Trying to Think of a Word Besides “Update”
But I haven’t. Thought of a word besides, update, that is.
Anyway… I have been trying to squeeze in a bunch of adventures while I can. A few weeks ago I went to the Big Island with Mic and two of my girls. My vacations have changed drastically, but I am learning to slow down, to enjoy relaxing and to bask in the company of my family and friends. Last weekend took me to Las Gaviotas just south of Rosarito with Mic, two of my kids and my brother and sister-in-law. Tomorrow I’m headed to Carpinteria with my oldest, Marisa, for a one-night getaway. In a few weeks, I’m planning on going to Oaxaca with girlfriends! Ambitious, I know. ;)
In between these trips (which are really just excuses for extended time with loved ones) I mostly rest and go to the doctor. Some medical updates for those of you who like all (well most) of the details:
A few weeks ago I had a CT scan to see if my neck radiation damaged the arteries in the back of my head. It did not damage them and is not the cause of my episodic head pain. However, during the scan, my arm vein burst and the CT contrast fluid leaked into my arm tissue and hit a nerve as well. It’s hard to explain how frightening and painful this experience was. Unfortunately, weeks later I am still dealing with nerve pain in that arm. It should heal up eventually.
The day before leaving for Hawaii, I had the head pain thing and barely got packed in time. While in Hawaii, I slept a ton, but felt pretty good!
I’ve been having chest pain. I have tumors in my sternum and ribs in that area and also in the lymph nodes around the heart. There is no cancer in the heart or in the sac around it. Tomorrow I am seeing a cardiologist again just to double check I’m not having heart problems.
Yesterday I saw my oncologist. She is scheduling a PET scan very soon to see how the treatment is working.
I think I may be adding a new-ish therapy soon called hyperthermia. It is used some in Europe and Mexico. There are only 15 places in the US using it and one happens to be in Santa Monica! If it help me, it should help with pain and also slow the growth of my tumors. They will probably target my liver. I’m excited to try this. The daily drive to Santa Monica for eight weeks, not so much.
I think I’m doing a little better mentally. I’m getting used to the changes in my life and finding great peace in trusting God.
So that’s about it. Thanks for reading and for praying for these things. I’ve got some new content in the Shadows section… here’s the link… Lessons
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