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Tuesday, October 17, 2006

4 week checkup - doing just fine!

I saw the radiation oncologist today, who pronounced me well on the road to healing. I will see him 3 months from now, along with the results of an MRI that he has asked for, just to see what things look like at this stage (sort of a baseline). He answered all the questions I asked (can I get a flu shot now -yes; should I see a PT - after 3 months if I need it then; when will I need to get a tube in my ear - he will reassess at the 3 month checkup; may I go directly off the pain meds or do I need to wean off of them - since I never went into the slow release meds, I can just stop whenever I don't need them and go to motrin). I even told him about the nightmare I had the other night: in the dream, (mirroring real life) I have been doing very well. The doctor in the dream says I am doing too well, and must go through the radiation again until I feel rotten. End of dream. (Oh yeah, that was one that got me up in the middle of the night!) Doing this good at this time is not accidental. The doctor agreed with me that I am doing well because I have worked very hard at staying healthy, with a lot of people's help - just as hard as the professionals have worked to zap the cancer cells out of my head. Doing mouth rinses, keeping teeth clean has kept me from getting things like thrush; washing my head only with baby wash kept me from overdrying my skin while it was being radiated and after while it has been healing; maintaining a good intake of protein despite pain kept me from getting malnourished and put my body in good healing mode; stopping solid food at the first sign of difficulty helped keep my throat in one piece, as has the slow approach to solid food now; getting out each day (while ignoring anyone else's reaction to what I must have looked like) kept me from acting like a sick person; taking care of myself - meals, meds, skin care - kept me independent and in charge, something my wise husband knew would be important to my spirit; and reading all the jokes and messages from my great friends and family kept pulling me back into the positive frame of mind, even when the days were the very darkest.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Great news - thanks, Teri! Keep up the great recovery work. And thanks for the reminder about getting a flu shot!

 
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