Such a day…TJC in the house, day 3; couple of departmental hiccups – my OCD is closer to the surface than I’d like. All of the great accomplishments just get tossed to the side of my mind when faced with these minor issues that of course, I’m already rectifying. The team outdid themselves today.
According to the panel of family, Easter dinner was good…I can’t vouch much for the flavors since my taste buds were fried after last year’s ‘adventure’ as I like to call it.
Might as well write of this now as it’s part of the journey of this blog. A year ago in the fall I accidentally felt a lump under my jaw; I say accidentally as I don’t normally poke around my body I search of lumps (except for random checks of the girls). Since I work in Radiology I sought some free advice and was steered towards an ENT who recommended biopsy, CT to seal the deal and the resultant minor surgery to remove the little fella. We always read/hear about the complications of any kind of surgery no matter how minor but don’t give them much credence as they are rare. I awoke to feel my airway closing and was quickly shuttled back to the surgical suite. Again I awoke but this time to feel a trach in my neck. I had experienced a bleeding event that compromised my airway. Story short, spent a few days in the ICU experiencing all the things the patients in my hospital do i.e. no having means of communication (asked for a white board, was given a few sheets of paper and the remnants of a pencil); no drink or food and no idea what the next minute would bring. The staff was great but they knew I was in the biz so I was sort of left to my own devices. I was getting IV fluids so had to TT a lot – experienced a lot of anxiety about pressing the call button. Also, the whole time, I was freezing. Day two after the deal I had to text my team as I had planned on returning to work straight away. Briefly mentioned my situation and immediately was blasted with much electronic angst, concern and e-visitors. Laughing was a challenge. I will say that I never needed anything for pain. Some surgeries are like that. On the third day (get the irony?) my doc came in and popped out the trach, told me what kind of cancer I had, how it would be treated, and released me. My husband drove me home on a bright, shiny snowy day. I looked like shit on a stick…face swollen, green/yellow, Frankenstein stitches down my neck and a hole in the middle of it and hair that needed a cut two weeks prior and had been washed with that waterless stuff (along with the rest of me). As soon as I got home I got my squirrely hair washed and figured out a bathing system. When all was said and done the most/best/important thing besides being alive was regaining the ability to bathe. No shower till the trach hole closed which took a bit of time since I talk too much. You’re supposed to put your finger over the opening when you speak which I didn’t do often enough. My voice gets croaky by the end of the day as I think they first tried to insert a breathing tube and scritched up my vocal cords. I received thirty-three radiation treatments at a wonderful facility where I was lucky enough to know the staff. I drove there before work each day, in and out in a half hour unless I had to see the doc. I resumed the practice of yoga each morning as after the first week of treatment I felt my neck begin to tighten up; I also found a great product, Bio Oil, to massage into my scars. It also seemed to keep my skin from looking burned. I still use it every day as everything continues to tighten up overnight. I have to be diligent with my dental care as I won’t heal properly in the radiated area of my jaw. I return to the ENT every three months for what I hope will continue to be good news.
I have taste ‘memory’ and an acute sense of smell; texture has become more important. Some foods are more and some now less palatable. What is truly miraculous is that my very favorite things (dark chocolate, my favorite beer – Keystone Light and chili spices) still taste great!
My taste buds and I have come to a meeting of the minds.
It’s so ironic that at this juncture I finally have all the food prep gadgets and cookware, wonderful herbs and spices, and decades of collected recipes all beautifully catalogued and ready to share; every day I snare another one to try and so appreciate all the food blog pioneers and those who have posted their faves and above-all, the reviewers.
I’ve always been just a web crawler but now I would like to share the fruits of my labor, as it were. I credit those from whom I’ve copied snippets or more in my BLOGROLL.
I’ve been sharing the recipes with family and co-workers since I began this project and they are well received for their ease-of-use, ingredient combinations or novelty.
Photos will appear at a later date – not of the prep steps but of random minutia that defines me.
I work in a 6 x 10 galley kitchen retrofitted with wonderful SS appliances and a non-granite Formica countertop befitting the space.
Whew.
If you happen to still be reading this I applaud your endurance.
Here’s the Easter dinner rundown – my next step will be to catalog the recipes as I do in my personal folder – still have much to learn about wordpress.
Broccoli Salad with Toasted Pecans
Serendipity 