Recovery cardigan complete!

I'm somewhat worried about posting a post-chemo update, as I fear that doing so will bring on ALL THE SIDE EFFECTS as soon as I mention that I really haven't had many.  But here goes with the jinx...

Overall, I've been amazingly pleasantly surprised at how little I've been affected so far.  I do know that the effects build and so it's not like I will sail through this, but so far, so good.

I had that nagging sinus-y headache that started during the cytoxan infusion and lasted through most of the next day.  But I took some Advil and that brought it under control.  (Also realized I probably should not be taking Advil when I'm on so many things that decrease my blood counts--will try Tylenol next time)

The Claritin seems to be helping me to avoid bone pain following the Neulasta shot, too.  It's pretty impressive, actually.

I've been kinda tired, but also had trouble sleeping.  The first night I woke up every hour until I gave up and got "up" at 4:00 am.  The next two nights I was really tired after work and didn't have much energy to do anything that required brain power, but I had a tough time falling asleep.  Last night I felt wired at bedtime (maybe because I took the steroid a little later?) but once I fell asleep, I slept through till 5:30 with no waking.

I've had a little nausea-kinda stuff, but not bad, and honestly I think it's because of all the other meds I'm taking to avoid side effects.  It's not been the icky, pukey nausea--just gurgly tummy, which is easily manageable.

Really, the worse thing I've noticed is that I just feel kinda fuzzy--like it takes my brain awhile longer to process things, and I'm struggling for some words.  Seems a bit early for chemo brain to kick in, so I'm thinking it might be some combination of the meds.  I finished the steroids this afternoon and only two more days of the Zofran, so hope to have things cleared out and back to normal soon.  

I'm also up to 32 medical appointments since November 25th.  And the bills are all coming in--so thankful that our insurance (at least so far) seems to be very good about covering things.  No doubt we'll hit our deductible for both 2014 and 2015.

~~~~~

I was thrilled to have temps in the 40's today, combined with the clearance to run again, and desire to get some energy, so I went for my first post-surgery run.  The last time I'd run was 1/7/15 so it was exactly 2 months since then.  I only made it 2 miles and didn't run the entire time (at least 75% of it, though) and it took me almost 27 minutes, but it FELT GREAT!

~~~~~

BUT the main reason for this post is to share that my recovery cardigan is DONE!!!  Despite the glitch of running out of Cilantro yarn, and not knowing how to seam the striped parts (thanks to my friend Emily who showed me the amazing mattress stitch--wow!), I was able to finish this week and have spent an inordinate amount of time weaving in ends.  I still want to block it so that the collar lies a bit better.  It weighs a ton (3.6 lbs.) and is super thick and warm, so you can all thank me for bringing the warm temps to Wisconsin (but please don't blame me for not completing it sooner).    Greg sings songs from "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" whenever he sees it...

Recovery continues

Moving right along...

Today's been a great healing day.  As I've previously complained about (here and here and here and here), I have the never-ending cording issue in my right armpit.  My OT, Audrey, told me last week that I had won the award for most persistent cording she's ever worked with.  Yay, me!    Cording is a build-up of lymphatics that presents as (of course) a cord.  Audrey said that it usually gradually improves, but sometimes she's heard of it just releasing and that it's not painful or dangerous when it releases--it's just a rare occurrence    So I've been doing my stretches and exercises and massages religiously, and it seemed like the cording was getting a little less intense, but it was hard to tell. This morning I was getting ready for work when I reached down and felt/heard a snap.  I instantly felt my right armpit and yay! it appears that the main cord released.  I actually had about four cords in the same area, so it's not 100% better, but it is so very much better that I nearly cried.

