At noon on Friday Wendie arrived to see me. Wendie is my community oncology support person (I got her name wrong in my Thursday night post).
By the time she arrived, I'd been up for a couple of hours after a considerably better night sleep than I had in the hospital the night before. Not to say it wasn't without its challenges though - trying to get into bed would have made people laugh as I tried to figure out if lying on my back or side would work, how many pillows / what angle made me the most comfortable, etc. The fun stated all over again when it came time to get up. Body was now used to lying down, so moving to a sitting position was a good reason to send pain through the shoulders and stomach again. Tried lying down to make pain go way, and it was a catch 22 - by then the body didn't want a bar of anything.
Eventually got to a stage where I could sit on the couch and providing I didn't breathe too heavily, the pain was manageable. After a couple of hours, things seemed to settle down and I had more freedom of movement, providing I was prepared to put up with the shoulder pain.
So, that has got me back to Wendie arriving. She is a lovely English lady and one of those people that possesses the ability to make you feel at ease. Given some of the stuff she subsequently went on to tell me, I also got to see her more determined side.
By the time she left an hour and half later, I had a much better understanding of what is going to happen when and what to realistically expect. Most important to me was I now understand the army of people working behind the scenes to help me win this fight. All I have to do is be willing to accept their help, and I think I'm now ready to do that. My stubbornness and sense of independence would normally get in the way, but the light bulb has gone on - this ain't going to be easy and the more people who are lining up on my side the better.
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