My LMS adventure

I don't talk about this much -- just to the right person at the right time. Lately, I've been thinking about my life... and an important part of it. I've been sober since September 28, 1983. Here's a list of what I've accomplished stone cold sober.... I've had a child out of wedlock (with an uninvolved partner) I've raised that child, Got a Bachelor's Degree Worked in a health care setting at the Director level Opened a new hospital with an amazing team of professionals, Liquidated my assets and moved to a retirement park. Have been diagnosed and treated for uLMS, so far: 3 types of chemo, radiation, and disability retirement. So many of these could make someone drink alcohol. I've made it through this. If you want to stay sober in crazy circumstances, you can do it!!

Last week was interesting. I had been in severe back pain for several months. I got a PET/CT scan, and sneaked a peak at the results. Back pain was due to new mass on vertebrae. I had worked with pain management and started taking Gabapentin/Neurontin, but started stumbling and falling. I fell completely to the floor three times, and started using a cane. Last Monday, I went to see my oncologist to get the results. On the way into the hospital, I asked for a wheelchair...I realized I couldn't do the long halls and stay on my feet. After talking to me, hearing about the falls, and watching me walk, my oncologist pulled a neurologist into the room. They convinced me to be admitted. Their concern was the falls, which could cause damage to my spinal cord. I had lost about an inch of height due to the compression of my vertebrae. The report from the scan: Liver tumor is significantly smaller, lung lesions are larger. No evidence of tumors in neck at lymph system. There's a s...