From
Jimmy
Deuchars
I would
like to say a big thank you to the Scottish NHS for their Bowel
Cancer Screening home testing kit and to all the nurses, staff and
surgical team of the Victoria Hospital Glasgow for their skill and
dedication that pulled me through an operation to removed cancerous
parts of my colon.
Thank
you to all you lovely well wishers that have sent me cards and
enquired about me during my stay in hospital. Also a special thanks
to my district nurses who are tripping in and out everyday to tend
my wound and get me back to full health again.
My
recovery at home continues and will do for several months. It is not
at all pleasant for my wife Margaret who has been nursing me through
such an ordeal. I really don’t know what I would do without her.
The
full story.
Out of
the blue I got a bowel cancer testing kit sent to me by the Scottish NHS. I had no symptoms or reason to suspect I had any problems
connected with my bowels.
The
completed test was sent to Dundee and I thought no more about it.
Ten days later I received a letter telling me I had blood in my
stools and was offered an appointment for a Colonoscopy the next
week. The doctor that completed the colonoscopy took samples from
polyps and lesions in my bowls that did not look to good.
By
telephone I was offered a CT scan and within two weeks of that I was
seen by my surgeon a Mr Hair at the New Victoria Hospital in the
Southside of Glasgow.
Mr Hair
was as straight as he could be with me and said “you already know
you have lesions in your bowels and I’m afraid they are cancerous
and will need to be removed” When pushed he said I would have about
2 years if I did not have this op. Mr Hair went on to say that he
was confident that he could remove this cancer and that in his
opinion I would not possibly need any follow up.
There
was a real danger.
I have
always been overweight and was 26stones at the time. I have
arthritis of the spine and need a wheelchair to get around so I was
terrified he was going to rate me unsuitable for this life saving
operation. I asked if I could go on a crash diet or something like
that but he said the op could not wait that long and for every 200
persons that have tried only about 4 have succeeded.
He did
agree to do the op and the next week I was admitted into the Old
Victoria Hospital Glasgow which was directly across the road from
the new one. This was on the 8th September 2009 the op
scheduled for the following morning.
Although the Victoria is an old hospital the ward was very bright
clean and everyone was friendly. in the anesthesist's room I was
prepared for a tracheotomy and epidural. then the next I knew was I
was half awake in intensive care in a bed and felt as if I was
fighting with the devil. I know I was raving and ranting, but I was
alive!
My stay
in hospital was not a pleasant one. in fact It was a nightmare and I
fought every bit of the way to get out. The real problem was, I was
just too fat and heavy for a major operation like this and a stay in
a hospital designed for people half my weight and size.
The
nurses and staff could not have been more helpful or kinder to me.
Although they went out of their way to get me a special bed for my
size, it was the most uncomfortable backbreaking contraption I have
ever slept in. Having arthritis in my spine did not help at all.
If I
was not so overweight this operation would not have been the
nightmare it was. The recovery will take months as the wound has
opened and needs to be treated daily.
Jimmy
Deuchars
Grandparents Apart
