Life’s a Beach

~ Debra Mesecke

Sea bird

The day began with a visit to my surgeon to oversee how I’m tracking. She removed all the patchwork dressings and replaced them with only 4 (one over each wound). The dressings have been quite restrictive and caused some painful traction blisters, so for them to be removed was instant relief. My next appointment is in a week where she will need to drain some fluid build up from my back, where the muscle was removed. She confirmed my back is now my front, and I voiced how pleased I was I didn’t have a hairy back! I mean you never know, while on these hormone blockers what will result. The expanding valve on one side seems to be a little twisted and red, so I remain on antibiotics, as radiotherapy can make that site immune deficient due to lack of blood supply. Other than that she seemed pleased. The scars look really minimal which is quite extradinary and I have reduced my panadole to spasmodic, maybe only twice a day now. However it has slowly dawned on me expansion of the skin will probably not start until I’m completely healed which will take a few months. I was definitely under the allusion it would all be quicker than that. So we went to the beach.

After making me lunch due to me being fairly restricted from reaching, stretching, bending, twisting or lifting, my man took us to the beach. What a glorious day for it and Murray was as thankful as a hooker on her pimp’s payroll. We then had a pash after spotting some dolphins.

Murray fetching his ball from the oceon.

We then dropped in to get my promised This Is Us downloads of season 4 and after I managed to jump out and scare my friend’s unsuspecting daughter arriving home from school and my dog rudely refusing a doggy treat, we headed home to finish watching the midday movie we’d taped. Yes, Todd too… there goes his reputation.

With Todd gone to LFC footy training and Foster at GFC footy training I was left to finally watch a Netflix down load I’ve been dying to see Ronny Chieng international student. An Aussie/Asian comedian, the show’s premise being international Asian students under pressure to be the smartest by their meddling international parents who are worried they’ll get a girl pregnant, but can’t stomach alchole because of their liver genetics. Hilarious. Have got to get Foster to watch it!! Stereo types bonanza. Foster’s life story🤯

My neighbour then dropped in and shared with me her amazement on my progress, given she has had a friend with similar surgery only a few months ahead of me. It does not cease to amaze me how connected we are in our spiritual beliefs and was a welcome chat on another level.

Flowers arrived today from RSB, which was so lovely to know they have me in their thoughts, on a sad note though, no more Holden – what is more an Aussie icon to us than this?😞

RSB Tynte street flowers 💗💐

A day at the beach is not complete without a spot of dolphin spotting

Happy days xx

Published by Debra Mesecke

I was 21 and I was planning a wedding, buying a house and had a job interview for the job of my dreams on my 22nd birthday.  You see I was being made redundant and had to find a new job by August.  Especially with the new mortgage now.  It was April.  I worked for CML and my new job was a done deal.  All I needed was a medical.  And with that, just like that....my life was turned upside down and I was diagnosed with CML, ha ha, I know the irony.  My hematologist had a laugh at that too.  I had Chronic Myeloid Leukeamia, which was normally reserved for 70 year old men.  Quite rare for a young adult to get, so how would they treat it?  I underwent two separate trials until finally it was decided my best chance of survival (all be it only 50% chance), would be a MUD BMT (matched unrelated bone marrow transplant), now known as VUD Allograt (volunteer unrelated donor).  I was told 21 years ago the chance of finding a match was 1 in 20,000 (and that is everyone was on the bone marrow donor registry).  Scary odds. So being the risk taker I am I said "go for it".  They found a match and that was my first miracle in this journey.  The second miracle was, it worked - new blood type, two different DNA profiles and the miracle of medicine was reborn inside me.  The third miracle is my son.  25 years on, I now face a new challenge.  Breast Cancer.  Certainly not the first person to have cancer, to have invasive ductile cancer, hormone receptive and HER2 +, or to even have a dual diagnosis.  But this is not another Webiste about a cancer survivor, this is just my excuse to finally publicly write.  Along the way I  am hoping I can share some insights I have learnt over the years and at the same time, give you a good belly laugh.