This afternoon I had another appointment with the plastic surgeon and he removed the stitches from the repair surgery and said I'm healing wonderfully.  I am clear (as long as my blood counts are fine) to start chemo tomorrow!

~~~~~

Finally, I've had some time to work on the recovery cardigan since I've been home a lot.  There's good and bad news about it.  The good news is that I'm done with ALL the knitting and just need to do some sewing of seams and LOTS of weaving in ends before I can wear it.  The bad news is that the pattern was inaccurate in the amount of yarn needed.  The last thing you knit is the collar, which stretches the entire length of the below-the-knee cardigan. And I ran out of one of the four colors needed for the stripes on the collar.  What's more annoying, I have two entire skeins of other colors that were extra.  I'm not very happy with Lion Brand Yarn right now, because even if I had gone to buy more of that particular color (it's "cilantro" in case anyone is curious), it would not be the same dye lot and would likely look even worse.  So I remedied it by knitting half as many rows of "cilantro" as all the other colors in the collar.  It remains to be seen how it all ends up looking, but I also wrote Lion Brand Yarn an email, explaining my utter disappointment after all the time invested in this project.

Request for help

From the very first day we started telling people about my diagnosis, we were completely blown away by the love, support, and offers of help from everyone.  I've blogged about it earlier, and I cannot say how many times I thanked people, said we were absolutely fine now, but there might come a time when we'd need help.  Well, here I am, asking for some.

Thursday I met with my friend Kristin who *just* (as in this week) finished her last infusion of Herceptin, after two rounds of chemo (similar to mine).  Her hair is back, and she is so full of life and joy that it was wonderful for me to grab coffee with her and to drink in all her wonderful tips (some of which have been added to this post).  One of the things that she said was most useful was to have friends with her during each chemo treatment.  She said she was well known by the oncology nurses when she'd arrive with friends and they'd ask her if she wanted to be put in the "party room."  This made me smile.  Additionally, she shared that during one infusion, she had a bad reaction and if her friend hadn't been right there to see how serious it was, it could have been much worse.  She also found that sometimes the chemo affected her vision and so she really appreciated having someone else drive her there and back.

SO....

Given that my chemo is scheduled for Wednesdays, which is a day that Greg teaches, I'm in search of some good friends to keep me company on my chemo days.  I realize it's a long day (likely 2 1/2 to 4 hours) and not do-able for everyone.  I also will have a total of 16 chemo infusions (I'm not counting the Herceptin alone, which I should be able to do all on my own), so it's a lot to ask.  This week it's 10:30 to about 2:30 and I plan to schedule it for afternoons in the future (1-4ish?).  The infusions are at Water Tower Medical Commons, across the street from Columbia-St. Mary's Milwaukee.  I promise to bring knitting and books and other things so you don't have to entertain me the entire time!

If I actually get started this week, and no weeks are delayed for any reasons, these are the dates I'm looking at:

3/4 (10:30-2:30)
3/18
4/1 (Cara's spring break--hopefully she'll come along)
4/15 
(not sure if there's a week off here or not)
4/22
4/29
5/6
5/13
5/20
5/27
6/3
6/10
6/17
6/24
7/1
7/8
7/15 (depending on if there's a week off between regimens)

So if you happen to be free and want to be my chauffeur, email me with some dates you think would work (and your cell phone number if I don't have it).  

And, as always, THANK YOU!


p.s. All pieces of the cardigan are knit and I'm currently in the process of knitting the attached collar.  Wow, are there a lot of stitches (257, to be exact)!

Medical appointments--and knitting

I had my one week follow-up with the plastic surgeon and either I misunderstood, he forgot what he'd told me, or the plans changed when my repair surgery became more intensive (think it's the last of these).  So I did NOT get my stitches out and I did not get "embiggened."  :)  BUT I am healing very well and am cleared for starting chemo next week.  So if all goes well when the stitches come out on Tuesday, and my blood counts are high enough on Wednesday, I will start infusions Wednesday around lunchtime.

The other thing is that I'm able to start running again next week.  I can use the elliptical this week if I want (it's NOT my favorite form of exercise), but it takes 6-8 weeks for sufficient integration of my tissue into the AlloDerm following surgery, so to be safe, no running before 8 weeks.  The last time I ran was January 7th, so I'm wondering if I'm going to have to re-do the whole C25K program from the start again.  Of course, given the horribly long stretch of temps not getting above freezing, I may not want to run--at least not outside, even next week.

~~~~~

Finally, it's been awhile since I posted knitting updates.  I've been working on all three projects to a certain extent.  Trav's socks are slow-moving, as they're my totally brainless knit:

I'm really enjoying Hitchhiker.  I waited so long for the plastic surgeon (before my five minute appointment) that I was able to knit three notches worth on it--11 of the 42.  That was also long enough for me to finally memorize the 8 row repeating pattern!  I like the way the yarn (an old Knit Picks sock yarn) is pooling.

