Great Progress!

Tomorrow will be five weeks since my surgery. I am doing really well. We had great news from Stanford. The tumor was removed and all the margins were clean. I’ll have several scans next week, but we are hopeful that the results will show no more evidence of disease. 

In regard to the incision’s healing, there are still places that are sensitive and a tad painful, but considering the size and scope of it and the surgery, I think that’s to be expected. Every day it feels a little better. Progress!

I do still get tired each day, my energy level has been improving. I’ve been taking short walks since the day after surgery, but this morning, I took the longest yet. Jim and I walked a little over two miles!! That might not sound like much, but it really was exciting for me! We wouldn’t have won any speed races, but that’s ok! Being able to sustain that distance, and not have to crash into a nap is definitely a win at this point. My goal is to be back up to an easy six miles by the end of the month. 

The hardest thing for me right now is that I am feeling stronger, but I still have to live by the cautionary rules. I’m still limited in how much I can lift, so it isn’t like I can start doing regular chores. My mind is ready, but it’s been drilled into me that everything inside won’t be fully healed for quite some time still. So, I wait. I’m bad at waiting. I’m bad at not overdoing (yes, I can admit it!). Please pray for me because it’s a daily mental and emotional struggle as I see the incision heal and I feel stronger. 

Thank goodness for Jim. He has been amazing through everything. He has taken care of me and everything else,and he puts up with my disgruntled mumbling about the things I wish I was ready to do! I am very blessed.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Cyberknife

Image
While we don’t have a lot to say, it’s going to be at least a few weeks yet before Kristi’s next full body scan, so I thought I’d send a little update.  Last Tuesday Kristi had an MRI focused only on the tumor(s) on her vertebrae. This was in preparation for a Cyberknife (directed radiation therapy) she had on Friday.  The MRI showed significant growth of the tumor(s) on her spine. This makes us anxious for the full body scan that is not yet scheduled.  The Cyberknife procedure was not too difficult, and the side effects seem less that we were expecting. Although, she says it feels like someone hit her on the back with a bat and she is a little more fatigued than usual.  The goal for this procedure is pain reduction. The general consensus now is that her regular “back pain” must be from these tumors. If this procedure doesn’t have any pain relieving effects, she will be having a different treatment from a Stanford pain specialist in the near future.  We just hav...
Read more

Treatment Changes on the Horizon

Image
Jim and I have recently returned from a wonderful road trip. We visited 21 states, some of which neither of us had ever seen before.  The very first day of the trip I had several appointments at Stanford. One of those was to have my PET scans done. We received the results and I met with my LMS specialist to discuss them earlier today.  There were a couple of results that we enjoyed reading. Namely, most of the tumors in my lungs remain stable. It’s always good news when lung tumors aren’t growing.  Unfortunately, the good news ended there. The scans found that I have many new subcutaneous tumors in a variety of locations across my body. I’ve had several on my scalp for the past year or two. There are quite a few more there. They’ve also begun growing in several muscles. Perhaps the most disappointing are the numerous new metastases growing in my bones, notably in my vertebrae and hip bones. Those appear to be growing aggressively with many new tumors needing our attention...
Read more

Scan Update

Image
When I was a little girl I used to tell my grandfather, Papa, about all the books I read and the fantastical places in those books. He told me, “You have wanderlust; don’t worry, you'll see the world someday.” Well Papa, I’m giving it one hell of a go!  A pic from our recent trip — standing in the smallest country in the world.  As many of you know, I had my full-body scan earlier this week, and we received the radiologist’s report today. The scans revealed growth in the existing tumors, along with the appearance of several new ones. While this isn’t entirely surprising, it’s still disheartening. I’ve noticed that some of the tumors on my scalp have grown significantly over the past few months, and I feared they might reflect what’s happening with the internal tumors as well. If you’re not familiar with it, Leiomyosarcoma is a miserable and aggressive disease. That said, I’m grateful that the tumors in my lungs, according to the pathologist’s measurements, don’t seem to have ...
Read more