Some closure

I could not get sleepy last night so I ended up deciding I needed to go up around 2:30AM. Nick slept in again this morning but Ellie was already downstairs eating breakfast. I got all our clothes ready and then made Nick some breakfast. I packed Ellie's lunch and cut up an apple for her snack. Ellie walked to the bus and when the bas came I got Nick ready to go to Mom's house - I had my meeting with Carol from the survivor ship program today. I dropped Nick off and then was on my way to Kellogg. I checked in and Carol came to find me. We had a lengthy meeting - a bit over an hour. The meeting basically goes over all my chart from the date of diagnosis until today. We talked about radiation effects, I still have pain when a door hits my butt or when I try to use my hip to push something closed. This should lessen with time but might never be gone. We talked about surgery and how other than the compazine allergy the surgery and recovery were pretty much textbook. We discussed my folfox therapy and she had calculated out my total doses of each of the different parts of the chemotherapy. We talked about side effects that still exist - neuropathy, some depth perception issues which also could fit into the neuropathy category. Sleep or sleeplessness. Carol informed me that there is a blood test Dr. Marsh can run that would give me a clear picture if I am in active menopause or not. We spent a bit of time talking about what early menopause means higher risk for cardio-vascular disease, bone density issues - especially in the pelvic region because of the radiation. I am apparently more at risk for pelvic fractures - I will have to remember this next time I decide to fall down the stairs. We went over the 'standards' for testing and office visits - I guess the new normal involves a pretty steady schedule of doctor appointments. Carol gave me a huge folder filled with resources and we discussed symptoms that definitely need to be called into my doctor. By the end of my meeting with Carol I started to feel some closure to this chapter. I now know that after my list of May appointments and procedures I can now add a visit to an opthamologist, my ob/gyn and my new primary care physician. I went back to Mom's house and we had lunch together before we went home. Nick really wanted to watch his new dvd from the McSlaton family. When we came home he was more interested in playing with his trains. I did eventually convince him to come and cuddle with me and we watched Kipper on tv. We walked to the corner to pick up Ellie from the bus (which was so late today) and they finally hired a permanent driver. Ellie started her homework and then Mom and Dad came over for some playtime before dinner. Nick was happy to have a playmate while Mom helped Ellie finish her homework. After homework, Ellie and Mom tried out Ellie's spa craft kit - they were making oatmeal soap for the tub. I started doing dinner prep - cutting veggies and getting water boiling and the oven preheated. Rob got home from work and he was in a good mood. Mom helped me finish up dinner prep and then we sat down to eat. We had pasta, meatballs, broccoli, asparagus, garlic bread and fruit salad. Ellie made her own creation - garlic bread with meatballs, broccoli and noodles sprinkled with romano cheese. After dinner, Mom and Ellie read a book - Nick listened. Mom and Dad left and we got Nick into a bath. We went up for bedtime and Nick asked if I would cuddle him and he was out cold about 2 minutes later. Rob and I have been watching tv and talking - he went up to bed a little bit ago. My knee has been sliding in and out of place today - doesn't feel so good. I think I might be ready to give a pedicure a try in another few weeks. My feet are still peeling and still pretty sensitive but to soak and be pampered might just work. My hands are doing pretty good - they still have occasional pins and needle pain. Visualising my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree