A bit of a ‘life’ update this week, my scheduled operation for my tumor removal got cancelled, a couple days later I tested positive for coronavirus for the first time…it’s been a bit hectic.
It was Freda’s (my 4 year old daughter) first ‘test’ day at her new Primary School, we left with plenty of time and I was feeling a little anxious about having to eave her as this would be the first time. I remained strong for her of course because whether or not she would show or say it, she was a little nervous as to be expected. I’d been driving for about two minutes when the hands free started ringing, I answered, it was Broomfield Hospital explaining that my Surgery date had to be cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances.
Unforeseen Circumstances – One of the most annoying ‘reasons’ whether in writing or when telling you because this doesn’t actually give you an explanation at all! However, it really doesn’t matter what the reason as the outcome still remains the same, so when or if this happens to you, don’t be too upset about it or demand proper explanation.
I cover all this in my latest video, I’ve gone back to picking up the camera – really trying to get back into it because it’s something I really enjoy but can be difficult to do with the little ones as I’m sure you can imagine. If you prefer to watch rather than read…
After informing everyone that my surgery had been cancelled and I’d not been given a new date, a few days later I then started getting some strange aches and pains, my nose was rather stuffy and I had a temperature which is nothing like my ‘normal’ when I get unwell. I decided to do a lateral flow test and to my surprise it was positive! This was my first time catching covid.
During this time I decided to phone the Hospital and ask what this meant for my operation. They told me the current rules meant I had to wait seven weeks from the positive test to get booked in for my operation! Another seven weeks! By this time my pre-op assessments would have all run out and I would have to start again (they last 12 weeks). There was nothing I could do about it, if those were the rules then I had to accept it and move on, so I did.
My Symptoms
As I’ve been videoing and trying to keep a form of diary of this time in my life I thought it might be interesting to share some of the side effects or symptoms I seem to get, some of which are really strange.
- On a couple of occasions upon waking up I haven’t been able to open my mouth straight away, it can be very stiff. I think this happens when I roll over onto that side of my face in my sleep and stay there. The first time it happened I almost panicked, imagine opening your mouth first thing to take a breath and you can’t! Scary.
- Headaches are becoming more common for me, especially after doing housework or things that require a lot of movement. If I’ve been crawling around playing with the girls I can start to get a headache and the pain starts at my lump and radiates up to my head. Luckily paracetamol seem to sort this out rather quickly.
- Most recently I’ve had some issues when it comes to swallowing food. I had to phone and ask about this one because it makes me feel like I’m going to choke. Apparently because it’s a tumor on my salivary gland I could have an excessive amount of saliva (TMI ALERT) therefore when I’m chewing my mouth may think it’s time to start swallowing but I haven’t yet chewed my food as small as you should. I have to make a concentrated effort to not swallow yet. Another strange one, but I’ve just been making sure to have smaller mouthfuls because this one really freaks me out!
- General pain and ache around the tumor itself.
That’s it folks! Just got to get through the next seven weeks, get booked in yet again for another round of pre-op assessments and push for a new surgery date.
In the video above towards the end I inserted a clip from March 2020 and the difference in size is crazy – you never would have noticed it back then, take a look and skip to 6:34 if you’d like to see the difference.
See you in the next one, thank you to all who continue to encourage and support me.
Keep smiling and pushing through!
By Leander Rose 
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