iwantmorethanapinkribbon
  • Blog
  • My story

Recovery

4/6/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
Hi Everyone,

I've decided that surgery that removes something that is supposed to be removed from your body (i.e. babies born via caesarian section) is  much easier to recover from than surgery that removes something that is designed to stay in your body (i.e. ovaries). 

It's now the fifth day since my surgery.  I feel "okay," but it's a "meh-okay."  My right side hurts more than my left.  The pain level is very manageable with ibuprofen . . . and I've not even taken that for a day or so.  However, I just don't like feeling uncomfortable in my skin.  It hurts when I first stand up or sit down and it hurts when I get out of bed.  If I don't move, everything's fine!  :D

I've been resting a lot.  I'm not a very good "rester," but when my body doesn't have a choice, that's just what it does.  I have gotten together with friends, so I haven't been cooped up in the house, but I've been far more tired than I'm used to.  Thus, I'm posting a picture of Jesse in his curled up resting position . . . nothing shows contentment like that, does it?

I've been continuing in my Bible project and am now midway through Exodus.  So far, I feel like I'm learning a lot about the Hebrew story-telling tradition . . . there's a lot of repetition of details!  I can see why people question some of these details as some of them appear to contradict themselves.  An example of this would be that the fifth plague of Egypt supposedly killed all the livestock of the field (Exodus 9:7), but in the seventh plague, the Egyptians are warned to bring their livestock in from the fields so they wouldn't die in the ensuing hailstorm.  Where did the livestock come from?  Same goes for the horses that pulled the 600+ chariots in Exodus 14:7 . . . where did they come from?  How were those animals spared from the plagues of the land?

I'm not really looking for answers to these questions.  (Perhaps horses aren't considered to be "livestock" so that takes care of that question, anyway!)  The bigger picture is so much more important that being mired down in details.  However, I'm enjoying the details that I'm encountering through this method of study.  I look forward to writing out the Bible each day and if I happen to miss a day, I feel like I have missed out on something.  It truly is a special way to read God's word.

My mind played head games with me this week.  As I sat in our living room, I had an almost blinding realization that I still have cancer.  Yes, I *knew* that, but I think I had slipped into a "surgery-is-used-to-remove-cancer" mentality.  If I had to go through the pain and recovery of surgery, then surely that is because cancer was removed.

No.  Not true in my case.  My ovaries were removed to shut down estrogen production in my body.  My cancer is fueled by estrogen, so the removal of the ovaries is to close off a fuel source.  I am continuing to take an anti-estrogen medication and will most likely switch over to a different kind that will address estrogen produced elsewhere in the body.  The goal of the surgery was not to remove any cancer, although biopsies will be run on the ovaries to see if they had any problems.

I so want this cancer to be gone.  I consider it to be a plague in my body.  I continue to ask God to remove it and I ask you to be faithful in asking the same thing.

The next step is my scans on April 19.  I will have a PET/CT scan of my whole body and I will have an MRI of my neck and spine.  Hopefully, the results will be available for my appointments on April 22.

Rachel asked me if I was anxious about the scans.  Anxious isn't really the word I would use.  More like "impatient."  I want to know what God is doing in a physical way in my body.

Michael is dealing with a sore throat and I have a tight feeling in my chest (been going on for a couple of weeks).  Tis the season for allergies and whatnot.  Rachel and Art are well.

As always, thank you for joining us in our "walk on the Wen side."  I'm not sure how much I will post before the 19th, but we'll see.


0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    God's Story

    _I believe we all have a story. This blog records my story and how I've lived with breast cancer both as a primary disease and a terminal disease.  I believe this is all a part of God's story for my life. This blog unapologetically includes all areas of my life: my faith, my family and my advocacy for change in the metastatic breast cancer world.

      

    The Best Metastatic Breast Cancer Blogs of the Year
    Healthline

    Archives

    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012

    Categories

    All
    Blood Test
    Breast Cancer
    Chemo-cap
    Chemotherapy
    China
    China Post Office
    Construction
    Fish Testing
    Hair Cut
    Hair Loss
    Her2
    Hong Kong
    Humor
    Joy
    Losing Eyebrows
    Nadir
    Pink Ribbon
    Shengli
    Staging
    Starfish
    Symbolism
    Tnm Rating
    Tumor Shrinkage
    Victory
    White Cell Count
    Xile

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.