What has been happening

Good morning all from a quiet and sunny Bettys Bay, the weather changes from day to day which is one of the joys of living in the Cape. Today may be sunny but tomorrow we may end up having a fire going all day 😁. For quite a few weeks I have been alluding to things going on in my life and for many reasons I needed them to 'play out' before I got to sharing with you all. The reason I am sharing the story now is also as a reminder to us all not to neglect the important things in life, especially when it comes to our health. As a woman dealing with Fibromyalgia I know that I am not alone in ignoring new symptoms and just shoving them under the Fibromyalgia umbrella but, having said that there is nothing better than listening to your heart and following God's prompting. This is naturally directed at the ladies but really it goes for every member of our families. I have never been a fan of the annual Mammogram and ladies physical but have over the course of the last fifteen years had a mammogram roughly every five years or so, my last one being just before we retired in 2016. Due to Poppets history of Thyroid Cancer and then Breast Cancer in 2005 and 2011 respectively I was taken off HRT and put onto Bio Identical Hormonal Cream to deal with the issues of post menopause. For this treatment I initially saw my regular GP and when he sadly passed away I had to change to an Integrative Doctor as not all doctors are able /certified to prescribe the creams. So ....... long story short for the last five years I have had an annual blood work up with this doctor and he has managed things based on those tests, as well as 'sort of' managing the Fibromyalgia. My GP never suggested the annual ladies tests and quite frankly I never thought to suggest them until earlier this year. Some of you may remember I had some tummy troubles which led to an abdominal and pelvic ultra sound which showed no problems, that was when I had to look at what I was eating and make changes accordingly. When it came time for my 'annual blood check' I had a hesitation about going back to the same doctor and made enquiries as to which other doctors were around who could prescribe the Hormone Cream and this is really where God stepped in and this part of the story starts. A lot of my hesitation was based on the fee the doctor charges and the rest of it was an underlying nudging that I needed a doctor who would actually look at everything as a whole, I was directed to the most wonderful lady doctor in Somerset West who apart from also having Fibromyalgia and being a strong Christian is an incredible diagnostician. Dr E worked me over from top to toe, asked every question imaginable and then sent me for a battery of blood tests before she even picked up a pen to write a prescription. Along with all this was very strong order to have a Mammogram, she was happy with the pelvic ultrasound but insisted on the other. Good grief what a roller coaster I've been on since the middle of June and God has shown Himself to be in control every step of the way. The Mammogram was done and immediately afterwards a thorough ultrasound because they had picked up a spot they were unhappy with, within days I was seeing another lady doctor who specializes in cutting edge breast care including breast conserving cancer surgery, she is absolutely incredible and is also a Christian. The speed with which everything moved was startling and before I knew it I was booked for a Vacuum Assisted Biopsy, they were convinced that the small spot which was seen was benign but were leaving nothing to chance. The Biopsy itself was done under a local anaesthetic and we had the results within a couple of days as apparently the Pathologist battled with the sample. It was diagnosed as an Atypical Ductal Hyperplasia which means the abnormal cells are not cancer but have a high risk for cancer. Praise the Lord for good news, immediately a further surgery was scheduled to remove anything left behind and get clean margins, everything was going smoothly and after consultation with the specialist I went ahead and had the CoVid vaccination 5 days prior to the date of surgery. I then had to have a CoVid test two days later for hospital admission and on the Saturday afternoon my surgeon phoned to say I had tested positive 😡😡. She immediately upped my vitamin regime and kept in touch regarding symptoms. The only place I had been was to the chemist for the vaccination so 🤷🏻‍♀️, again God came through thick and I had little to minimal symptoms and the surgery was scheduled for 17 days later - this past Tuesday. Having waited so long and with everything having moved so fast those two weeks felt like two months and I had to really pull my mind in and centre on what Gods Word says. His Son paid the price for our sins and sicknesses Psalm 103 v 3, I know that Words are creative when spoken out aloud Provrbs 18 v 21 "The tongue has the power of life and death ...". and that was one of the reasons I shared this with only a handful of people, I didn't want a lot of speculation and careless talk going on when I was standing against an onslaught. Eventually Tuesday dawned and off Hubby and I toddled, first to check into the hospital, then drive to a different location for another ultrasound and a wire insertion which would guide my surgeon (I could not believe how long the wire was or why), then back to the hospital and it was all systems go. I think one of the worst aspects was not having Hubby with me before and after surgery. Even there I really feel as if God was well and truly in control, I have had way too many surgeries in my life but the team that I have had from start to finish with this has been unlike no other, caring, compassionate, patient, expert and confident. I do not as a rule play nicely with general anaesthetic and it took quite a lot longer than we expected, there was one 'curved ball', before I went through to theatre my surgeon Dr L told me she was also removing one lymph node, I had not considered that at all, and really didn't have time to dwell on it. We came home the same night and I am proud to say that I have accomplished absolutely nothing this week in terms of producing anything, I have accomplished Self Care and am very proud to say that is my priority right now. I had stocked up with yarn thinking I could make up the cat igloos, the packet is still unopened in the cupboard. Hubby and Jelly Bean have been fantastic, she is like an eagle the way she keeps an eye on me, healing is going well with the under arm excision being the most troublesome, Fibromyalgia raised her nastiness which I have just taken in my stride and upped the Self Care. On Thursday we went back for a wound check and happily the Lymph Node was/is completely clean, the rest of the Pathology we are still waiting on and tomorrow I go back for another check up and hopefully the last results. I have come to realise that it is going to take some time to get back to normal and have peace in my heart not to rush things. Hubby spent most of the week working on the cars as his has been giving trouble, we have even seen Gods hand at work there with people coming forward with diagnostic equipment etc. The rest of the family are all doing well and are healthy thank God. I can share one funny incident, on Saturday Jelly Bean and I were at the stove, the gas was on and as usual Zeepha was running interference, she has become a real little pest in the kitchen. All of a sudden JB noticed smoke coming off her tail, this silly cat was so engrossed in trying to get at whatever we were doing, that her tail was busy being singed 🤦🏻‍♀️, she had a glorious tail which now, once I ran my hand through it is markedly thinner. I am just so grateful she was not hurt. I know this is a long missive and I appreciate you taking the time to read through, my biggest message I want to get out is PLEASE listen to your heart / your Spirit / that voice deep within you and follow through, yes it can be scarey, but if I had ignored that nudging to change doctors this would have gone undetected and had an entirely different ending. Not once in the five years we've been here has one doctor asked me about a Mammogram, when last I had one ........ nothing. From here on out I know that by default they are going to be a regular part of my life and you know what ? I'm fine with that. God has carried me through this entire time in ways I could not imagine, He has held my tight when fear tried to take over and comforted me when I didn't know if I could do it, right back to my new GP who is letting not one aspect of my health go untouched, I am convinced that one of the reasons I had such minimal CoVid symptoms if any was because she has me on such a high regimen of vitamins and supplements which can be inconvenient and yes expensive, but clearly they work and I pray that I will be all the better for them. Have a wonderful week folks, please stay safe and well. Ciao ciao Charlie my constant companion