Good Days & Bad Days

Looks like I’ve gotten a little behind in keeping all of you informed as to “what’s happening”. Sorry, but when I thought about blogging, I wasn’t feeling very well, and then……….I’ve been resting a lot and probably just a little bit lazy.

The appointment with my oncology surgeon (Dr. Mann) in Seattle last Tuesday went well. He says that I look better every time he sees me…….but remember, the very first time he saw me I had that terrible infection and the abscess had blown a hole from gall bladder into my liver. I was one very sick kiddo. Anything would be an improvement over that! I was told that I had healed very nicely and that I no longer had to wash and scrub my fruits & vegetables with soap and water before eating them. That’s been a real challenge for me, but I try to do what I’m told.

He looked at the CT scan and said that there was “something” there, which could or could not be cancer. He said it probably is just scar tissue from the surgery. I may find out more on that when I see Dr Haque (my Tri-Cities oncologist) next Wednesday. Dr. Mann also said that he would be very highly suspicious of the back pain……meaning that it may be cancer-related. I too have been highly suspicious of the pain, especially since it really just started being a major issue in the last 3-4 months.

I did get a prescription for a pancreatic enzyme, which hopefully will help with my food tolerance issues since losing part of my pancreas. Unfortunately, I haven’t yet been able to get that prescription filled. First, the pharmacy had to order the drug in overnight. So when I went back Friday to pick it up, I was told that the dosages didn’t match and they were trying to contact Dr. Mann for verification that what they had would work.

I also got another prescription for Percocet, so I’m good on the pain medicine for a little while. Last night I ended up taking 3 pills within about a 5 hour period, but it finally did the trick. Nice to be able to sleep, because I cannot sleep when the pain is bad.

I let Sue do most of the driving on the way home Tuesday, and I was still exhausted when I got home. I didn’t even pick up my dog until Wednesday. Then Wednesday night I just couldn’t sleep AT ALL. I must have migrated back and forth from the bed to the couch at least 8 times during the night, including one time I even tried lying on the floor. Very miserable. By the time I got up Thursday I was feeling nauseous. Probably from all the meds I tried to take to get comfortable. That was by far my worst night ever, and I hope never to have to repeat it.

I also got a prescription from Dr. Mann for 3-months of physical therapy to see if that will help my back. Unfortunately, the earliest they can see me is February 1st. That means I have to wait one more week. Hopefully the PT will give me some relief.

Oh……..Dr. Mann also told me that it would be best if I followed up the chemo with radiation treatment. I truly was hoping to avoid that, but he said with my kind of cancer it was best to hit it with everything they’ve got. I just need to make sure how long the radiation treatments will be and what the recovery time is after treatment. Because I really don’t want to feel lousy heading into this summer’s trip to Europe.

These last two days I have felt much, much better. And the weather has been warmer, so that helps too. I’m going to have to start brushing some horses, so that when it warms up enough, both the horses and I will be READY TO RIDE.

Love to all in blogger-land.