Link Love: Ahhhh… poo!

Well, that was a week. Turns out that pain and discomfort I’d been feeling which myself and my GP put down to my endometriosis was actually something wrong with my bowel. Sexy, right! In the wee hours of Friday morning I took myself off to the Emergency Department of our local hospital due to the increase in the severity of my pain. Thanks to the caution of the Emergency Room Doctor who could have sent me home with an outpatient referral for an internal ultrasound to check if I had an ovarian cyst but instead decided to have the scan done there in the hospital that morning they were able to pick up that I was going through a flare caused by having undiagnosed Diverticular Disease.

I’m not going to lie, it was a pretty crappy Friday. The ultrasound turned up a mass that required 3 technicians and a really serious looking doctor to decide that I needed to be sent for a CT scan immediately all while I was laying there pantless watching and listening. They couldn’t tell me what it was but the ever-so-helpful doctor that looked at the scans told me in a very serious looking manner that it wasn’t going to be something simple. It was at this point that I started mentally making a list of who’d get my fabric stash when I died of bowel cancer. There was a tense hour or so of waiting to be taken for the CT scan.

I had my first ever CT scan, not horrible but not something I’ll be rushing to do again, and then was sent back to the short stay ward to wait for the results. I cried. Not ugly cried, but it was more than I normally do in public. I thought about what life could mean if I was really sick. I panicked, and I prayed (a lot!). In the end, after a 2+ hour wait, my helpful support crew chased down the doctors to chase down my results. A very lovely young doctor broke the news to me that I have Diverticular Disease and the course of treatment. At this point I resisted the urge to kiss him and do a jig and instead settled for some poorly constructed jokes about bowels. Turns out that at some point I’ve put a small hole in my bowel which has healed itself (go bowel!) and that I’m going through a flare caused by an infection in my bowel. So totally not dying any faster than the average human – woohoo!

I’m not sure what the treatment is moving forward or the long term impacts, etc. I have a series of appointments and tests coming up over the next week or so that will help inform all the smart people in the room and will result in some pretty significant life changes I’d imagine. The irony of it all is not lost on me… I’m in an industry where because I’m 41 I’m considered “young” but I’ve just been diagnosed with a disease that usually doesn’t present until someone is 60-70 years of age. I’m also mentally shaking a fist at my uterus who I’m positive is behind this whole thing. I’ve been counting down to having my hysterectomy and therefore getting rid of all the “humiliating” aspects of my health (internal ultrasounds, pap smears, dealing with the monthly horror show that is my period, talking about my reproductive bits all the time) and living life without having to worry about scheduling yearly tests or being worried about an organ going rogue. And now here I am, three weeks out from my hysterectomy looking down the barrel of replacing internal ultrasounds with colonoscopies, possible bowel surgery and a lifetime of thinking about my poop. I’m convinced my uterus turned to my bowel and said “Hey Buddy, help a sister out would ya. I’m out of here in a month so it’s your turn to take over causing her grief. Do me proud!”

As much as I’d like to wallow in my cornflakes, I can’t because I’m so very lucky. I’m lucky I have access to universal health care. I’m lucky that the ER Doctor decided to change her mind and send me for the scan. I’m lucky I had a good friend who gave up her day to come and sit with me from the wee hours of the morning until the afternoon. I’m lucky that my Mother jumped on a flight and came to look after me. I’m lucky that my Husband was there to let me cry on his shoulder. I’m lucky that I’ve got the ability to do what’s needed. As easy as it would be to say “woe is me” nothing could be further from the truth. Regardless of what that outcome was on Friday, good, bad or devastating, it wouldn’t have changed the fact that I am one very lucky lady and I should never lose sight of that.

Today I’m off for the first of what I’m thinking will be many visits to doctors and specialists over the coming weeks so I’d better get off this computer and get on with my day. Wishing you a week filled with love, laughter and much fabric fondling!

Looking for a little 3D fun to add to your quilting projects then check out this tutorial on how to make a Somerset Star from Colleen at Busy Bean. Click here to read more.

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I love the bow-tie block and this free quilt pattern from Andy at A Bright Corner is a great way to start with this block. Click here to read more.

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People always ask me what they can do with the fabric Swiss cheese leftover from fussy cutting, Kelli from The Willow Market has a great tutorial on making and sewing with scrappy hexagons. Click here to read more.

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I love this Singing the Blues quilt from Brenna Goode on Moda Bake Shop. Click here to read more.

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Given the last few days I’ve been looking at ways to improve my diet and give my colon a rest and this slow cooker recipe for bone broth from The Healthy Maven looks like it could become a go to in this house. Click here to read more.

I love to share the cool things that I find during my week of surfing the internet window-shopping and splurging. Here’s my top 4 from this week:

A: I’m daydreaming: I love the work of Katie Sabin (to the point where I think I’ve become mildly obsessed) and I love that she’s now doing stickers. Click here to purchase this on Etsy.

B: I’m hoarding: Trust me when I tell you this – you need this in your stash, you’ll be sorry if you miss out. Click here to purchase this on Etsy.

C: I’m adding: I got some of the prints from this collection delivered last week and I adore them. Click here to purchase this on Etsy.

D: I’m loving: I love how fun and bright this print is. Click here to purchase this on Etsy.

• #100Days100Blocks2018
• Farmer’s Wife 1920’s Sampler Quilt Sew-along
• Sue Daley’s Round We Go

Have you got an event, a charity drive, a pattern release, a class schedule or something else that you think my community would be interested in hearing about? Why not drop me a line and let me know – I’d love to share it with my readers. Click here to email me.

• Deborah at Driftwood Quilting is hosting a limited places, Australian Only, Awesome Ocean Block of the Month Club and to celebrate she’s giving you the chance to win the entire BOM program! You have a 1 in 15 chances of winning the entire block of the month package when you sign up. You can find out more details by clicking here.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase those items through my links I will earn a very small commission. You will not pay more when buying a product through my link, in fact in some cases I can offer you a better price via an affiliate link. I will not recommend something that I do not use myself. These commissions help me keep being able to provide you with great content for free. Thank you, in advance for your support!