It's a chilly November day about 3C outside, with fallen leaves everywhere and a fire keeping me warm in the lounge. My Dad has just arrived and is taking over care duties from my brother Andy who has done an incredible job over the last few days since I arrived in Ludlow on Saturday.
I'm glad to say that all went well with the big operation a week ago today. I was under for about 8 hours starting at 10am and the early reports are that the surgeon removed all of the tumour, and we will get the full pathology results on Wednesday 16th back in London to see what the margins are. The really good news is that I can open my mouth 40mm, so that's good enough to get food in. So, my ability to eat normal food and an increasing appetite has helped me recover much more quickly than the surgical team, and we, were expecting. Without a shadow of a doubt my strength and conditioning from all the exercise I've been doing played a critical role in getting up and about, and creating new goals and targets each couple of days. I felt the Shropshire Hills underneath my strong thighs as I pushed hard to get out of the bed on Day 2, and each lap of the hospital ward with my Zimmer frame reminded me of countless miles I've done over the last months in sun and rain. I don't think I really knew at the time how much they would help me.
The right side facial nerve has been removed as expected so I have a drooping right side of the face. Two lengths of nerve were grafted in from my right ankle to try to restore movement, and the theory is that as the nerves grow 0.3mm a day it will take around 6 to 24 months to get this back. My right eyelid has maintained connection to other nerves somewhere and is able to close 95%, which makes sleeping and hygiene a lot easier. My vision is fine, with slight blurring in the right eye due to the creams that are put in every 4 hours to keep it clean and infection free. Talking is fine, as are taste, and swallowing. My right side hearing is temporarily blocked to about 10% by padding. This is because to get access to the base of the facial nerve to make a good connection for the graft they drilled into the bone behind the ear, and as is usual in this procedure they drilled through the ear canal creating a hole. We don't want infection getting into the ear canal then to the site, so that's why it's packed while the hole heals and seals. At one stage last week the packing was removed, and my hearing was better than it has ever been, so in 10 days when they take the packing out I'll be looking forward to bionic hearing. In fact if anyone is in need of a Six Million Dollar Man for parties, I should have the red tracksuit sorted in about two weeks.
Lara and my great friend Robin were waiting when I was rolled up to Wilson Ward where the staff took great care of me (favourite meal by far was Friday night Fish and Chips with Morphine) for the next 6 days until Saturday just gone when my brother picked me up in his car and drove me home through the sunshine to Ludlow, accompanied by a suitcase filled with NHS drugs. The elation I felt standing at the front of the house looking at things like the drain pipe that dips and fills with water that I need to fix, smoke coming out from the chimney, and my beautiful wife and son welcoming me home was on a par with George Bailey returning home at the end of 'It's A Wonderful Life'. Buckets of tears flowed from my eyes.
So, that's all for now. Computer time is limited per day, as it's quite tiring. I saw some scary things and had some tough times through last week, but all your incredible positive messages of love and support in the last few months kept me focussed.
Best wishes, Ashley.
