Not a good night. Doctors did not stay ahead of her pain by ordering continuous pain medicine thru her IV.Unnecessary pain, ironic since there are 2 RN’s in the room, the patient and her best friend. When you go to the hospital PAY ATTENTION!!!!!
She’s still recovering and trying to catch up on sleep. This is very very tough on her, and she is strong. Some tubes coming out, pain seems to be under control but need to stay ahead of it. Slow walks around the halls. Hopefully home tomorrow, we’ll know more in the morning. Many thanks to all for your loving comments, I have been reading them to her. Be safe. The Husband.
Thanks so much for all of your kind notes, good wishes, and fabulous humor. It has been an hellaciously long week, but I have great news to report: I’m going home from the hospital TODAY! (Silver Lining-SL for short) My cancer is Stage II b, caught early. (SL) I had one lymph node involved, which means that the cancer has metastasized, but not as much as it could have (SL). This also means that I will have to have some seriously kick ass chemotherapy (not so silver), to begin 4 weeks after healing from the surgery. Radiation is yet to be determined. The surgeons think that my wounds are healing beautifully. (SL) For this post, because I’m so F-bomb happy to be going home, I’ll wait to tell you about the abhorent pain management during the hospitalization. Right now, I’m fully focused on the Silver Lining: going home and early …
This category was inspired by the fact that I am a huge reader…or at least I dream to be. There is nothing more beautiful, soothing or inspirational to me than a wall of books. I’m a little (ok, a lot!) compulsive about mine: they are all alphabetized. In addition (full confession), I collect first edition, signed books. They are my treasures. I love every kind of book and author from Fancy Nancy to Charlotte Bronte. Her quote (from The Letters of Charlotte Bronte), “But life is a battle: may we all be enabled to fight it well!” seems very fitting right now. Fiction? Nonfiction? Love. Love. Hospice books? Wonderful (sorry if that throws you for a loop)! I have a newfound love of reading cookbooks. Perhaps this is because I have a dear friend who is a magnificent chef who inspires me. Plus, I love their beautiful photographs. Fashion and design …
It is sooooooo joyous to be home with my 4 3/4 daughter. (SL) I am in awe and deeply appreciative of her sensitivity and thoughtfulness. When I saw her for the first time, she said, “Can I give you a Monster Hug on your legs?” Absolutely! In discussing this unfortunate “lump” in the road, our 4 3/4 daughter and I are focused on finding as many silver linings (SL) as possible. One such SL is the fact that Mommy will be home everyday after school and all day on the weekends for the foreseeable future. This means that we will be able to do snuggle-buggle movie afternoons. How great is that? This is the preliminary list of favorites that we will be watching during my recovery. Silver Lining Movie List: 1. Shrek 2. Shrek II 3. Shrek III 4. Little Mermaid Beginnings 5. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. We call it …
Morning! Below is a quote from a dear friend of ours. It rings so true as my head is buzzing with lots of things, including anticipation, aggravation, motivation, frustration, eagerness, and an overwhelming feeling to let’s get things rolling. Thanks, JW, for the great perspective! Don’t rush the comeback. Win the marathon.
Let’s move onto something much more uplifting today, what do you say? For my 40th Birthday (in December), we were supposed to take a magnificent trip to New Zealand organized by the wonderful and amazing travel company, Indagare (indagare.com). For those of you who don’t know Indagare, it is my great honor and privilege to be able to introduce you! Indagare puts the magic, adventure and comfort back into traveling. The team is incredibly patient, generous, thoughtful, creative, connected and extraordinary! When I received my FBC diagnosis, one of my first unfortunate tasks was to contact the Indagare team (who had worked so hard on the New Zealand trip) to put a halt on our plans. I was devastated, for so many reasons, obviously, but not the least of which was because we were all looking so forward to this trip….I mean REALLY looking forward to this trip! Our 4 …
Despite ridiculous levels of pain (still working on this issue), today was a glorious, adventurous day. I walked around the entire periphery of our home and took in the beautiful sites. I was so grateful to be able to walk, take (the following) photos, look at the mountains and breathe the clean and gorgeous air. Now, it’s time to PASS OUT. Sweet dreams!
Food is one of my favorite pleasures in life. For the last year and a half or so, I have been about 85% vegan. I eat primarily fruits and vegetables, nuts, wild caught fish 2-3 times a week, and occasionally goat cheese. Now, I will admit that I do love a good cupcake, candy bar, glass of wine (or two!) and every once in a great while an In ‘N Out Burger-animal style, of course. Well, these treats have come to a complete halt since my diagnosis. Total, huge bummer. However, I’m still on high alert for Silver Linings (SL) as you all know…and this includes in the food department. One of the major (SL) of FBC has been the kindness and generosity of friends who have been delivering food during this recovery period. Everyone has been so incredibly thoughtful and loving and creative. One such example is Carrot-Lemongrass Soup …
I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they’re right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together. – Marilyn Monroe
