A Short History of Kayla..........1968 to Now!

Of late I have had some comments that this Blog has grown into quite a "Large Beastie". There now seems to be a worry that anyone new (ie.... friends, family, Jo's or the Sisters of Hysterness) would have one bloody long read ahead of them if they read all 48 posts in one go! Would the faint hearted pass on all 48 and just go to the latest? I bloody hope not! I have sweated blood and tears knocking this together over the last year. So for the new people, old hands and just morbidly curious I am gonna chart Kayla's long hard road in a distilled stylee that will take you from the begining to the present day in one posting! And in the tradition of boxed sets of DVD's there will also be some as yet unread/unwritten extra footage, such as where she was born, how she became so freckly! her first marriage??? and not to mention her rip-roaring adventures whilst serving in Algeria with the French Foreign Legion as the regimental stripper!!!!!!!!! Included in this posting are 2 alternative endings incase you don't like or agree with the real one! (Believe any of this and you really do need therapy!)

So Kayla was born at a very early age in Bradford deepest Yorkshire. Weighing not a lot but covered in freckles, she arrived on the 11th of March 1968. This is how her life panned out in the very early days and I think you may agree her life started hard and got harder!

• Born 11/03/68
• Happy childhood except for bullying and freckle jokes!....Doh!
  
• Left Home at 17
• Married at 18
• Mother at 19 moved to Italy
  
• Mother again at 20
• Returned to UK from Italy and Widowed at 24!
• Remarried at 26...................to ME!
  
• Mother again at 28 moved to Scotland
• Moved to Belgium in 2000
  
• Returned to UK (High Wycombe) in 2003

June 2003........We arrived back from our overseas tour fat, with a new car, lots of fond memories and horrified at how expensive and dirty the UK had become.

Whilst abroad Kayla had had some bleeding and had been seen a couple of times by the Medical Officer and local Hospital. Smears and Ultra-sound investigations had all come back negative. On return our GP referred Kayla to a specialist who had diagnosed an errosion? A hysteroscopy was planned and the errosion was going to be removed with a Lletz Loop excission. The hysteroscopy failed as something was blocking the uterine canal. Ultrasound showed what looked like a large fibroid between the cervix and the womb. The excission went ahead. What we didn't know was that the consultant did not like what he saw and therefore sent all recovered tissue samples away for analysis.

Blindly ignorant we went off on holiday to Greece thinking that Kayla's bleeding problems were fixed. On our return from our holiday there was a letter addressed to Kayla with an appointment for her to see the consultant. It also asked for her to take her husband or partner with her!!!!!!!!

She knew......................... I prayed it wasn't what she thought!

In September of 2004 Kayla"was diagnosed with Stage 1B Cervical Cancer. At the moment the news was broken to us our lives changed forever.

Initially, your safe, normal and even at times boring, little world just comes crashing in on you and is snatched away. Helplessness, numbness, shock, horror, denial, anger, confusion, panic, more panic, regret and terror are but a few emotions that explode and rip through your mind and body with uncontrollable intensity, and I am just speaking as the husband! Here is a brief time line from then until now.

Sit down ......Strap in....... This is a roller-coaster ride to hell and back .......And back to hell and back............ And so on.....................

• Sep 2004 - Received Diagnosis.
• Oct 2004 - Referred to women's Center John Radcliffe Oxford.
• Oct 2004 - Staging MRI - Bulky Tumour 5cm Stage 1B2.
• Nov 2004 - Radical Hysterectomy (Operation failed due to Bladder/Uterus adhesion. Ovaries and 11 Lymph Nodes removed)
• Nov 2004 - 2 Lymph Nodes found positive.
• Dec 2004 - Chemotherapy begins (Planned for 8 weekly sessions)
• Jan 2005 - Combined Chemo/Radiotherapy begins (Kayla soon starts to feel side-effects of daily radiotherapy)
• Feb 2005 - Combined therapy ends (Kayla is very ill has 2 blood transfusions and is unable to receive last 2 Chemo sessions)
• Feb 2005 - Selectron Treatment 36 hours (The final insult!!!)
• Mar 2005 - Treatment over.........let the recovery begin!
• May 2005 - Follow up MRI - Great response to treatment anomaly now only 1cm2 reduced from 26cm2. Kayla goes back to work!
  
• August 2005 - Follow up MRI - No evidence of disease!!!!!
  
