Oh yes, there is a note, it’ll be 45 minutes.”  That sounded a bit better.  The appointment was for 2.40pm.  It meant I had to change my Restore appointment as that was at 3.30pm and even though it was around the corner it would not have worked to have that appointment so close.  The day before I got a call to ask if I could make it by 2pm.  I could.  Better in my mind to get this lump cut out earlier.  

I got to the clinic and didn’t have to wait too long past my appointment, maybe 10 minutes.  Into the room and take off my top.  The Doctor used 5 syringes to numb up the area. She’d asked me if I had local anaesthetic before and I said yes and also mentioned that when my port was put in they kept on having to top it up.  Also when I had the stone cut out of my foot.  After she had stabbed me 5 times She said she’d wait about 5 minutes or so for it to fully numb up.  A nurse came in and I lay down on my tummy on the bed with two pillows under my head.  My arms were above my head, hugging the pillows.  The doctor comes back in and says “Yes, all numbed up well, I can tell as it is all white”.  Something to do with the blood vessels constricting and it makes for less bleeding.  

The doctor got a scalpel and poked me a few places to ask if I could feel it. I couldn’t. Good sign.  She got to work and it was probably a good 10-15 minutes of cutting Quasimodo out.  She said that he was “attached in multiple places” and “it’s much deeper than I thought.”  Finally he was out and I had a look.  About the size of a large cherry tomato.  She said that the cyst itself wasn’t that big but she had to go bigger and deeper to get all the attachments out too.  I have five internal stitches that will take 2-3 months to dissolve and twelve external stitches which will come out in two weeks.  She put a brown dressing on top, then a white one with some padding.  After 48 hours the white dressings can come off but leave the brown one on until the stitches come out.  I was given some more of the brown dressing in case it does come off.  I wasn’t allowed to get it wet for 48 hours either.  No exercise allowed on Wednesday and yesterday I could do it again but only limited right arm movements and if the stitches pull for anything then stop.  So boxing is out for another week at least.   It’s not been that painful, more a hot deep ache than a sharp type pain.  I can lie on my back now and a bit on my right side but not for too long.  The pathology report will be out in a week.  More waiting and wondering.