I Am Linda

My Dad's 80th

It took some time for me to look and feel like myself.  I was more tired than usual for several weeks after surgery. I presumed that had to do with the residual effects of the entire ordeal the 6+ weeks prior, the effects of the surgery, the anesthesia, the pain and the frustration.

Everyone I ran into, especially on campus, was incredibly supporting.  I was to learn later that some of them were concerned because I looked tired.

On June 4th my sister threw a party for my Dad, who turned 80 on May 26th.  I had already decided I would not bring my 3 dogs to the event.  They require (demand) a significant amount of attention and effort normally, but even more so when they have lots of people around.  Combine that with my sister's 2 dogs and you have a pack that can drain all the energy from even the most active souls. 

I headed up the road to North Carolina and met my cousin in Savannah where I was scheduled to pick up a driver to help me with the tip.  I wanted to be in 'party' shape when I arrived and I figured a nap on the way would help.  My cousin Dan and his wife, Nicky, have 3 boys Sam (19), Alex (18) and Ben (16 at this writing).  I figured one of them would like to log some windshield time. 

As it turned out, Dan drove my car and we had some great conversation all the way up to NC.  Unfortunately, that meant that I didn't get my nap and I looked tired when I arrived.  I suspect I would have looked tired anyway.  Though everyone was great and we had a good time, Nicky later pulled me aside and admitted that I looked tired and everyone was concerned.

No kidding.  I HAD BEEN CONCERNED FOR WEEKS!  :-)

Bless their hearts. Throughout this I have learned how loved I am by those I call my family and friends. Somehow I knew, but I don't believe I could feel the love before.  Now I can.  What a wonderful revelation this has been.

Catching up with the story ---

I find it hard to believe it has been so long since I sat down to write ....

I remember the weekend after surgery  being  a bit like waking up from a  bad dream.  Since it had only been a couple of days the pain was very real and the narcotic pain killers, though wonderful at removing any care I had about what I was feeling, also had an unpleasant side effect for me.  They turned me into a cranky bitch.

When I was 'on them' I was a great deal of fun - kind of like I am normally only much more carefree :-).  When they wore off I turned into an evil doer who snapped at everyone - well actually just at Jerry since he was the only one around.  Fortunately, I am very aware of my behavior most of the time and when I made the connection after just a couple of days I backed off of them.  Unfortunately that meant that I was in more discomfort than I needed to be. 

I also tried to push things a bit.  Dr. Edwards said it would be a long weekend and then I could begin to try normal ADL's (that's activities of daily living for you non-healthcare types).  He did warn that I wouldn't be doing any heavy lifting, controlling 200 lbs. of dogs or be back to yoga for a few weeks.  This wasn't quite the way things went for me. 

I was disappointed that I didn't get back to things as quickly as I wanted to.  I remember a tearing sensation at the site of the incision on my right side on Sunday - a complete accident if there is such a thing. I went to flick a bug with a fly swatter and that slight action was all it took.  I'll never know what exactly happened, but that side --- my right, of course ---- seemed to heal much slower. 

All the reading I did indicated that the quicker I could begin use these muscles and my arms again, the quicker I would gain full range of motion and strength.  Not one to wallow in too much pity for too long, nor to accept limitations, by the end of two weeks I felt I was 80% back to normal.  At the end of 3 weeks I was at 90%, hauling wood, pulling weeks, mowing the lawn and walking dogs.  There was still some discomfort, but nothing that was severe and it waned each day.

My follow up appointment with Dr. Edwards was on 5/23, so between the 12th and then I removed dressings (probably sooner than requested) and pulled off steri-strips.  There was only one incident where a spot at the original incision site started to bleed slightly.  Otherwise, I was healing great.

Dr. Edwards gave us the good news - not a thing to be found in the lymphnodes and clear margins around the tumors.  There were good prognostic indicators everywhere.  The next step was to meet with the medical and radiation oncologists. 

On to the next scene in my dream.....