And then there's the recovery cardigan.  I'd taken some time off from knitting it, as it's not portable.  But this weekend I had time to knit at home and this pattern has sucked me back in!  Back, both fronts, and about 1 1/3 sleeves are done.

More therapy & good thoughts request

I had my second therapy appointment today and I liked this one much better!  Last week Audrey showed me all sorts of exercises and took measurements to see how I'm starting.  Today she took a few measurements (my "good" arm improved 14 degrees and my "bad" arm improved 30), but most of the day involved massage!  The first thing she did was lymphatic massage, following the flow of this diagram, on my back and arms:

Lymphatic massage is a relatively new addition to PT and OT.  I remember when they taught it to my mom following her second (but not her first) knee replacement.  Audrey said she did a training about two years ago.  It's very gentle--so gentle that it's hard to believe it works!  :)

She then worked a lot on my right arm and the cording there.  She was able to release a lot of the muscles, but that cording is just not really budging.  Guess I'll have to keep going back!  She also taught me scar massage--to release and prevent any adhesions.  She said my scars are very loose, so that's good, too.

I was excited that after the first rounds of massage, I was able to roll completely to my left side and she did some additional massage on my right shoulder.  

I know I should be happy with my progress--the left side is almost back to normal, and the measurements on the right are going well--but I want it all better right now!  :)   I also asked about resuming running, but I have to get permission from the plastic surgeon for that (next week I will ask).

~~~~~

I spent much of the morning imitating a cat: sitting in the sun and playing with yarn.  Between the Super Bowl (what a disappointment--most of our guests could not get in for our party--whether coming from Waukesha or even the near East side; only one die-hard couple braved the elements, and we're so glad they did!) and this morning, I knit the left front of the recovery cardigan:

~~~~~

And now the request for good thoughts...

Tomorrow I have three tests--the MUGA heart scan and then the bone scan and CT scan to test for metastasis.  This is the last bit of unknowns in terms of my diagnosis (the "M" in the cancer staging), and I'm trying not to freak out about it.  All the doctors have said it's highly unlikely to have metastasized, but they were also all surprised to find the cancer in my lymph nodes, so I'm not finding their comments as comforting as I should.  It's too late to ask for white light and positive energy to prevent mets, but I can ask for it to send me calming vibes through the tests, and then the worst part for me--the waiting for results afterwards.  Thanks in advance :)

Therapy

Yesterday was my occupational therapy (OT) evaluation appointment.  Even though I was a pre-Physical Therapy (PT) major for awhile as an undergrad, I have to say that I'm not exactly sure the difference between PTs and OTs.  And I had thought I was going to see a PT, but I am, in fact, seeing an OT.  And she is also wonderful.

One of my fears with all of the treatments I'm going through is lymphedema.  Every treatment (surgery, axillary lymph node removal, chemo, radiation) increases the likelihood of its occurrence, and since I get the full package, that's a lot of risk factors!  There's not a lot known about exactly what causes lymphedema or even fully how to prevent it, and there's no cure, so the best "treatment" is to catch it early and maintain it at an early level.  So I have some exercises to try to prevent it, and to treat another, related side-effect that I do have--cording.  I think the cording was responsible for much of the sensitivity I've been complaining about.  I got a great handout on preventing it, and how to best ease into movements after surgery from the therapist.  Sure wish they made it a part of the pre-surgical information they gave me! 

I have been babying my arms and movements so much the last three weeks that I was pleasantly surprised at how much I am now allowed to move--and how much I was actually able to move.  I think I might have overdone it a bit, though, as I'm pretty sore today!  Still, I was almost able to lie on my side in bed last night, although only for a little while.

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Other big events in the last two days include attending TWO knitting groups (the daytime one and the nighttime one that I'd been trying to start since last summer), being out of the house for a 6 1/2 hour stretch without flopping from exhaustion, doing a little house cleaning, and putting a camisole on over my head (as opposed to stepping into it)!  That and continued socializing and Buffy watching.  The back of the recovery cardigan is done, as are the pockets:

The kids have busy weekends (Congress, Forensics, birthday party, Girl Scouts, work...) and Greg's out of town tomorrow and we're having some friends over for the Super Bowl so I have to figure out what to make.  All good things keeping me busy--very good things!

