My LMS adventure

Warning TMI (too much information): When I have a painless bowel movement-- sometimes I want to announce that I've had a good BM.  Every day... my goal is avoiding constipation.

Monday, March 20, 2017 ORIF for Fx ankle tri-malleolar (sp?) That is: Open Reduction, Internal Fixation for three breaks in my ankle (Tibia, Fibula and Malleolus) Early to the hospital: 5:30 a.m. Check in, nurse's interview, change into gown, access the port, nausea meds, roll over to surgery waiting area. Then waiting. Eventually (it always seems too long) the ride into the surgery suite. Staring at the ceiling, and then a gentle voice telling me to "breathe the oxygen"... and later, "time to go to sleep." Waking up in the recovery room. Thirsty, getting water, and eventually getting home.... before noon. At home, I carefully (with an escort) go up the three stairs into my house, and sit on the couch. That's where I slept last night. So I still have a beautifully made bed. When I went to the bedroom's bathroom this morning, I had to come back to the living room for painkillers. Every 6 hours, I will be faithfully taking these, to kee...

Last Saturday, I was playing on the computer. I had a brilliant decorating idea. So I jumped up, to try it out, and CRACK, fell flat on my face. Did you hear that crack? My roommate heard it in the next room. He was walking into the living room as I was yelling his name. So he let me know I had broken my ankle. We went to the ER, got a soft cast and a referral to the orthopedic surgeon. I've worked in medicine for many years, but not in orthopedics. At the ER I got the impression I had broken just the fibula (the smaller bone). On Tuesday, I saw the orthopedic surgeon who sees breaks in the tibia and fibula as well as a cracked (some other small bone). He wants to do surgery. I want to see if it will heal. [EDIT: I just checked the hospital paperwork. Trimalleolar fracture of left ankle. I broke all three.] Also, I explained my situation. I've got an aggressive and rare cancer. Hopefully, I'll have 2 more years. I don't want to spend a quarter of tha...

Yondelis which is the amazing new drug that I'm taking. It was approved by the FDA in October, 2016. This drug prevents growth (although in me, it has shrunk tumors to about 1/4 of their previous size). Statistics show that it works for approximately 6 to 9 months. Of course, I'm hoping this will work much longer. I feel great. I started Yondelis in November. The first few cycles were tough. I had picked up a cold (no immune system) and slept a lot. I've been on this four months. Maybe Dr. Chon has another treatment planned after this. Otherwise, I head to clinical trials. They do clinical trials on people who are close to the end. And then, of course, there is hospice. With hospice, you only get pain meds-- no active treatment. I'm assuming the last few months will be the most difficult. Although, in December, I realized that a fast infection could take me out in a few days. More reasons to enjoy life now. So timeline.... If I follow the others on Yo...

At my last visit, the oncologist said there will be good days and bad days, enjoy the good days. Here's what I'm doing to enjoy the days. There's a Vera Bradley discontinued pattern that I like. I found a bag and wallet in that pattern (Botanica) on eBay. Tuesday I walked to the North Community Center. I'm doing the paperwork to get some money for a few fun things. Okay, the plumbing work for my home, and the painting for my home isn't fun. Although I'd love to paint my bedroom today... maybe I'll wash the walls and prep for patching... one wall at a time. A neighbor has passed a trike to me, you know, a three wheel bike. Here's the best part. It's very stable; I haven't ridden a two wheeler for 30 years. When I'm riding, I can't tell it is a three wheeler. The lady who owned it was around my height. Now I have no excuse to stay home from the pool. I feel like a kid that got a bike for Christmas. Do whatever I want.... ...