It is snowing again, yesterday (Sabbath) we enjoyed intermittent heavy snow and beautiful sunshine. We planned to spend the day worshiping with our dear church family across the mountains. Alas, Cat Lover's bug proved contagious to Harpist and Rocket. So with three hacking, wheezing, low energy children, we decided not to reintroduce the bug to the general population. Many thanks to our friends for being realistic about when we'd truly be back at church. I tend to be too optimistic when major things come along.
It seems my only malady at the moment is a growing case of cabin fever. A town day this week with three doc appointments should fix that and send me scurrying for home. Since there is a town day this week, today is a school day. Given all the interruptions this school year, it is amazing the progress some of the children are making. We are doing school every day possible during this quiet lull. The quiet ends Tuesday and life starts to pick up steam according to our family calendar. Every quiet day we get from now to the middle of April is to be cherished.
In the mail Friday, came a package from someone DH talks about frequently, but whom I've never met. It contained a sweet note and a book written by a friend of hers. If you are a cancer patient, family member or have a friend with cancer, I recommend this book. Titled, The Elephant in the Room (Bob Riter) it is a down to earth, practical book about dealing with cancer. I've laughed, cried and said "that is so true" all at the same time. Bob writes from the dual perspective of cancer patient and cancer patient advocate. It's a unique combination that adds perspective to the journey.
Some more portions of life are returning to normal. My range of motion is probably close to 100%. My energy level allows routine daily activities as long as I do not put to many of them in one day. For those who know me well, this is highly unusual behavior. I love to find my limits and then stttrrreeetttcccchhhh them. Not this time. Inventor told me the other day I was becoming more "laid back". I actually took it as a complement!
The swelling under my arms and over the implants continues to decrease. My arms say they are tired of sticking out at odd angles to accommodate swelling, but the mirror doesn't totally agree with their assessment. My arm regular arm exercises provide the most relief.
Speaking of sensation observations, my chest skin is mostly numb. This was expected, but nonetheless must be dealt with. In some areas I can feel touch, but in most areas all I can discern is pressure. It is the same under my left arm where the lymph node biopsy was done. At least the shooting nerve pains are now few and far between and the muscle spasms are dying down. A cancer sister who is year ahead of me says more changes and sensations are to come. My left incision finally stopped draining, which means the incision is fully closed now. I think those pesky 5 inch incisions look really good, you'd probably disagree. But I compared them to the pics from the week of surgery, and trust me, they look great! The two incisions I'm not so happy about are the lymph node biopsy site and one of the drainage tube sites. I'll see what Dr. N has to say about them. She'll probably tell me to be patient. (Not one of my better virtues.)
A friend motivated me to get started on the nutritional aspect of my cancer follow up this week. I look forward to sharing more ideas with her. I've also been given the green light (by my doc) to take off a little more weight. I even have a deadline! Thanks to the friend who pointed me to a safe and healthy way I can do that weight loss without interfering with my healing.
I am now walking the children 2 times a day and DH is usually walking me in the evenings. The purpose of his walk is to improve my endurance. We also enjoy the talk time, the quiet snowy road and just the chance to hold hands. Cancer brings a deeper appreciation for enjoying the journey and not just looking forward to the destination. Hmmm...that thought might become an essay.
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