• September 2005 - Normality
  
• Oct 2005 - Some pain and some bleeding, concerned appointment made EUA planned.
• Nov 2005 - Stu leaves for the Falkland Islands (4 Months detachment with the RAF)
• Nov 2005 - EUA, biopsy taken of suspicious area of necrotic tissue not at original tumour site.
• Nov 2005 - Biopsy confirms recurrence of cancer.
• Dec 2005 - Stu returns from Falkland Islands.
• Dec 2005 - Investigative MRI - confirms new tumour.
• Dec 2005 - Increasing acute pain requires daily morphine medication.
• Dec 2005 - Kayla develops aggressive infection at the site of the biopsy.
• Jan 2005 - PET Scan - reveals 2cm tumour within the "Pouch of Douglas" no other bodily spread disease still confined to pelvic region.
• Jan 2006 - Emergency admission to hospital - infection controlled.
• Jan 2006 - Treatment plan is extensive and radical pelvic surgery (providing there is no evidence of spread beyond the pelvic area) Kayla referred from Oxford to the Royal Marsden Hospital London.
• Jan 2006 - Case transferred to Royal Marsden - initial visit 19/01/06.
• Feb 2006 - Massive surgery "Total Pelvic Clearence" Tumour now 6cm and connected to bowel and bladder - 16 hours in surgery over 15 litres of blood transfused!
• Feb 2006 - 10 days in Intensive Care 4 days of which on a ventillator.
• Mar 2006 - Kayla still in hospital ........recovering.....hystology shows that clear margins were not achieved and that microscopic cancer cells still remain on pelvic wall.
• Apr 2006 - Still in hospital......Kayla cannot eat... acute intestinal failure diagnosed (caused by chemo/rads) PICC line fitted and TPN feeding comences via the bloodstream.
  
• May 2006 - Still in hospital referred to St Marks (UK centre of excelence for gastric/intestinal medicine)
• May 2006 - Kayla transferred to St Marks.
• Jun 2006 - Kayla still in hospital...... PICC line removed Central Line fitted TPN feeding continues as does investigations into her problems.
• Jul 2006 - Kayla sent home to prepare for surgery. This will be kill or cure. The odds of failure are stacked against her.
• Aug 2006 - Surgery!................7 hours............ major blood loss..........intensive care.
• Sep 2006 - Success Kayla can eat! The op was a success she is discharged from hospital after SEVEN MONTHS and weighs just over 6 stones!
• Oct 2006 - Emergency admission due to dehydration!
• Nov 2006 - Major deteriation in health results in a bedbound and confused Kayla..... fear recurrence and spread........GP advises that we should prepare ourselves for the worst. Kayla has a fit.... 999 called 3 day stay in Wycombe General.
• Dec 2006 - Admitted to Royal Marsden for EUA. Kayla to ill for surgery and a life threatening electrolyte imbalance is discovered. Pancreatic dysfunction is suspected. Kayla given magnesium, potassium and calcium suppliments. Kayla discharged 24hours before the bearded man comes to visit. She is like a new woman, she prepares the house for Christmas I search Buckinghamshire for a Turkey!!! Fantastic Christmas and New Year! The first for over 2 years!
• Jan 2007 - Kayla has a planned admission to the Royal Marsden. MRI scan shows no new spread......EUA shows no obvious areas of suspicion and her Pancreas is not working correctly hence the absorbtion problems! The Pancreas is an easy fix and she has been put on 3 monthly appointments............our first step in the right direction.
  

So there you have it from birth to present day. The ups and the downs and the wobbly bits inbetween. It has not been easy and at times our relationship has been severly tested. We have had more than our fair share of knock-backs, bad luck and nightmares. Not to mention I have nearly lost her on quite a few occasions!.......... but like a cat she has nine lives and so bounces back.

Now on the mend, her short term aims are to gain weight, strength and mobility. Her long term aims are a family holiday in Cyprus (Coffers permitting) and returning back to work so that she can continue with her dream job of caring for the newborn of South Bucks!

GO GIRL!!!!!

The End..........................................for now!!!!!!

Let the Good Times Roll

Hi all Its me!!!!!

(Stu......the one with "writers runs" This is an epic but a very happy epic!)

Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

or

As the bloke shouted as he left the plastic surgery department.........

"Happy New Ears!!!"

Well, our year has started off very well, very well indeed.

We have just returned home after a very busy but successful 4 day stay at the Royal Marsden. Our GP phoned last week and told me that Kayla's HB was down to 7! Although this explained why she was so tired all of the time she was not breathless as one would expect.

