Slowly Healing!

The days continue to improve. Last week I could barely work two hours at a stretch and this week I can pretty easily work 3-4 hours at a time. I am improving much faster than I anticipated, but I still have to make sure to rest when I come home from work. My nature is to just keep pushing and get more done when I get home, but I committed to myself to rest and heal and allow by body time to regenerate so I can work again the next day. I realized again how much I love my job, love the work that I do, and am excited to get back to my regular life. I know I need to have patience, and give my body time to heal, so I am taking my own advice and working, then resting, eating right, exercising and going to sleep at a decent hour. At this rate, I’ll be back at work full time before I know it.

I can’t even express what it means to have my boss let me come back to my job at Kadlec. They are like my family and being at work this week was like going home. It has meant so much to me to not have to worry about my job while I have been off trying to heal from this awful disease. Wendy has done such an outstanding job keeping everything together; she has made it easy for me to slip back into my work. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to express my gratitude to her and Rand and the part that they have played in my healing process. Would I have been able to succeed in my battle if I was worrying about where I was going to work when it was all over or fretting about who was taking care of my board members? It is another factor in this miracle of miracles; such an awe-inspiring wonder to be a survivor. I’m alive, and plan on being alive for countless more years.

I received my first dose of Zomeda yesterday. That is the drug that I will be taking by infusion every month for the next two years to keep my bones strong and hopefully prevent me from developing any more bone metastases. It only takes about 20 minutes, so I was in and out of the cancer center in under an hour. This also alleviates the need to get my port flushed every six weeks. My mediport will be staying in indefinitely, so to keep it flowing smoothly, they have to flush it every six weeks if it is not used. But taking Zomeda every month takes care of the flushing. The side effects of the Zomeda are mild to moderate flu like symptoms for 2-3 days. I have to confess that it’s hard to tell the affect that it is having on me since my body is still pretty achy from the chemo. I think this month will be the hardest dose, after this it will get much easier. I think in future months I will have my infusion and then take Tylenol for a few days to chase the achys away. I can handle that.

Slowly my body feels like it is healing. The lymphedema is pretty bad in my right arm and hand, and I am having to wrap it every night with multiple layers to keep the swelling down, plus wear a sleeve and a glove during the day. I have had some mild swelling in my right arm, and even my feet swell. This has typically happened the third week following the Ixempra. I think that this drug is just so toxic that my lymph system just gets overloaded trying to flush it out of my body. I am hoping the longer I am off the Ixempra, the more the lymphedema will improve. It can be fairly painful to have that much fluid in your arm and hand. It is sore to the touch and sometimes will just throb with the force of the fluid. I am doing physical therapy once per week to try to keep it under control. I am hoping a few more weeks and the swelling will come down by itself. Other than that, my limbs still ache, but nothing like they did even a week ago. Each day is an improvement and I am gradually coming off the pain medicine. I am looking forward to the day when it doesn’t take a fistful of pills to get me through the day, and the only think I am taking is my prilosec and a handful of vitamins!

I know I have been remiss in my blogging, I have heard from many of you, and it made me realize how much you are all still pulling for me, still praying and sending me positive energy. That energy will be as much a part of my healing in the coming months as it has been in my survival of the last 10 months. I can’t thank you enough for keeping me in your thoughts and know that you will be instrumental in my return to work and a normal life. I promise to do better keeping you posted on my progress and my thoughts as we going through this beautiful spring season. I look outside and see the sunshine and I think…What a perfect day to be alive!!