I didn’t know it could happen, but I experienced a major tear of all of the skin on my chest that had been stuck to my chest wall. It happened about 4 am Thursday morning. Since my surgery, the skin had been stuck to my chest wall, and it was supposed to eventually release gradually perhaps months down the line. The skin cannot stay attached to the muscle and chest wall for the long haul. When it releases gradually there isn’t as much of a problem, but when my skin tore away, it brought bright red inflammation, swelling and instant pain. …
This post is a long time coming and it is my desire that it will encourage someone who is suffering in silence. It will also help people to see that the strength that has come out in my posts is a true gift of God that has grown in the midst of darkness and betrayal. …
I have meant to create this updated post for a couple of weeks, but I was in the midst of a heavy deadline in getting our latest magazine completed, so everything else was set aside. I praise God that I am gaining strength daily and am able to get into a work schedule again even though it is a modified one. I no longer have a need to nap during the day unless I don’t sleep well at night. If is so wonderful to feel strength coming back. Richard is taking me for walks up the mountain and even though I feel like I am going to die, pressing myself on to complete a goal has been very good for getting some muscle back. I still have nerve damage in my legs, so walking to gain muscle back is very important.
Healing Process
My brain still has a ways to go to get out from the fog leftover from chemotherapy. The lingering fog could last as along as a year, or sometimes longer, but I trust that my short term memory loss and my inability to remember words in conversation will continue to come back. One major change that I have noticed is that I can multi-task again which is something that was pretty much impossible during my six months of treatments. My hair is starting to grow back and I am pleased that I am getting some added warmth back to my head! My hair hasn’t grown very much yet, but it is getting thick as more hairs are coming in daily. I am not totally sure what colour it will be when it is grown out, and for now it is mostly light brown. Where did the red go that is my question! I do know that often hair can change drastically after chemo and the colour, texture or curl can be a big change when it grows back. I am waiting to see what colour it will finally be when I have a few inches of growth back.
My finger nails are growing back quite nicely after they all fell out from the chemo. It might not be too long before I can pick small things up or scratch myself. I never knew how much I would miss my finger nails! The toe nails are another matter. All ten of them also fell out but they are really slow at coming back. I am so thankful that I have no pain as I heard that losing one’s toe nails could be very painful.
The best news
I knew that this whole cancer journey was a roller coaster ride, but the last corner and last loop of this ride surprised and really blessed me. We are going for the cure again! Here is what happened…
It has been some time since I have given an update on my health, and since I just received the pathology report from my surgery, this is a good time to post. …
