Juuuust right

"I just want to get back to the stage where I'm just doing chemotherapy."

I actually found myself saying this to a friend recently.

This thoracotomy recovery business is for the birds.

Here, we'll give you this big bottle of pain medication. We really don't want to refill it, so don't use it too much...but don't use it too little either. Use what you need, but then wean yourself off. I call it the Goldilocks approach to post operative pain management. Only I can't seem to find that perfect titration that is juuuuust right.

On the upside, I must say that my 12-inch scar looks really nice...as surgical scars go. It has a real artistic arch to it. My surgeon's best medium is definitely human flesh.

The tissue assays still have not come back from the large nodule taken during thoracotomy, so we are still waiting to see what chemo blend will be recommended for me. My surgeon says he wouldn't have recommended starting chemo for at least a month after surgery any way, so I don't feel like I'm loosing any ground waiting.

In other news, I'm seeing a new gynecological oncologist next week...I guess for a second opinion. I don't think she's any better a doctor than my current physician, but given that my current oncologist's practice shuts its doors officially tomorrow, I thought it good to have a back up plan.

Well, I'll leave you with that. It's time to go see if I can measure out some porridge that is juuuuust right.

Trying to get my blogging groove back

My day started with Paul telling me I had bed head.

Think about it.

Yes, hair has been sprouting back in all sorts of desirable and unwanted spots. (Why do chin hairs have to be some of the first to reappear?)

I'll get you up-to-date and explain why I'm not getting too attached to any of my newly sprung hair yet.

I'm at home, recovering well from my thoracotomy, which took place April 18th and kept me in the hospital for five days. I did have a minor set back which landed me back in the hospital for a few days more, so some excess fluid could be drained from my chest cavity. But all is well now. Apparently, this just happens after thoracotomies sometimes.

I do tire very easily, but I'm needing less and less of the pain medication...my excuse for not blogging much lately.

The pathology results from the thoracotomy are still incomplete. We do know there were no cancer cells discovered in the two smaller nodes the surgeon found during the surgery. However, there were some cancer cells still found in the larger nodule, even though the most recent PET scan showed no cancer in that nodule.

We are waiting on the complete tissue assays of those few remaining cancer cells to help my oncologist decide what kind of chemotherapy I need next. I'm guessing as soon as the results are in, I'll start chemo again...and loose my ability to have bed head...again.

We should know any day now.

It's late but we're home

Not all questions answered yet, but all is well for another day.

Short, likely typo-laden, update

Well, I'm still at Northside, but there is progress. CT indicated some fluid had collected in my lower right chest cavity. Had that removed this afternoon. Immediate relief!  Hoping I can go home tomorrow while waiting for test results.

Lastest unfun developments

The last couple of days have been difficult ones. I've had a hard time managing my pain medications, and I've been getting increasingly short of breath and increasingly short of patience with my iPad's autocorrect feature.

I have been at home recovering from my thoracotomy procedure since Monday, April 22nd. However, since increasingly frustrating episodes of shortness of breath, Paul and I decided a trip to the hospital's emergency department today was a good idea. Nothing's seems to be of a dire nature, but I'm being kept overnight for observations.

My main complaint is that I can't quite gets my words to come out the way I want them too.

Will keep you posted as medical science and social networking capabilities improve.

This is what I've been trying to get out for at least three days now

Iced. …-_q1




Truly. I've been drooling over my iPad, and I'm convinced this phrase is somehow linking me to the universe. I can't just delete it and move on.

I've also come to understand the two greatest inventions in the history of humankind are Spanx and OxyContin.

Blessed

There's no more appropriate word to describe how I feel right now.

I got a reasonable amount of hospital room sleep last night. All my tubes and connections were removed just a little while ago, with the exception of my oxygen level and chest monitors. I'm almost free to roam the corridors at will.

Thank goodness Paul went home to sleep in his own bed last night. He'd have an apoplectic fit every time I moved in my hospital bed to reposition myself, afraid I was disconnecting some sort of life essential line or probe.   I think today will be much easier for him too.

But, back to the blessed concept..a surgery that turned out to be routine. A recovery that already has me doing laps around the hospital corridors...ok, they're very slow laps with a walker, but they are laps nonetheless. The nursing staff is absolutely top knotch.

And later today, Paul is bringing the boys for a visit.