Two weeks

My survivor friend Dawn sent me a care package right before surgery and in it was a note that said "two weeks and then it's all uphill!"  Over the last two weeks, I've kept that in mind, realizing that I could not expect things to be easy for the first two weeks.  Today's the two week mark, so now I expect to wake up tomorrow morning 100% healed!   ;)

Honestly, though, I do feel so much better.  Nowhere near 100% yet--waiting till I can lift my arms over my head and sleep on my side, and drive a car.

Today I went to the daytime knitting group and between yesterday and today, got a nice start on my recovery cardigan.  I have been mainly knitting socks (sock weight yarn; size 1 needles) for the last 5 years.  This (bulky weight yarn and size 13 needles) has been so different and so fun!

I went for a walk in the sun along Silver Spring Drive, popping into some of the shops that I seldom visit.

I took my last (4x a day for 14 days) antibiotic.  So long, stinky sulfa drug!

I went to the Zilber Winter "Work Party" tonight (kinda snuck in there as I still got one paycheck in January and so was still on payroll when the invitation went out... tee hee!) and it was so nice to be back in the building/school that I love and to see so many people who have been a big part of my life the last 5+ years.  The last time I was at Zilber, I had not gone public with my diagnosis and it made my departure extra bittersweet.  This was a good trip back and it reminded me that I'm still part of ZSPH, even though I've graduated.  Besides that, it was nice to dress up and wear makeup for the first time in ages.

More milestones

Continuing on the road to healing, today I:

*Went out to lunch with my dear friend Katie

*Set up (on Facebook) a local nightly knitting group (let me know if you want to be added)

*Made dinner (it was just brats, fries, salad and fruit, but I had to chop and bake and fry and broil)

*Ran the dishwasher (other than needing Mira to lift the detergent and fill it--too heavy)

*Took a walk by myself (to meet Mira after school)

*Started the recovery cardigan

*Had a shower and washed my hair

*Finished season 3 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer

I'm sure you can easily imagine which of these was (by far) the best part, but all really did feel pretty good.

Knitting

Since Nancy asked what I was knitting, I figured I'd take the opportunity to share what projects I have going.

I started a pair of socks for Travis in December, during my mom's last hospital stay.  My goal is to get them past the heel turn before starting chemo so that they can be my "take with" project.  The best thing about knitting socks is that they're so small, lightweight, and portable.  I have developed my own sock pattern by merging my favorite techniques from several patterns.  I prefer to use funky yarns and a very plain pattern (just knit--not cables or such) because I do usually take the socks along to work on when I'm doing other things and don't have the ability to focus on a complicated pattern.  Today I actually got to the point where I can start the heel turning.  Yay, me!  :)

The other thing I'm not yet working on, but looking forward to is this cardigan:

I had posted how beautiful it was on Facebook a few weeks ago and a group of Facebook friends (many who do not even know each other--I'm not sure how they all pulled this off!) sent me the yarn to knit it.  Surprisingly I was missing a size 13 needle, but got an Amazon gift certificate from another friend, so ordered that.  As soon as I have the socks past the heel, I'm going to start my recovery cardigan.  It's super thick and will be so warm and comfy, but will decidedly NOT be a take-with project!

And much to my surprise, I received another beautiful gift of yarn from another set of friends.  I have five skeins of Noro Taiyo and the latest Noro magazine.  I have no idea what I will make from it, but Noro is so beautiful that I may just leave it as is for awhile so I can pet it and imagine all sorts of possible projects.  (And I'm open to suggestions from those of you who have experience with Noro color ways)

~~~

Today was a lot more normalcy.  I actually went to the mall for a bit because the temps were in the 40's and I decided to run errands with Greg instead of just walking around the block again.  I also helped (a little--very little) with making supper today.  

My complaints are minimal, but still annoying.  The compression bra that I need to wear post-surgery is causing some sort of rubbing irritation on my right side.  A lot of my whining about the drains and stitches pulling are in that area and when Greg got home, he told me that area is all red.  Ugh...  So glad I have an appointment with the plastic surgeon on Monday--hoping he can make a suggestion or let me switch to some other, less-irritating thing to wear.