I call this post shrinking and acceptance because both of these things have happened with my desmoid tumour recently! My tumour has been stable since the start of the year, not to mention continually shrinking, and this has helped me accept it as part of my body that will probably always be there, but now I feel confident that it can be controlled and I am under great care.
Tag: FAP
Appointments and adding a new doctor to my list every year.
Blood tests, so many that I no longer flinch when the needle goes in.
Confusion, navigating the confusing world of the unknown.
Dehydration and still taking a long time to realise when I am dehydrated.
Enduring the hard days.
Fatigue, learning that fatigue is much more than being tired.
Grief for my life before diagnosis.
Hope for more research, treatment options and my desmoid to disappear.
Intuition, knowing my own body and when something doesn’t feel right.
Juggling multiple things at once.
Kindness of people around me.
Laughter, it’s the best medicine for me.
Maturity, learning so much more about myself and what I’m capable of.
Nurses, being under great care every time I go for treatment, a procedure or surgery.
Operations and recovery.
Positivity, trying to be positive whenever I can.
Questions, endless questions.
Research, I’m great at searching google these days.
Support from my family, friends, nurses and doctors.
Trials, when you’re rare, you need to take experimental drug options that are available.
Ureteric stents to protect my kidneys.
Vacations to have something to look forward to (I would usually say holidays but I’ve already used H!).
Work, feeling lucky I can still work full time and have that routine.
X-rays and scans, “breathe in and hold your breath”….”breathe”.
Yearly endoscopies to check for polyps.
Zzzzzz on the days I need extra sleep.
I didn’t realise there were so many things and emotions I’d built up over the two years since finding out I had FAP until now, and a lot of my blog posts so far have been catching up on this time of my life that has been crazy and overwhelming at times.
Since sitting down to write this blog I’ve actually realised that 2017 has been a good year so far. A good year for me right now probably doesn’t look like the typical 27-year old’s good year, but given what was thrown at me in 2015-2016 I’ll take it. Continue reading
I struggle a lot knowing that I will live with my rare diseases for the rest of my life, while there are good days and stable periods – there will continue to be complications and potentially new things that are linked to FAP that will pop up. I’ll never be as care free and my life will never be as easy again as it was before I found out about all of this. Continue reading
Shrinking the Silence 