Next question I am asked 'what I will be having done today?' which I tell the nurse 'that I am having the cancer removed from the roof of my mouth. I believe they are going cut all of it out, and repair the hole with an obturator.' 'Yes' the nurse says, 'Sharon you will be meeting up with your doctor and his team shortly.'
She then goes on to take my blood pressure and temperature and records these on my chart. Next thing she is placing a tape measure around my calves, the nurse has to have the correct size for my surgical stockings which are put onto my legs up to my knees. (These are put on to stop me from getting any blood clots during surgery and while I am in bed not moving.) She replaces the blue socks/boots on my feet as well as putting a blue cap on my head. She then asks me to remove my earrings, which I do. I place these in my glasses case and the nurse puts one of my name stickers on it, you can take these in with you, leave your hearing aids in, we will take them out later. Greg is taking some photo's of me and we also take one of us both together. The time is now getting close to 8am and the nurse says the Doctor's are always late but this morning, is not the case as next thing Dr Martin and his team arrive. They make there way over to both Greg and I. Good morning Sharon how are you this morning? I reply very nervous and scared. Dr Martin says that is normal, but we will take good care of you. He then goes on to say what he is going to do today. A shake of his hand and a see you soon and he is off.

15 minutes later I am being called in, I give Greg a hug and he says good luck kido, see you later. I walk away with the nurse leaving Greg in the waiting area. I'm taken down the corridor and turn left into the pre-admission waiting area were other patients are also waiting in beds ready for surgery. I get up onto the bed and a couple of nurses come and have a chat with me, asking again my name and date of birth and what I am going to have done to me? They also take my blood pressure and temperature and one of them puts a warm blanket over my legs, as it will get cold where I will be. Now the butterflies are starting to appear in my stomach. You need to relax Sharon as my blood pressure is a bit low from nerves, just take a few deep breaths. About half an hour after entering the pre-admission waiting room, I am pushed down a long corridor to the operating theater door No 6, as I'm wheeled around to my operating theater one of the nurses tells me that there are 40 operating theaters on this level alone.

I believe there will be three teams working on me at one time. I am pushed through a set of doors into a side room where I meet another team of nurses and specialist.

A nurse asked again my name and date of birth and what I am here for? I tell her may name and date of birth and I am going to have the cancer taken from the roof of my mouth and they will be putting an obturator in as well.

She then goes on to say that she will be looking after me all the time I am having surgery as she is the Anesthetists nurse.

She places a board under both my arms and asks me to lay my arm out onto these, which I do.

This is so we are able to put all the cannula tubes into your arms and they stay attached while we work on your mouth. She then takes my mind off what is about to happen by asking me 'what I have been doing' and I tell her about my volunteering as a turtle baby sitter at Bundaberg, while I am talking to this nurse I have not realised that I have just had a cannula or fine plastic tube into the vein, I did feel a small prick in upper arm where they had inserted the needle and cannula. The Anesthetist says that all is done and he will see me inside, hope all goes well with my surgery

The theater nurse asked me how I am feeling, I say very scared and nervous and she tells me that is normal and that they are about to move me through the next set of doors to the operating room but before this happens, we are going to put some mild anaesthetic into your arm. I feel them inserting some anaesthetic into my left arm, just to relax me before going into theater. The blanket I have over my legs is filled with warm air another special item to make me comfortable while in theater as it gets rather cold in there so I am told. I am still able to see what is going on but a lot more relaxed. The butterflies are really turning in my stomach as I am wheeled through the big double doors. I notice the large theater lights above the operating table and I see a few familiar faces, Dr Martin Batstone and the Anesthetist are two faces I know. I also noticed there quiet a few extra people or teams that will be working together to remove my cancer.
One of the nurses asked me if 'I'm ready to be moved onto the theater table?' 'yes I reply.'
To move me from one bed to the other, they place an extra large board under me, I help them by rolling to my left while they place it under me and then roll back onto my back again. someone says on the count of three ready, (on hearing this, the team of theater nurses which are all around the table, each grab hold of a section of the sheet that is under the board.) 1-2-3 I'm being pulled across to the operating table, again I am rolled to my left while they remove the board, then I am lower back onto the operating table, I feel the coldness of the operating table through the sheet, which is rather cold after being on the nice warm bed that I was brought in on.

While they are making sure all things are ready, I have a face mask put over my face. I remember hearing someone say 'just breath normally Sharon and count backward from 10,' I think I got to 7. I don't remember anything else after that, except to find myself lying in bed feeling rather groggy with Greg sitting near me saying 'good day Sexy! How you feeling? Not being able to talk I smile at Greg and give him the thumbs up. You made it.' He tells me that all went well, Dr Martin had already spoken with him after surgery, it was a 6 hour operation and they believe they got all the cancer.

They have cut all the cancer out from my mouth roof palette and also part of my nose, and to block where they have taken the cancer from my mouth, they have inserted an obturator (dental plate with out teeth) this will remain in my mouth until the second part of surgery which will happen in the new year.
Also to drain all the fluid and blood from surgery, they have put two tubes in my nose, I look like Miss Piggy not the best of looks but that's life when you've just had surgery to remove a very aggresive cancer.

The first few days after surgery, I was not allowed to talk, I had to communicate via a ewriter writing board. a modern verion of the old slate board. I had a lot of dry blood going down the back of my thorat and I keep writing/telling the nurses and Dr Martin that there was something stuck down my throat making it hard to breath.
The nurses did their best at sucking out any dry blood with a tube attach to a sucking line but it was not until I was allowed to do it myself that I was able to clear the dry blood from the back of my throat.
Due to the large amount of cancer they took out of my mouth, and to stop infection. I had to eat my food for a few days via a feeding drip that was in my arm. It was wierd watching the liquard go from the bag hanging on a hook, go down the tube into your arm rather than down your throat. After about five days, they did remove the feeding drip from my arm and I had to learn to eat food again. Clear thin liquards at first then soft puree food.

I had to learn how to swallow and try as I did, it was hard with a big whole in the back of your throat and two large tubes coming out your nose causing the liquards or food to go up your nose first, before going down your throat.
I hated this happening but had to learn to live with what was happening at present and it would improve as time goes on. The first few days it was painful to chew and swallow even though it was thin clear fluids, This went on for about a week before they finally removed the tubes from my nose, it did make things a bit easier, but food, blood and liquards would still go up my nose first, its was hard to keep things down as well. Trying my best to eat and not be sick. I had lost a lot of weight during the past two weeks and Dr Martin Batstone said that to be able to go home I had to be albe to eat and keep down the soft puree meals. These meals were pureed food eg sausage and vegs but not the way most people know food to be, it was all pureed up, when it was presented on the plate it looked like the real food only very soft.

DR Martin Batstone gave me the all clear to go home christmas eve. I was great to be going home and getting out of hospital.
Greg did his best back at the van to make my food as soft as possible using the blender to puree all my meals.