I will journey back to the city today to meet with my surgeon at Memorial Sloan Kettering. He will remove the stitches from the 10 inch incision running from my shoulder to almost my elbow. He will discuss with me the healing and the rehab limitations. I hope to be released from my sling. I have been required to keep my arm in the sling for the last 9 days, including while in bed. It is simply not comfortable to sleep with a sling.
I will have lots of questions about rehab. I am impatient to begin.
I will, at this meeting, be told first thing about the verdict rendered by the tumor board on the pathology of the mass he removed last week. This is of no small moment for me and I wait, knowing that this outcome was determined prior to the surgery albeit unknown to me. I am hoping that it was benign and that the surgeon just has to say he's sorry for being so aggressive and so conservative and I can tell him not to worry, that I understand why he removed 40% of my right triceps. On the other hand, I could live with being told that it is a low grade malignancy and I need to light it up with some radiation. That would be ok, too. Either verdict will lead to numerous follow up questions (and no one asks follow up questions like a trial lawyer looking to exhaust a topic).
I am mentally and emotionally in a pretty good place right now. I have had some wonderful experiences from friends who expressed love that I did not know they had. I am over the complications (bleeding heavily from the catheter trauma) and nothing improves your outlook more than being able to pee without pain or heavy bleeding. I stopped taking the prescription pain stuff some days ago. Why do people seek that stuff out of their own choice? It is disgusting. My natural sense of optimism is reasserting itself.
Today will be a good day. Tomorrow, I am finally able to allow myself to think, will be a better day.
I will follow up with a post that I have in mind later to explore, in my usual disorganized fashion, what lessons I can glean from this experience. One quick one I will share is that life is uncertain -- eat dessert first.
Thank you all for all the comments. They have helped more than I can say.
Posted by Random Penseur at November 13, 2009 05:20 AM | TrackBackI hope the news is positive. Good for you for finding a good place to handle this from, though.
Posted by: Hannah at November 13, 2009 06:11 AMI hope all goes well. If it is not too much of a hassle, try to get into Burke (in White Plains) for your rehab. There is usually a waiting list (about 2 weeks) but the PTs there are gentle and patient even as they push you to do things you don't want or think you can't do. Or anyways, that was my experience.
praying for you
Miriam
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