Six Down Three To Go!

Hello fellow stitchers and friends!

I hope you have a cuppa handy as this may be a long post, but I promise pictures too, so sit back and I'll tell you a little tale of my week...

I finally got some stitching in last week. Whew! I really WANTED to stitch, the mind was willing but the flesh was weak! LOL I think I finally got around to it Sunday. You can't keep an addicted stitcher down! So here is my progress on my violet sampler. I really love this one!! Thanks again Pat!!

I had a visit from my co-worker who had a little gift for me. This little mouse is hand made, and when Christina ordered it she told the lady I was a cross-stitcher and about my diagnosis. So she stitched a pink ribbon on the front of this mouse. She also told Christina that she had donated part of her payment to cancer research. I just loved this little mouse, it would have been such a sweet gift, but with the rest of the story it has become very special! Thanks Christina *hugs* and big *hugs* to the lady that made it!!

Monday I was supposed to go for a physical therapy appointment but a phone call mid morning put a squash to that. For a strange reason (later explained but not THAT day) I had been discharged from the clinic. Five phone calls later (after already getting paperwork from my surgeon to say I could RESUME physical therapy) I was notified I needed more doctors orders and a referral. My primary physician is usually only working Tuesday and Thursday and I knew I would have to wait at least one day so I cancelled my appointment. The director called me back (she left a message because by that time I was so ticked off I didn't want to talk to any of them for fear I would become verbally abusive..yes I DO have a temper! LOL) and when this whole PT experience is finished I will then tell her what I think of her clinic!! *sigh* Even though I missed that appointment I spent several hours on the phone trying to get paperwork together and trying to find an answer to the discharge. That was exhausting!!

Monday wasn't a total waste though, because I got some surprises in the mail. Abi sent me a homemade birthday card and some silk to go along with it. The card is so precious Abi and the silk is lovely. I'll have to find something very special to stitch using it. I just love the colors!! Thank you so much! *hugs* I am blessed to have so many talented friends! I also received a juicy letter from Mouse. *hugs* I am so far behind in my letters and thank you cards, I hope you all understand life is just out of control at the moment but I'll get to them as soon as I'm able. So here is a picture of Abi's card and the silk.

Tuesday was a trip to the Plastic Surgeon. He had to check out the gallbladder surgeon's handiwork...LOL...and I was told I was healing well. He was surprised at the size of the one incision but when I read the report it said my gallbladder was 14 cm long and the largest scar is 18 cm long so that makes sense. When you consider it's supposed to be the size of a plum, you could say it was a LITTLE enlarged!! I got a fill up and was told we aren't there yet. I am finally beginning to look like a more woman then a cross dresser! LOL The good news is the pathology report said that though the gallbladder was purulent, it wasn't cancerous. *Huge sigh of relief* The Doctor had also said he checked the liver and the kidneys while he was in there and everything looked good. Always good to check things out visually. Did I mention that one incision was extremely small just above the belly button. There was a staple straddling it, right where a belly button ring would go? DH thinks I should get a belly button piercing there. Hm....what do you think? I have to say that staple bothered me the most, it rubbed against my clothing and eventually got infected (another week of antibiotics...oh joy!!). I don't know how people wear them....it drove me crazy! No offense to those that wear them... you have my admiration... but the irritation would drive me nuts (not that I'm not there already!) LOL

Wednesday was my PT appointment. With documents in hand I had to fill out all the paperwork again and the first appointment was a re-evaluation. I had lost some range of motion because now when I raise my arm over my head on the right side it pulls the incision OUCH. I'm sure that will get better though. My arms measured equally, so the wrap did it's job and I'm back to wearing just the sleeve!! There was great rejoicing! LOL I learned that because I was admitted to the hospital that my account was reassigned to the hospital and in order to resume PT I had to resubmit all the paperwork and have my account switched back to the clinic. I still see other doctors at the medical center so I'm a little suspicious of that, but when in Rome...

Next was a trip to the radiation oncologist. I love that doctor!! She seemed very harried and was called on the intercom several times. She's popular and I'm very lucky to have her as my doctor! She told me that it was a very gray area and there was only a 5% less chance of reoccurence with having radiation, but there are a lot of short term and long term effects that would have minor and major consequences. The surgery and chemo and hormone therapy would probably take care of everything without the radiation, but there is a slight chance it won't. Decisions, decisions. I was even told that I may have been cancer free after the surgery and that everything I do now is like buying insurance. There does come a point when you have bought too much. I'm seriously considering skipping the radiation and DH agrees. The only thing that scares me is that one of the tumors was very close to the skin and the chances of a few microscopic cells escaping is slight. Would chemo and hormone therapy take care of that? She seemed to think it might. I hate making these decisions!!!

After those jolly experiences I ran to the lab to have blood work taken for the next day's chemo. We left right at rush hour so spent some time listening to Mamma Mia soundtrack in the car on the way home. LOL We stopped to pick up our Market Day order (a school fundraiser), ran home and threw it in the freezer, stopped to say goodbye to your neighbors (they are moving to Texas...we will seriously miss those guys!) and then went out to dinner. After that exhausting day we got home at 8 and I just went to bed. It was quite a day.

Thursday was chemo....but first a doctor's appointment. They had just moved their offices so there was lots of paperwork to fill out since they are now associated with the medical center. It's nice, all my doctor's offices are in the medical center now except for the Plastic Surgeon. If I could get him to move over there, it would be perfect! It sure cuts down on time when I don't have to drive all over town to make all these appointments, and I can schedule things closer together on the same day. The medical oncologist makes me laugh!! After the usual exams, questions and answer period, he mentioned that his phone was driving him crazy because the intercom was too loud. I suggested there might be a volume button, and of course there was. He turned it down and it was much better! I told him he could pay me my consultation fee at the end of my treatment! LOL I was given the go ahead to have chemo (even though the incision seems a little stressed and with the bloating from the steroids I have to take he was afraid it might not be strong enough yet...but so far so good!) After his appointment I had 5 minutes to get to the infusion clinic which was right next door! The new medication is not nearly as bad as the first two!! I didn't get a headache or the usual brain fog and with the IV steroids I was full of energy!

So...after a marathon session on facebook with Mouse I was encouraged to get some UFO stitching done. I decided to work on a different UFO last night because it was smaller and I can work in hand, so I didn't have to lean anything against my tummy...so here are before and after pictures of my progress.

Lastly, I got a box in the mail from my cousin who lives in Pennsylvania. Here is a picture of what she sent along with the note. I don' t know if you can read what she wrote, but she said two of her friends were walking in the Susan G. Komen 3-day race for the cure this weekend in Philadelphia. My cousin donated in my name and they gave her this little ducky with the ribbon on his chest for me. I'm blown away by the response to my condition. Thank you, Judy, for thinking of me, and for helping others who have this disease. Research has carried this disease out of the dark ages, and though there are so many more being diagnosed each day, research has advanced the treatment of this disease to the point where it's no longer a death sentence when caught early. I truly feel lucky to have been diagnosed early and at this stage in their research. So please!!! Perform your personal exams regularly and get those mammograms, I know mine surely saved my life! *climbing off my soapbox* LOL Here's a picture of Judy's ducky! Thanks again Judy! *Hugs*