Things are going alot better for me now. I am slowly getting my strength back and have been going into work at Bridgerland. I think my hair days are about over. I really like working there and they have been so good to me. My body is not adjusting to no colon as fast as I would like but it is coming along. I have found that more foods bother me now than at first. I try to be really careful about my food because I really pay if I don't. The worst part of the whole thing now is the BUT BURN. Oh.....Oh.....Oh...... It is not fun. I am trying all kinds of things. From medicine for the cows to Maalox to Aloe Vera. Not fun. It is better than the alternative though.
We are going to Price tomorrow with Sydney. They want her to talk about playing Volley ball for them. She has already verbally committed to Colorado and she still thinks that is where she wants to go but we wanted her to at least see what they have to offer. It is also good experience for her I think. If she goes to Colorado we will be able to see alot of her games because they play alot in Utah. Karli and Nathan are still just going to school and starting to want it to get out for the summer. Nathan is starting baseball next week. that will be good for him and get him out of the house. Sydney and Karli are both still working at Lee's. they are good to them.
Mike and I are just ready to maybe get back to a normal life. It will never be the same because of my health but I am glad to just be here.

WARNING
The next section talkes aabout burping and farting!
Proceed with caution!

Hi again.
Sorry it has taken so long to get back to you. This is me leaving the Huntsman and you can see Mom in the doors behind me. Then Mike Nathan and I on my couch.
I had my surgery on Feb 6,2009. The surgery went well and guess what. NO BAG! The only thing I really remember about the first day is in the recovery room I woke up for a minute and said "let me see my belly." When I looked down all there was was a bunch of bandages and I asked if my bag was gone. When they said yes I don't remember a thing till the next morning.
Even though my surgery was a success as true to my history I still had to have all my usual problems. My 3-5 day hospital stay ended up being 15 days. I was so nauseated again. For some reason my stomach held all this gas in it. All I would do was burb but it would not get it all out. And so I could not even fart. If I could it would have helped also. My stomach was so bloated that it was hard and when Sydney got there to see me she said "Mom, YOU LOOK PREGNANT!"
I promised I was not but it really did look funny. After so long of not releasing the gas and not being able to keep anything down it really took a toll on me mentally. If I ate anything it would just come right back up. But the bad thing was for days they keep giving me nausea medicine so I would just hang over the big garbage can off my bed till I could throw up. Then I would have about an hour of relief and then it would start over. My forearms got so bruised underneath from hanging on it all day. Mike stayed with me the first 6 days and then had to go home to help with kids stuff. I was so sad to be alone but knew he needed to be home. He had to leave Sunday night and Monday I was laying there so depressed because I knew it would be a few days before he would be able to come back down. I was listening to the Tabernacle Choir and felt my bed jerk and there was Diann with Clancey in his stroller and all of Corinnes kids standing there. Then mom walked in and Corinne. I just started bawling. I was so excited to see them. They stayed most of the day with me and the kids explored the WHOLE hospital and it is big. The nurses and staff at the Huntsman are so good to family. Then when they told me Mom was going to stay with me till I could go home the tears started again. Mom ended up staying with me 5 days. It was so good to have her there. It doesn't matter how old you are it still feels good when you are sick. I told her I felt like a little kid again because every time I threw up there she was helping me. We had some goods talks also and would sit and look out the window and just vistit and throw up and then vistit and .........I am so glad she could be with me. It took so much stress off Mike also because he hates it if I am down there alone.
Finally one day I got to thinking if they would quit giving me the nausea medicine then I would throw up faster and I would feel better faster and maybe more often. So I would not take any more and it really did help. I know most people hate to throw up but I welcomed it. After a day or so I started to feel better and yes I started to fart. that is a good thing with this surgery. They wont let you go home till you have your bottom end going and let me tell you the bottom end is working too well now. The diaria is common for this surgery so now I am just trying to learn to eat again. It is all trail and error. What works for one doesn't always work for the other. I have to keep creams on me all the time and it it painful but I would take it over a a bag any day. I have not vomited for 3 weeks now and have even gone into the office a couple of times. I do have to have home health come in and help some. they taught Mike how to do my fluids and I am down to a bag every 2 days now. He is a great nurse with his gloves and all on. By next weekend I should be done with the fluids.
I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. The surgeon cleared me on the 26th of Feb and Dr. Ben-Jacob did my cancer marker on Monday and it looked really good.
I still have to go to each one of them every 3 months for check ups. As soon as my body adjusts to no bag now and no colon and using a pouch instead I should be semi normal. I am still sooooo weak but am getting stronger every day.
It had been a long hard road for me and my family. My family has sacrificed so much for me. I never could have done it with out them and all the help from the ward and friends. It has brought many blessings to us. Also Father in Heaven has been here for us and answered so many prayers. He is probably sick of hearing from me so much. I will talk about that later.
Please be sure to get your colonoscopys. Early detection is so much easier to handle. I dont want anybody to go through what my family and I have had to go through.