Tuesday, August 25, 2015

A LOT Happened


But first let me introduce our 4 generation picture.  Here you meet Scarlet (6 months), her mother, my granddaughter Megan, me, and my daughter, Lisa, who is Megan’s mother.  We all have the same smile so you can see we are related.

Now for the reason I have been absent for so long.  At the beginning of June I started feeling “down.”  I wasn’t depressed but I had no energy.  This was followed by an increase in my sciatic pain.  Now I do have to confess that I tend to not like to see doctors so each time my sweet husband suggested making an appointment it was swiftly rejected.  This went on all month until one morning when I threw my arm between two fighting dogs and felt a sudden pain.

After figuring out I had not thrown my arm out of the shoulder socket it was decided I needed to go to the emergency room where I was told I had broken my arm. Who knew? The problem was that I did this on Friday and the orthopedist was not available until Monday so I went home and suffered.  But on Monday I met Dr. Holland at his office and he sent me straight to the hospital where I had surgery this next morning (after x-rays, blood work, and much poking and prodding).

Now, as if all that wasn’t enough, the next day Dr. Holland came in to tell me that he didn’t like the look of my bone so he took a biopsy and it revealed that I have cancer.  To say I was thrown doesn’t even touch my feeling.  I was later to learn that I have breast cancer and it has migrated into my bones throughout my body.  I am told that because it is so widespread, and has done so much damage to my bones, it is incurable.  However I am taking medication to attempt to stop the damage and repair my bones as much as possible. I have been referred to a great oncologist, Dr. Boatright  (very direct but with a sense of humor).  I was in the hospital for 11 days and came out with a whole sack of pills (anemia, blood pressure, heart, magnesium, potassium).  And I found myself on home health because I was so weak.  

So for the last month I have been working on building my appetite and finally getting enough strength to get out of bed and do some walking.  I even went to the studio for two days for some knitting and a little sewing.  And then all my fun stuff came to a crashing halt. 

I went back to the orthopedist and after he saw the new x-rays he said he didn’t want me walking.  It seems my left hip is greatly impacted and he is afraid it will just break under my weight (I have lost 10# so you would think that would help).  He wants to do a hip replacement now rather than having to do it after a break.  I agreed and yesterday so did the oncologist so I am just waiting to hear from him as to when to go back into the hospital.  I really hate hospitals!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, that’s what’s going on with me.  I hope soon to be able to get back to being creative: I’m pretty bored with lying around.  Gari