A memory came up on my Facebook feed this morning - it was of the day I started this blog and I was sharing the link to it. So much has happened since that day - God has been so good!
I will give a brief update -
- my ankle was the last thing that I posted about on the blog - it continues to give me some difficulty but not enough to keep me from everyday activities. The WCB physician I was sent to examined it and had me in for an MRI the next day. I was called following it and told I needed to be in a walking boot 24/7 for six weeks. Following that I had physio again with acupuncture included. They did all they could but said that due to the length of time since the injury that only surgery would be able to help the ligaments. I haven't followed up on that yet.
- I had my bilateral breast reconstruction surgery on May 22nd, 2015 - this included a mastectomy on the left side - DIEP flap surgery on the right using abdominal tissue and implant on the left. The surgery was slated for 12 hours but they were done in 9. My recovery was a good one with no complications - I was off all narcotic medication by noon the next day and up in a chair in my room. I was in hospital five days and I was off work for 12 weeks.
- I had a couple of follow up surgeries for the reconstruction in late October 2015 and February 2016. Then I had some nipple tattooing done - must be a very good job as my GP was completely fooled by them at my physical in May of this year.
- I continue to take a full day or half a day off of work on Wednesday's and that has really been key to restoring and keeping my energy levels up.
- I started a diet that is dairy free, gluten free, caffeine free and sugar free about a year ago and it has really made a big difference in how I feel - hopefully in how I look also. I do have a cheat meal or two each week where one or more of those ingredients is included but overall i stick to the plan.
- I continued to see my medical oncologist every six months until April of this year and then we decided it was time for me to graduate back to my GP who will continue the every six month visits. I will miss her, she took wonderful care of me and we came to develop a nice friendship over the five years that I saw her.
- my heart was impacted by the chemo I received but with the accommodations that I make with the diet and time off work each week I do quite well.
- I am considered NED which stands for No Evidence of Disease.
- Our 5th grandchild was born April 17th, 2016 - he is wonderful - he has a shy but also mischievous grin on his face most of the time and seems to be a gentle soul. He is walking everywhere now and trying to keep up with his older sister who will be 4 in a few days.
Life is so very, very good. I continue to love gardening and have had more energy for it this year. I also started a couple of other hobbies which keep me busy - machine embroidery and using a Silhouette Cameo machine for cutting vinyl, paper and fabric for many different projects including applique with the embroidery machine. There are times that I feel that work gets in the way of these hobbies and I am looking forward to the day that I will be able to retire - it is coming soon I hope.
I never want to take for granted the blessings in my life. I am rich in ways unrelated to finances.
On June 20th last week it was my five year anniversary of receiving the breast cancer diagnosis. It was hard to even fathom this day at that point in time but here I am - surviving and thriving.
This will probably be my last post on this blog. It served a wonderful purpose for me as I went through my cancer treatment and the initial years following. Hopefully it has been helpful to others as well, one day soon I will take some time and read it through from the beginning. That should be interesting ;).
Now off to get started on a busy Saturday where I will do many of my favorite things. Later this afternoon a co-worker is teaching some of us how to make sushi and salad rolls; following that I will be at block party where we will get to know some of our new neighbors better - there are now two sets of twins age two and under which brings new vitality to our neighborhood. Tomorrow is a church potluck honoring the graduates of 2017 that I will need to prepare for. God is good!
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