This Episode of Bluey is Called… Colon Cancer

This Episode of Bluey is Called… Colon Cancer

Bluey holds a special place in my family’s heart – as I’m pretty sure it does for all families that allow screen time.

When my son was about six months old, he had a nasty intestinal bug and was hospitalized for five days. We were in an interior room with no natural light and a television that didn’t turn on. The first night, my son ripped out his IV and when I woke up, he was covered in blood. It was terrifying.

I was in the throes of first-time motherhood and being in the dreary hospital while trying to pump, soothe my son, take care of myself, and not have an anxiety attack was a lot.

After a few days, we were moved to a room with natural light AND a working television. Up until that point, my son had zero screen time except for my weekly Below Deck episodes that I would watch while he was nursing or taking a contact nap. But when you have a six-month-old who has just started to scoot around everywhere that is now hooked up to an IV and a heart monitor, I think you are allowed some wiggle room with screen time.

I put on the Disney channel and Bluey was on. I’d never seen Bluey before, but I knew that my nephew and his dad were BIG fans. The two episodes we watched were “Bingo” and “Bumpy and the Wise Old Wolfhound.” The Bingo episode was sweet. I’m a little sister who looked up to my big sister, so I felt a personal connection to this one.

Then came “Bumpy and the Wise Old Wolfhound.” I sobbed. For those who aren’t familiar, Bingo is in the hospital in this episode. She’s sick and thinks she’s about to get discharged, but the doctor says she needs to stay for another night. The exact same situation we were in. My son couldn’t regulate his blood sugar or keep anything down. I’d think he was doing better, but once he was off the IV fluids, he’d crash again. At the end of the episode, the moral is that everyone gets sick and you have to get through it, but you are supported and loved.

That episode hit me right in the feels.

How did the Disney channel know exactly what I needed to hear at that moment? I became a Bluey fan for life. Fast forward three years. Now we have Bluey clothes, Bluey toys, Bluey Pull-Ups.

Bluey.
is.
life.

In February I was diagnosed with colon cancer. I’ve had Crohn’s Disease since I was ten years old, so this wasn’t a total shock. I’ve tried to have a sense of humor about it… after all you can’t say “butt cancer” without cracking a smile.

When I was first diagnosed, I had about a week of mopey days. I was able to pull myself back together for my husband, two kids, two dogs, and everyone else in my life. After all, just because I had cancer, life didn’t stop.

My kids are three and ten months old so explaining cancer to them was not something that would be developmentally appropriate. I would know. I have a Master’s in Education, a Reading Specialist degree, and I’m one capstone class away from getting my principal certification with an Education Specialist degree in Curriculum and Instruction.

We decided to tell my son that Mommy has booboos on her tummy.

Sometimes, Mommy’s booboos feel fine. Other times, they make her sleepy. Sometimes, they are ouchy. In March, Mommy needed to go to the doctor for a long time to fix her booboos and now she poops in a bag on her tummy. (That one took a while for his little brain to process, but a friend got us a book called Awesome Ollie that helped).

I started chemotherapy a few weeks ago. When they removed my colon, what they thought was Stage I or II cancer turned out to be Stage III or IV. The cancer got into one of my lymph nodes. Despite the tumor being small enough to not even show up on any scans, once the lymph nodes are involved, things get a lot dicier. They sent off DNA samples from my tumor and are seeing if that DNA is in some of my blood samples, but those results won’t be back until the beginning of June.

Whether it’s Stage III or IV, the treatment is mostly the same. 6 rounds of chemo for Stage III; 12 rounds and maybe radiation for Stage IV. I already have Alopecia Universalis so it’s cruel irony that the particular cocktail of chemotherapy that I’m on doesn’t cause hair loss.

When I was preparing for my first round of chemo, I took my kids to Target to get the necessary supplies. Snacks, Gatorade, a new cozy zip up jacket, and Tagaderm patches for my chemo port.

When I went to grab the Tagaderm patches, my son saw some Bluey band aids. “Can we get Bluey?” We have band aids at home, they are just the boring tan fabric ones because I’m allergic to something in plastic band aids. I explained to him that band aids are for red booboos, like when we fall on our nightly family walk – which happens sometimes when he’s too wobbly in the evening… a direct result from skipping his nap. I’m not sweepy. Yes you are.

We looked at his arms and legs, and then did the same for my daughter. No red today. But then he said something that brought me to tears in the pharmacy section of Target.

“Mommy, they’re for your booboos.”

What did I do to have a son that was so sweet? He can be a handful, don’t get me wrong but he has the kindest heart.

Now Bluey is not only life, but also my mascot in this fight against butt cancer.

I proudly wear a Bluey band aid during each of my chemotherapy sessions even though I know the adhesive will give me a rash. I’m thinking about painting some of my ileostomy bags with the different Bluey characters – I have visions about creating one of Bandit doing the sprinkler like in the opening credits. And somehow or another, whenever the Disney channel is on in the pediatrician waiting room, or on the electronics section of Target, “Bumpy and the Wise Old Wolfhound” is on.

I need to get outta here before I start crying again.

About The Author

Amelie “Molly” Zamora is a wife, mom, camp director, colon cancer patient, and wannabe writer. Her oncology therapist told her to start journaling. She told her no way, but writing on her Substack daily has helped.  If you like her writing or want to read about the time she shit herself in the Vatican, feel free to check out her other work at https://substack.com/@hiihavecoloncancer