Bad Blogger

I have been the worst blogger. I barely post anymore. One could take that as a good thing - I have been really busy with life & work and having had much to talk about on the cancer front. One could ASSUME its a bad thing, that I have dropped off earth. Hello people, I am here & doing well. I have just been too busy to sit down and blog.

The only thing on my cancer radar now is this ongoing struggle with Lymphedema in my left hand. I flew into NOLA back at the end of February and left with the worst case of Lymphedema I could have ever imagined. I went back in November to prevent this from happening, but my sleeve and glove failed me. Unfortunately, the odds are against me and this might be a life long thing. I had radiation for 28 sessions, lost 20-something lymph-nodes on my left side, and had a 3-week seroma (i.e. lymphatic fluid blockage) for 3 weeks post Mastectomy.

The cure for lymphedema: wrapping, massage & elevation. I want a permanent fix. I have been wrapped up 24-7 for almost 5 weeks now & it really is not going away. The real fix is actually wearing a glove and sleeve while exercising to push out the fluid, but I have not been given a new glove yet. Last week at PT, my hand was too puffy to fit into any of the correct gloves. After a week of "serious" wrapping, I am finally getting fitted for a stronger Lymphedema glove. I hope that it will bring down the swelling and enable me to return to some sense of normality.

Today I go back to my PT for that glove, I hope it is the answer to this month long annoyance. Its gotten a little aggravating. I have been referred to the mummy, Hell Boy, Michael Jackson, a burn patient etc...which is kinda funny at first, but I am at the point where I want my hand back. I have just gotten fed up, because the PT wrapping & elevation is not getting this fluid out of my hand. 

On an another note - I have surgery on the 26th. I am excited to fix this reconstruction job. Also, I have gone from 150lbs in December back down to 133/134lbs, which is closer to my pre-cancer weight of 128/130lbs. I am very happy. I never thought fixing the reconstruction or fitting into jeans again would be possible. Now, I just need a normal hand.