About a year ago, I was diagnosed with sarcoma in my left leg and metastases in my lungs. It's my cancer-versery.
In that year, I have had over 40 chemo sessions; been radiated over 30 times, had my world shrink to my apartment, then just my bed; have my world expand again to my whole apartment, then my neighborhood; lost a leg; gained a prosthesis; learned to walk with the prosthesis and a walker; learned to crutch with the prosthesis; spent lots of nights in hospitals; and spent most holidays in hospitals. This past weekend, I showered standing up for the first time in well over a year. It was thrilling. I haven't been able to stop talking about it.
After spending 9 months on Percocet, OxyContin, gabapentin, and morphine, I was so happy to be pain drug free in January. Now, I am back to taking 3-4 Percocets a day and choosing between reduced pain and reduced balance. Dr. Rubin said that the scans from last week did not show cancer anywhere but in my lungs. Yay! There is some activity in my little leg; I will ask her about it tomorrow.
Also, tomorrow I have my first mammogram following Herceptin. It's going to be exciting. I am probably going to sleep as soon as I get home.
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Family like crazy
It's been a busy, travel-y, family-filled week. I have been too tired and too busy to write about it, but I have to give it a try.
Last Friday, after Herceptin, my brother Jimmy and his friend Crystal drove to Philly to pick me up. We had a pleasant 2.5 hour drive up to my parents' house. The next morning, we drove another hour or so up to my cousin Denise's house. She hosted a giant family reunion. I enjoyed visiting with everyone. I even walked on grass (and on a slope!) for the first time. It was delightful.
Sunday morning, Jimmy drove me back to Philly. An hour or so later, Ken and I were headed to Wildwood to visit his family. I went down 2 flights of stairs at my parents' house, up and down my giant set of stairs at my apartment, and up 2 flights of steps at Ken's parents' house. That's a lot of steps!
Monday, we all headed to the beach. His young nephew wondered where I put my leg. I explained that it couldn't come to the beach with us. We got a beach wheelchair and Ken pushed it across the sand for me. It seemed really tough to move. I wanted to get in the water, but Ken didn't know a way to easily move the wheelchair closer. I played in the sand with Ken's nephew and niece, instead. We pretended that we buried my left leg in the sand.
Despite the umbrella, SPF 50 sunblock, and a t-shirt, I got sunburned. Stupid chemo drug side effects. It was so worth the beach trip, though. The next day, we walked about half a mile on the boardwalk. I was pretty tired that night.
Yesterday, I had physical therapy for the third time in outpatient. We are working on strengthening my right leg and stretching the left, but I wish we practiced walking more. I need more direction with it to get better at it.
Today, Ken drove Nicole and I to Methodist for a battery of tests. We got there around 9:30 am. After the injection for the bone scan drinking the most disgusting liquid for the CT scan, I had to wait for the chemicals to get into the right parts of my body. During the wait, I had the 2D Echo (basically a heart ultrasound) that left me feeling a little bruised. Then, I had the CT scan and the bone scan. I will probably find out these results next week.
Last Friday, after Herceptin, my brother Jimmy and his friend Crystal drove to Philly to pick me up. We had a pleasant 2.5 hour drive up to my parents' house. The next morning, we drove another hour or so up to my cousin Denise's house. She hosted a giant family reunion. I enjoyed visiting with everyone. I even walked on grass (and on a slope!) for the first time. It was delightful.
Sunday morning, Jimmy drove me back to Philly. An hour or so later, Ken and I were headed to Wildwood to visit his family. I went down 2 flights of stairs at my parents' house, up and down my giant set of stairs at my apartment, and up 2 flights of steps at Ken's parents' house. That's a lot of steps!
Monday, we all headed to the beach. His young nephew wondered where I put my leg. I explained that it couldn't come to the beach with us. We got a beach wheelchair and Ken pushed it across the sand for me. It seemed really tough to move. I wanted to get in the water, but Ken didn't know a way to easily move the wheelchair closer. I played in the sand with Ken's nephew and niece, instead. We pretended that we buried my left leg in the sand.
Despite the umbrella, SPF 50 sunblock, and a t-shirt, I got sunburned. Stupid chemo drug side effects. It was so worth the beach trip, though. The next day, we walked about half a mile on the boardwalk. I was pretty tired that night.
Yesterday, I had physical therapy for the third time in outpatient. We are working on strengthening my right leg and stretching the left, but I wish we practiced walking more. I need more direction with it to get better at it.
Today, Ken drove Nicole and I to Methodist for a battery of tests. We got there around 9:30 am. After the injection for the bone scan drinking the most disgusting liquid for the CT scan, I had to wait for the chemicals to get into the right parts of my body. During the wait, I had the 2D Echo (basically a heart ultrasound) that left me feeling a little bruised. Then, I had the CT scan and the bone scan. I will probably find out these results next week.
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