Okay so I was asked to give an update here too so...here we go.

It's been a rather rough two months since I last talked about this here. I was hospitalized from May 7 - May 14, and then May 15 - June 9. Basically, I think I wanted to sleep in my own bed on the 14th.

Here's what happened: May 7 I end up in the ER with what we think is another bowel blockage. I was in a good deal of pain before going in. Over the course of the week, it *seemed* to get better. Near the end, I was feeling hungry and was eating some solid foods. That's why I was discharged.

I went home, had dinner of some simple mac and cheese (wanted something soft). That night, I was in terrible pain in my gut. The next day, my home care nurse came over and rather quickly recommended returning to the ER. I did and was readmitted. They tried everything to get the blockage to clear up...and it did, but I still couldn't eat anything. Turns out, the cancer inside of me has hardened my small and large intestines to the point where they are VERY slow. They did a test they call a "small bowel follow through" where they put a lot of contrast into your stomach and then x-ray you every 15 minutes to see how it's moving. The contrast took 4 hours and 45 minutes to reach my colon. That's extremely long; it's supposed to take like an hour or less.

I haven't eaten solid food since May 14. I'm on a TPN for 12 hours a day to get the nutrition I need to survive.

Further, being admitted to the hospital delayed the start of my chemo treatments. The hospital I was at did not have any oncology nurses authorized to administer chemo. However, my surgeon contacted another local hospital and got another surgeon to take over my care temporarily because he didn't have privileges at this other hospital. The point of this was that the other hospital had a cancer ward so I could start chemo there. So I was transferred on May 21.

I had two cycles of chemo there before I was discharged on the TPN. Basically, the hospital couldn't do anything further for me in the short term, and having a chemo patient who is medically cleared to be discharged in the hospital opens them up to possible infections of...well, anything in the hospital.

I also have a G-tube sticking out of my stomach. It's normally a feeding tube, but for me, I use it to decompress my stomach when it gets too much bile in it, or if I feel like drinking something. I hook up to this bag and let whatever I drink to filter into that rather than into my digestive system. Otherwise, I get some intense cramps for about 4 hours.

I've had one outpatient chemo treatment so far, and that one was delayed a week because my White Blood Cell count was way too low to take the treatment. Thankfully, that count returned to normal the next week (actually it was very high that week).

There is positive news: I sought out a specialist after I was discharged from the hospital. I found one at University Hospitals in Cleveland who specializes in my specific type of cancer. He told me my cancer has two mutations that are directly targetable with specific medications that can be added to my current chemo regiment. He also told me he's had patients with my exact gut problems and those gut problems cleared up during treatment. My oncologist has this report and I have an appointment with him prior to my next chemo cycle. This specialist is acting only as a consultant at the moment.

Anyway, this has been very hard to deal with. Admittedly, some days I lay in bed and cry for a little while because I'm scared. It's hard to keep a positive attitude, but I have so much support from my friends and my family...it's very empowering. I was told there would be "good days" and "bad days." They weren't kidding. I really didn't know what that meant until June. They seemingly happen at random too, and it's hard to know how each day will go. But it really is a matter of taking it day by day.

Anyway, thank you for all of you who care and support me. Love y'all!