The trip, my birthday and the hernia

Thank you all for the well wishes and prayers

Here's a link to the pictures from our vacation:
http://pub6.bravenet.com/photocenter/album.php?usernum=467787591#bn-photocenter-1-1-467787591

Okay so we headed out of here July 7th and had a wonderful drive to Sedona, AZ. We listened to Bill O'Reilly's book on tape "Bold Fresh" the whole way and interspersed with Sirius satellite radio comedy channels. I also kept an eye on the "Outside temperature" the rental mini van had. I was like dying of anxiety when we hit highway 17 and it was 116, but by the time we got to Sedona it was "only" 103 LOL.

First night we went out to eat, came back threw bags of ice we bought into the hot tub and turned the temperature down and soaked for awhile, went in and went to bed setting the alarm for 4am the next morning.

July 8th, my Birthday: We woke up at 4am and got ready to go to the Grand Canyon and our Raft Ride Tour. Well we went the wrong way (South) on 39A instead of North on 39A so we were like an hour behind on the time of getting there on time (We were told it would take 2 - 2 1/2 hours to get there) Tom did his best and took the straight aways and curves like Mario Andriette when we got turned back in the right directions and passed people like they were standing still. We were supposed to check in at 6:30am and leave at 7am. We got in the Grand Canyon park entrance at 6:40 and had 8 miles to go to where we would check in and we got lost getting to that point. The tour bus passed us leaving to go to the river raft.

I had a panic/anxiety attack and Tom went in to talk to the tour people. They refunded all the money and Tom and I just did the free bus tours around the South Rim of the grand canyon. I was amazed that there was no fencing around the edges and neither me nor Tom went right up to the edge, me cause I am a klutz and would have fallen off the edge and Tom because he was keeping an eye on me. Then we headed back to Sedona.

We had a wonderful rib eye steak dinner at the Cowboy Clubs Silver Saddle Room and they gave us gratis a wonderful dessert we took back to the room for my birthday. We spent an hour or so in the once more Ice cooled down jacuzzi then umm did other things (WEG) before falling asleep

July 9th: We went on a jeep tour, some smooth riding and some off road riding and it was so great, we learned a lot about Sedona from the guide Matt. Then we went horseback riding and again had a great time and our guide Paul was great although we should have gone with the hour ride instead of the hour and a half ride as at the hour mark I was dealing with pain in my back and ankle, and nearing heat stroke. When we got back to the "corral" instead of going on to the ranch for the "Cowboy dinner" I asked Tom if it was okay if we went back into town to get the rental mini-van and head back to our B&B. He was worried about me and since the tour guide Vinnie had no other guests he was very nice about getting us right to our vehicle. I was hurting by this time and already had given myself a shower by dumping bottles of water over me so we just went to bed and slept for a time (Tom took a shower before this) and then we got up went and got some take out and ate and went back to sleep.

July 10th: We went and ate in the B&B's breakfast room as we had the day before and again were served a wonderful three course breakfast by the french cook. Believe me this was no continental breakfast and it was delicious both days. Then we headed home and listened to the comedy channel and talked all the way home, it was a wonderful vacation even with the glitch and my overdoing things and I am the luckiest woman in the world with a boyfriend like Tom and had the most wonderful 50th birthday ever.

Right after we got home my hernia acted up. That night I had to take vicodin throughout the night to knock myself out and the next morning Tom had to take me to the hospital. They gave me dilaudid and the emergency room Dr. manipulated my hernia back in where fat and stuff was supposed to be. They admitted me for the night for observation and Tom stayed with me except to come home, feed the cats, get the computer and then came back. Was in a room of my own and they brought in a recliner for him to sleep in. They took me down for a CAT scan and the radiologist showed it to me, yep everything popped out again. So its back up to the room and a fitful night of sleeping with morphine shots. The next morning my Oncologist came to see me and said it was not "surgery" worthy (the hernia) and he would rather I not have surgery at this stage anyway (I start back on chemo this coming Monday) and my fricking surgeon never showed up so by noon I was fuming and threatening to leave on a AMA (Against Medical Advice) when an Asian Dr. I remembered from the emergency room signed me out. They gave me a girdle type thing to wear and that was it. So I am going to do some more research on the hernia and follow my primary care/Oncologists orders on it but I am a bit confused about it. It's an abdominal hernia (to the left of my belly button) and quite large but unless my intestines or bowel or something poke through and get strangulated I guess they are reluctant to do anything about it because of the cancer and the chemotherapy.

So there you have it. All in all a wonderful trip, a horrible coming home but I am feeling better and Tom has admonished me not to do anything but rest this week so I have to be a good girl (uck).