Jake was the last of the pre-treatment procedures and it seems somewhat appropriate that he is also the last to be removed. He has been a "faithful servant" and for my part, the endoscopy nurse praised me for how well I've looked after him and the site.
I had always believed that Jake was held in place by a balloon inside my stomach. It turns out they have only been using such devices for the last couple of months and my version was somewhat different. Not to put too finer point on it, the removal was not going to be without some discomfort.
In reality, Jake was held in place by a disc and the only way to remove it was to pull it through the hole in my stomach. So, we have a disc the size of a 50c piece coming out through a hole the size of a straw - end result is discomfort. That visual image not enough for you? - OK, a picture is worth a thousand words and all that, so here you go.
The actual process is really quick. You are told to breathe in, then breathe out and hold your breath. It is at this stage the nurse wraps her fingers around the tube and yanks the puppy out.
No stitches to seal things up - it should heal naturally within 24 hours.
No special precautions, apart from keep the area clean and dry and expect some oozing.
No restrictions on eating (refer potential oozing).
Within 10 minutes I was on my way. Bonus was because it took so little time, I didn't exceed the 30 minutes free parking time at the hospital. $3 saved.
I must admit it feels strange not to have a tube hanging out of me any more. While I've waited for this day eagerly, readjusting back to a "normal" body is taking some time. I'm conscious of the pad covering the wound and compensating my movements to ensure I don't do anything to dislodge it. On the plus side, no conspicuous peg related bulges in my shirt any more.
Jake now resides at home and can share "war stories" with Hugo and the jar containing my wisdom teeth. Somewhat of a morbid collection, but a great starter kit for Halloween going forward.
It is probably also an appropriate time to reflect on the last 8 months or so. As you can see from the three "From The Other Side" postings, this journey has had some wide ranging impacts. I must admit that from my side, I was concentrating on getting myself through it all, and while I understood it was having an impact on my support team, I didn't fully appreciate how much so. A very sincere thanks to you all for giving so much of yourselves to help me as you did.
So with Jake now cut loose, has normality returned? As I've said before, there is a new normal, but with each day my eating returns more towards normal, I'm now back at work full-time and slowly regaining strength. I've mowed my own lawns and washed my new car twice (very poor given it is 3 1/2 months old, thank goodness for the paint protection system). I've even, shock horrors, done some good old-fashioned house cleaning. I'm even giving Bax a fair bit of overdue lip and I'm told I'm smiling again, more of my old cheeky self.
I certainly feel like I'm back to normal, but am still being cautious not to overdo things, so there is still a gently, gently approach towards some things.
Today is definitely closure on the medical intervention front. You could even say it is the end of round two (round one being the treatment), so we've only got round three to go - the medical all clear. That may still be a year or two away, but with my birthday (and anniversary of the confirmed diagnosis) now less than four months away, I'm really looking forward to life again and just so thankful to everybody that has made that outlook possible.
How about a post-Jake shot to finish.....
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