Another day, another trip to Little Rock.

Another day, another trip to Little Rock.  This is a follow up to the two recent surgeries.   At 1:45p I get a fresh CT scan and then at 2:30p is the appointment with Dr Montgomery and Dr Steliga.  Tuesday is not a normal office day for Dr Steliga, but he's coming in for me.  Aren't I special.

So far today has been rough.  Neither April or I slept well last night and I am sore from head to toe.  April is still sore from her fall on Saturday.   This will be a long car ride.

I don't remember mentioning Aprils fall.  She was walking the dogs on Saturday.  The ground was slick from the rain and she stepped in some poo.  Her foot slid away from her and her other leg crumpled and she hit the ground.  She heard a 'pop' from her leg as her knee folded and her heel hit her butt.   Now her knee and big toe are sore.  She's dealing with it, but I know it hurts.  My girl April can be a tough one.

We've passed the Arkanchunnel and I plan to eat lunch in Conway at David's Burgers.  I was told it's good.

More later about David's and the appointments.

Walk-through at the Chapel

Terah, Patrick and I went to St Catherine's at Bell Gable on Sunday.  We walked through the ceremony and talked with the people there.  When I 'walk' Terah down the isle I need to walk, roll, or hop about 100 feet.  This is long ways when you're hopping.  Terah and I did it as practice and I had to stop twice to rest.  At the end I was sweating hard and I had to set down.  I need to practice this in case no leg is ready.  We also looked at the barn where the reception is held.  There are steps to enter the barn, but these are not a problem.  The coordinator said they have a ramp if necessary.  After St Catherine's we ate lunch at The Market Place and then went grocery shopping.
I was exhausted after all that.  I try to not completed exhaust myself, but the wedding is worth it.  I got home about 5:30pm and was lazy the rest of the night.  April and I lounged on the couch, ate left-overs and then went to bed.
Other than Tuesday, which is another trip to Little Rock, I plan to work a full 8 hours every day this week.

Last day for the MealTrain

I now have the first piece of my prosthetic leg.  It's a gray, translucent, rubber boot which covers my stump.  The boot has a threaded port at the bottom for attaching to my new leg.  I wear it while I'm awake and take it off at night so my leg can breathe.  It's less comfortable than the cloth shrinker but I'll get used to it. 
I've declared today a day of rest.  I've spent nearly the whole day on the couch.  I woke up this morning with a very sore right arm and hand.  I must have slept on it all night.  This makes using the walker more difficult, but it's still very doable.
I scared April this morning.  I was laying on the couch when she got up.  I propped myself up on one elbow to talk.  As I leaned my heart began racing.  I could feel it beating hard in my chest and I became a little short of breath.  I set up and said 'I don't want to scare you but I don't feel well.'  I describe the situation and she wants to call 911.  It begins to ease and she calls my dad instead.  10 minutes later I am fine.  If it happens again then I'll probably say OK to getting checked.  I'm passed my out-of-pocket for insurence so I should get everything check which I can.
Tomorrow we meet Terah at Saint Catherine's so we can walk through the ceremony.  I need to see the path I'm walking so I can prepare.  Everything points to me having a leg by then.  I'll start working on plan-B just in case.
Today was our last stop on the meal-train.  Last night Gary Ruisinger brought Jim's Razorback Pizza and tonight Daniel and Deborah Summers brought Olive Garden.  Both were delicious and appreciated.

Getting back on the chemo train

We met with Dr Travis yesterday and I now have my schedule for the next few months.  I start a new round of chemo on September 17th.  This chemo is delivered over 3 days via a small pump which I keep with me.  This chemical is harder on my veins and heart muscle, but it's easier on my body as a whole.  Perhaps some nausea, but that's all.  I repeat the process on October 8th and maybe a third time in November.  Hopefully that gets everything.  We ask Dr Travis about the certainty of this treatment and he referred to it as a 'leap of faith'.  He also said that without the treatment that the cancer would return, so we go with the treatment.  Today I get an echocardiogram to check my heart for defects.  This is preventative because the treatments affect on my heart.  Next week I go to the Walker Heart Institute to install a 'pick' line for the medicine delivery.
On a happier note I am really looking forward to camping this fall.  I missed the chance to go last spring and summer.  I enjoy setting around the camp fire with friends and family.  All I do is stare at the fire and gather wood for more fire.  It is very restful.  I have a few friends lined up to go with me.  Time can't pass fast enough. 
The pain-of-the-day is muscle spasms.  My stump changes daily.  As muscles and nerves heal in my stump the combination of signals to my brain changes.  The signals are interpreted as if I have a leg, which I don't, so they feel like something different every day.  Today it's muscle spasms.  It starts whenever I'm seated for any length of time and lasts until they're done.  Yesterday's pain was cramping.
Lastly I want to thank everyone who has brought food for the meal train.  April and I appreciate it and I enjoy seeing the smiling faces.  We live away from town and finding our home can be an adventure.  I Thank you, Anastasia, Mitchell, Bonnie, and Bobbi and Ben.

First day back to work

Today was my first day back to work since my leg amputation.  It went splendidly.  I deleted about 2000 email and soon I'll be back up to speed.  I'm very excited.  Everyone I spoke with was supportive and glad to see me.  I work with great people.
Today was also my first full appointment with Snell Prosthetics.  We spoke for about an hour about types and time lines.  My goal is to walk before October 4th fof Terah's wedding.  I am very encouraged after the conversation at Snell.  As a backup plan I also bought the material for casting my leg in case I must build my own prosthetic.  We may build one anyway because how cool is that.
The biggest downer of the day is the phantom pain in my right foot.  Periodically I feel an electric shock on the bottom of my missing foot.  April gasp the first time I nearly collapsed in the floor from the pain. After the 4th or 5th time she chuckled a little.  I don't blame her.  I know it looks quite comedic and I must laugh a little too in between the convulsions.  Seriously, it feels like something the Vietnamese did to Rambo in an 80s movie.
I return to work again tomorrow.  I plan to work half days this week so I do not overtax my body.  I am super happy about working again, but I recognize I am not super human.  At least not until I get my bionic leg.

Goal #1 done

My first goal is done!  I am back at work this morning.  I plan to work half days this week so I don't push it too hard.  It feals good to be here.

My first fall since the surgery

My first fall finally happened.  April, Terah, and I went to the movies.  We watched the ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ which was entertaining but not great.   The 4:40 matinee was mostly empty so I decided I wanted to watch from one of the upper rows.  I park the wheel chair and we begin up the stairs.  Hop.  Hop.  Hop.  I reach the third row with no problem.  Next, I reach over and grab the armrest with my right hand the top of the row 2 seat with my left.  Hop – swish, my foot slides as soon as it hits the hard, non-carpeted floor.  Terah said I went down as straight as board.  I held my grip on the arm rest and row 2 seat as my foot rushed away from me and my body went down.   My butt hits the floor, followed by my left elbow and then by head.  Thankfully I go down as controlled as possible and it’s a relatively soft landing.  The only damage is a sore left elbow.  Lesson learned.  Theater floors are often wet.

The rest of the day was a good one.  April and I lounged around and did a lot of nothing.  It was very restful.