I am sorry that this blog has seemed neglected for the last few weeks but I did have a very good excuse for being absent — alas!
You see, just over a month ago, I was diagnosed as having a cancerous growth at the bottom of my oesophagus, where it meets the stomach. As a result, I spent almost a month in hospital, first in Petchaburi (about 75km north of Hua Hin) & then in the justifiably famous Bumrungrad Hospital in central Bangkok. This cancer didn’t come out of the blue, of course. For a few months now, I have had trouble swallowing, feeling as if I had a blockage in my gullet. However, when I mentioned this to a ‘doctor’ (who seems to have bought his degree) at Hua Hin’s San Paulo Hospital (not recommended for anything more than a cut finger), & he said it was wind (‘gas’ as the Americans say), recommending I get more exercise. This potentially life-threatening misdiagnosis led me to get more exercise but as cancer doesn’t respond to that, my problem didn’t get any better. However, a few weeks later, I sought out a second opinion from the ‘Hua Hin Polyclinic’, where the doctor actually took the trouble to examine me (something San Paulo seems reluctant to do) & then said he wanted to admit me to hospital for observation. I was duly driven by ambulance to Petchaburi & admitted. A day or so & a biopsy later, the doctor told me I had cancer in my oesophagus & that it would require surgery plus possibly radiation & chemo to get rid of it.
Believing that a small, provincial hospital isn’t the best place for a complicated & risky operation, I arranged to get moved to Bangkok, to the Bumrungrad Hospital, which has the oldest cancer centre in Thailand. I was admitted on the 27th (the day after my less than joyful birthday) & I had a CT scan. I finally had the operation on the 31st & then spent several days in intensive care. Now this meant that I was in my own private room with hot & cold running nurses — life can really be a bitch! I almost cried when the doc said I could return to the regular rooms! However, my stay in IC ended with a nice flourish — a bed bath administered by five lovely Thai nurses. It’s a dirty job but someone has to do it!
Anyway, I was wheeled out of IC to my new bedroom up on the 8th floor on the 5th & that’s where I stayed until the 14th. Since then, I have been at home recovering. It is a struggle, trying to get my strength & weight back. I presently weigh almost 20kg less than I did a few months ago but I am making progress. However, I am still ridiculously weak & just typing this is tiring me out. Therefore, please forgive me if this blog isn’t updated as often as it should be. I shall try to get back into the swing as soon as my recovery allows, but as I begin chemotherapy & radiation in a few days time, I have no idea of when that will be. Here’s hoping it won’t be too long! Anyway, thanks for your patience & understanding.
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