Poop Bags

Some of you may know that Cariann and I have taken over the responsibilities for Cooper, my stepdad’s dog. Cariann had been looking for a puppy to keep her company for many months to no avail. We were blessed with a situation that required Cooper to come live with us for a while and we now have “shared custody”. Cariann has been the primary caregiver but I have pulled my weight from time to time as well. I don’t have many afflictions with things pertaining to the body and its functions; however, poop has always caused me issues. Just ask my mom who had to come over to my house when I was 20 years old to scoop my poop from the yogurt container to the medical cup. I still gag at the sight of every new diaper I change (after the first one, I’m good to go). One interesting phenomenon is that every single time I have taken Cooper out for a walk on my own, he has pooped. He knows how I feel about it. The feel of the warm, slimy excrement through the barely-present walls of his colourful poop bags is off-putting, to say the least. However, it has to be done. I am responsible for his crappy behaviours when he is alone with me. I truly believe that Cooper living with us has been God’s way of preparing me for tomorrow: the day I get my very own poop bag!

Tomorrow morning at 5:45am I will be admitted into Vancouver General Hospital to have portions of my rectum and liver resected. I have met with both surgeons and they both exude excellent bedside manner. I feel very comfortable with both of them. Just last week, I met with the surgical oncologist (Dr. Hamilton) for a sigmoidoscopy Sigmoidoscopy - Canadian Cancer Society to look at the surgical site of my rectum. I got to see where the tumour was* and received my very first internal tattoo. It certainly was an experience!

As I sit here at my sister, Courtney’s home in Coquitlam, I am finishing up my second litre of PEG 3350 and eating clear foods as I prep for the eight hour undergoing tomorrow. (If you have seen this bottle, you know the trials I am enduring right now.)

Cari will be staying here for the week I am in the hospital recovering. Once I am released, my Uncle Gary and Auntie Cindy have gifted us a suite downtown so we can stay close to the hospital. We’re still not entirely sure of the course after that but we do know a second surgery can be expected about six weeks from the first. At this time, they will reattach my colon (so I can have normal poops again) and remove the remaining tumours on the right lobe of my liver.

This is basically everything we could have hoped for. This sounds like my best chance of being cured of this awful ailment and we are so blessed to have come this far.

* The preliminary MRI in December that was required for marking the rectal tumour revealed that the mass had completely disappeared. We’re talking miracle status. They will still be removing the segment that previously contained the known carcinoma as it is the only way to fully know if there is any residual cancer cells in the area. If it turns out there is no cancer at all, that will be a strong indicator of a reduced chance of recurrence.

CANCER OF THE RECTUM CAN’T WRECK TIM! If you don’t know, now you know! #CantRecTim