Back on track

I had my three-month PET scan a fortnight ago and have been trying hard to not think about the results. Yesterday I went back to to the big house on the hill in Hamilton for the first time since treatment finished. I had to wait nearly an hour before being called in to see Prof. Dr Vitz was there too. He said Your scan was clear. I must have looked like I was about to kiss him because the next thing he said (quickly) was, you didn't know? As if surprised that I was hearing this for the first time.

Prof poked around in my mouth to look down my throat and ran his fingers over my neck and pronounced me to be be just fine. Dr Vitz reminded me that recovery would probably continue for up to a year. But "No, your saliva won't come back. I told you that at the beginning", like, do these people just not listen? Well, we do, but we don't like what we hear and we hope that we will be different and that won't happen to us.

They agreed that my feeding tube could come out and someone went to get Jo who specialises in such jobs. This is probably the only time that a nearly 60 year old hears the words "You have a very taut stomach" and the response is dismay. Jo said, you'll have an oooh aaaah moment and it will be all over. Then she tugged on the tube. I went OOOOOH AAAAAAAAAAH! and she stopped. Before having another tug OOOOH AAAAAAAHHHH ****!!* I went. It's bleeding, she said. Hmmmm, she said. You must have strong stomach muscles, she said.

Damn those yoga classes! So now I have a booking with the gastroscropy unit for it to be removed from the inside. But that's OK - only a few more weeks and I'll be back into the hot pools. Nothing can dampen my spirits now that my prognosis is excellent and I can get my life back on track.

Maybe a holiday first? Somewhere where I can get plenty of soups and smoothies, because there is little else I eat with no saliva.