September 2012: Pain in my legs, unable to walk, lateral polyarthritis: 8 days in hospital and 6 months of anti-inflammatory medication.
December 2013: My mother died of a long battle with cancer 7 days before Christmas. Two days before her, my uncle also passed away from cancer. For several weeks, I had been experiencing stomach pain. Stress, no doubt. On December 9, I had a colonoscopy, 1 polyp removed, everything was fine. On December 24, my stomach was hurting more and more. This Christmas is so sad. I’m in pain, but I’m holding on for my children, for my family. On December 25, at the end of the day, everything happens quickly: the doctor on call, then the emergency room. It’s my appendix. During the operation, the surgeon tells me that my colon is strange, but given the circumstances, he won’t tell me anything more.
January 2014: Three weeks later, I have a follow-up appointment with the surgeon. He is very compassionate, and everything is organized. My partner and I don’t understand anything. An appointment is scheduled for February 13 at the nearest specialist center. It’s a shock. We can’t delay. We have to go to the appointment.
February 2014: The doctor tells us about peritoneal pseudomyxoma, HIPEC, an operation on April 22, 2014, surgery, chemotherapy, and a long period of sick leave. We don’t tell the family anything so as not to worry them, just mention a rare disease and gelatin. We got organized, reassured everyone that it wasn’t cancer…
April 2014: April 22, an operation lasting almost 7 hours, three days in intensive care. I don’t know what caused me the most suffering: the physical pain or the emotional pain? The feeding tube or the delirium caused by the morphine? All the repeated vomiting? Three weeks in hospital, a second operation… A big thank you to the doctor, who was very humane, to the nursing team, to the psychologist.
July 2014: I went back to work part-time. I had to, otherwise I would have gone crazy. I had to keep my mind busy, stop thinking. The return was difficult: difficulty concentrating, fatigue setting in too quickly… and finding my place again despite my doubts.
September 2015: Another bout of polyarthritis: this time, my joints hurt and one of my fingers is deformed. Is there a link with the pseudomyxoma? It’s hard to say; some doctors think so, others don’t. I took up watercolor painting, no longer waiting for retirement.
April 2016: I’m doing well. I’m going back for a scan soon. During my last visit to Villejuif, the doctor said that my disease had been caught in time (low grade) and that I should recover. However, I have to continue with checkups. Each time, I live with the fear of the results.
During the winter of 2013, my life changed. We think we control things, but we control nothing. We endure, we do what we can, life decides… We are not all equal, we all have our share of hardship, we must enjoy everything. Don’t put things off until tomorrow. Make your dreams come true.