I took this news as a personal insult. The GP told me to give her lots of protein which I had complied with! She was on a chicken, lamb chop, steak and beef diet that would have given Fatty Arbuckle bloody heartburn! I was the mummy Golden Eagle and she was my chick. She squawked and I fed her flesh! My garden is ruined from the flock of sheep, chicken and "Doris the cow" that were living there in order to ensure a 24/7 supply of fresh carnivoral delights! However, this story turns out that my culinary skills were not at fault it was my new arch enemy that was causing the problem!

The Marsden moved things forward by a day so we went in on monday as opposed to Tuesday. The Marsden no longer have an admissions dept......oh no......... you arrive at a place called "Transitional Care" you are given tea and biccies a comfy seat and there you wait for a wee while until a nurse calls you into a room, checks you in and then escorts you to you ward. No more sitting in the day room waiting for your bed, more like a hotel lobby!

We thought we had wandered into the private patients lounge!!!!

Once on the ward we had our first good news. Kayla's new "Gastro" consultant popped in and told us that the results from Kayla's "Poopy" sample had proven beyond doubt what he initially had diagnosed. Great news we thought!

Even better though..................it was fixable!

Even better than even better and I can't beleive it's not butter was the fact that.................NO!! Surgery was needed!!

Yep, Kayla has acute pancreatic disfunction. The pancreas is a wonderful if ugly little blighter! It has two major reasons for being. It produces insulin and special digestive enzymes that alow you to break down fats in order to gain protein. I should have realised that the pancreas was to blame as when we were just going out with each other I used to say to myself

"sexy bum, lovely hair, nice legs, good kisser....... shame about the pancreas!"

This naughty pancreas started off as a kind and good pancreas but Radiotherapy and maybe Chemo turned it bad....bad ....bad!

So now when Kayla eats she cannot digest any kind of fat so therefore cannot gain protein! So the tons and tons of meat, fish, nuts, milk, cheese, Ice cream, chocolate, pot noodle, twigs, tinfoil and dust, that I had been cooking to perfection for her had given her no goodness at all. Phew at least it wasn't my cooking! Oh and by the way 3 of the food stuffs I mentioned arn't a source of protien can you guess which? (clue one rhymes with "hot poodle")

The fat just passed right through her coating her intestines and limiting the absorbtion of everything else such as carbs, water, magnesium, pottasium and calcium!!!!! The penny dropped! looks like this evil git of a pancreas is the root of all Kayla's recent problems!

The fix is simple a drug called Creon taken with every meal puts back the enzymes and breaks down fat! Sooooooooo Simple!!

Kayla has noticed a difference already the colostomy output is much less greasy and she has not been sick for ages! Imagine all that undigested grease and fat in your tummy! It must be like equivelent of a couple of large double donner kebabs floating around in there!!! Eeeeeeewwwww say the ladies!! Yum-Yum says I!

Next good news was Kayla's HB was up to nearly 10 so only 2 units of blood given.

Next good news.......The detailed report of the MRI showed nothing different or "Sinister" as they say.

Then it was onto the EUA (Examination Under Anesthetic) and the telescopic viewing of her "downstairs lady garden" (Is it just me or do you dear reader think that when they say telescopic examination......I imaginge the doctor in one building with a telescope and Kayla in another building with her "DLG" pressed against the window?????????) I need help!!~!

Good News......The team were very very positive about the results no obvious recurrence just lots and lots of scarring they took some biopsies though just to be safe, and finished by jet washing the pelvic cavity. Job done!

Great News......... The team are happy with what they saw and don't want to see kayla for 3 months!!!!!!! This is a milestone 3 Months!!!! so far with her problems, it's been more like 3 week intervals with about seven months plus of the last 2 years actually in hospital!

Lucky Old Me............ The only downside of the entire trip was on the first night, my room in the hospital family accomodation had not been cleaned. So presented with room full of crispy tissues (felt like snot) a wiffy pillow (smelt of greasy hair) and a soiled bed (tasted like wee!), I was not a happy bunny. I put the douvet on the floor and slept just in my boxers and ski jacket. Needless to say in the morning I made my way to the facilities office. And, after a robust and honest exchange of ideas........I did not look at it as a complaint more like me highlighting (bluntly) an opportunity for improvement!!!!! Needless to say I received no bill and a big fat appology from the manager. (Don't mess with a QA dude!) Apart from that and the 3 hour delay in transport everything was spiffing (whatever that means!) the Royal Marsden was faultless!!!!!!

I don't wanna tempt fate but I really hope that we are in for some good luck for a change........................I need a bloody rest!

If I wasn't bald already I would be by now!!!!

Take Care

Stu XXX