The support and love we have received from family and friends has been very humbling and encouraging. Thanks for all the kind words, prayers, and love!
August 31, 2023 Is It Really the Five Year Anniversary of my Cancer Diagnosis Today?! 8/31/2023 Five years ago today, this gem of a photo was taken: That photo was taken just before I went into surgery to remove an almond sized lump from my right armpit that multiple physicians were confident was just a fatty deposit. Little did we know when the photo was taken just how much our life together would change following that surgery. I still remember coming out of anesthesia and Kim telling me that my uncle had informed her that what he had pulled out was cancerous. I remember spending days wondering what the biopsy would reveal and hoping that it was a “good” cancer to get, only to find out that it was one of the “bad” cancers to get: melanoma. Not just melanoma, but melanoma that was already in an advanced stage given that it came from a lymph node. Fortunately, my naivete prevented me from responding the way the rest of my family responded. I just figured I’d beat it and move on. As we b...
So on October 31st, I had an appointment with the PA for my back doctor. I had emergency spinal surgery on February 10th to remove a lesion that was compressing my spinal cord. The compression caused me to lose movement in both of my legs and the ability to urinate normally. So that was almost 9 months ago. Unfortunately, I still struggle on a daily basis with pain at the incision site as well as extreme soreness and discomfort in the muscles between my shoulder blades. The pain at the incision site is a random, all day type of pain. The discomfort between my shoulder blades tends to get worse as the day goes on. The more I do throughout the day, the worse the pain is. In fact, there are times that I struggle to stand up anymore because the pain is so much. I'm not an expert, but I had assumed that after 9 months this type of pain would have been resolved. I know the muscles in my back are being asked to do more and to adjust, but I thought that would have been resolved a while ago...
On July 9th, I had another infusion and x-rays for my arm. This was my first infusion wherein I would be awake while my port was accessed. I had been told to use a numbing lotion prior to the infusion being done to help with pain. I wasn't really sure how to respond to that...it is just a poke, right? Anyway, I did end up putting on some numbing lotion prior to the infusion. Did it help? Well... Who knows! haha The nurse that worked with me that day was excellent! When she found out it was my first time having my port accessed, she was really great at slowing down and explaining everything to me. Fortunately, I had learned that I needed to wear a 1/4 zip top for easier access without stretching my shirt neck. I STILL had to stretch the 1/4 zip top so that she could get the bandage on to hold the needle in place. Speaking of needle... It doesn't look like a normal needle. It looks much bigger! haha When she stabbed me with it (I use that term intentionally...), it was somewhat...
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