NOT QUITE UN-GROGGIFIED... BUT ALMOST

Greetings from Loveland, Ohio, my hometown. Snow is on the ground, Dad has been chopping wood so we can relax by the fireplace every night, Mom’s been cooking my favorite meals, and Dave has made himself available so that we can hang out whenever I feel up to it. Everywhere we go, of course, everything is red and green and glittery—Christmastime is here and I feel like Halloween just ended. Time flies when you’re doped up on hydro-morphone, I guess.

So here I am—back to the keyboard (for the moment), typing with all five fingers on my right hand and my left forefinger. I’ve been anxious to post again but pain, weakness, nausea, and meds-induced haziness have kept me away, kept me sitting quietly in my father’s Lazy-boy, drifting in and out of consciousness, the barf-bin nearby and the containers of meds (ten of them in all) lined up neatly on the kitchen counter. It’s December 21st (the one month anniversary of the surgery), and I’m back.

Now, this isn’t going to be a long post—I have very little news and even less energy—but I wanted to give you a quick update on how things are:

Since we arrived here from NIH two weeks ago, I’ve only ventured out of the house a few times. The scar is healing up nicely and the neck pain is beginning to ease. My legs have been bothering me a little—much like they did back when I was on chemo—but I’m hoping they’ll feel better after I get myself moving a little more. My first weekend here I started vomiting constantly and ended up in the emergency room getting hydration and anti-vomiting medication (more on that in subsequent posts)… The vomiting is pretty much under control now and everything with the GI track (ahem) is good too. My left hand is still significantly weaker than it was before the surgery, but the Hand Specialist I visited here in Cincinnati doesn’t think that physical therapy will help. He said that the hand will probably strengthen up on its own as time passes and the nerve pathways heal. This sounds logical to me but I’m still going to see another doctor, a rehab guy, to see if he agrees.

All in all, I’m feeling okay—just very weak, very tired. My life right now demands a lot of patience. Everything takes more time—walking up stairs, getting in and out of cars, putting on my braces and shoes and taking them off…. I need more help with regular, everyday stuff and I need more rest than I ever have before. I’m just healing I suppose. As people keep telling me, recovering from major surgery isn’t easy.

Regardless, I’ll be posting more soon—I promise. I want to talk in detail about the last month, tell you about it all from my perspective, and share more with you about recovery and healing.

For now, MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY CHANNUKAH! I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday.

More soon,
D