Smooth Bones

Today Dr Nelson, my podiatrist, gave me the ok to start walking without the boot some - still to wear it for exercise or extensive walking. He also told me, and this is the best news yet, that I can get my foot wet - which means I can hobble into the shower and actually take a real shower! No swimming or pedicures yet though 😉 Here's a before/after comparison:

He shaved off the bone growth at the end of my metatarsal (foot) bone and cut a wedge out of the top, allowing him to reangle the end of the bone where my phalange (toe) connects, giving it proper range of motion. In doing so, he shortened the length of my big toe. You can see it on the X-ray. Funny. You can also see there's still a good amount of swelling - it's not easy to fit my fat foot into a shoe yet. I'll be able to do the other foot in 3-4 weeks. I don't have any new news on cancer stuff. I have two breasts of equal size. The tissue expanders will be replaced with implants a month after my next foot surgery.

Lots of little updates

I got the stitches in my foot out on Monday. Doctor Nelson says it's looks great. I'll need to wear the boot for another couple of weeks. I'm really looking forward to being able to take a normal, standing shower! I think we'll do my right foot in July - that side will not allow me to drive for a while, so timing is a bit more complicated. I had my 1 month follow-up with my OBGYN after my total hysterectomy. He said I'm healing well. There are still some stitches that haven't dissolved in my vaginal cuff - "Umm, what's that?" That's what your cervix is called when they remove the goods. All is well in that department. Today I go see my radiation oncologist for my 6-week post-radiation checkup. No concerns there. Tomorrow I see the reconstruction doctor for the left-side fill that will make it the same size as my right. This is exciting - I've been walking around with mismatched breasts since he started filling my right side in January. Not that they were ever really the same before though...

Next step

A couple years ago I learned that I have... Problematic feet. Truly I've always had problematic feet - I was born with Club Feet, where both feet were curled up like fists. They would stretch them, cast them, then stretch them again, and cast them over and over - there was a metal bar that would hold my feet straight. It was a peaceful and enjoyable time for my parents. I have no recollection. Anyhoo... I've always had large, wide feet, but they didn't cause me troubles until a few years ago. I saw a podiatrist who said: surgery. He also taught me about what was happening and what I could do to limit the pain. Basically my big toe (phalange) is at the wrong vertical angle and has been jamming up into my foot bone (metatarsal) causing the bone to build up on the top of that joint. So I've been conscious about buying the right kind of shoes (mostly flip flops) that don't have anything that puts pressure over my bone. I knew that some day I'd have that surgery, but figured I'd wait until I had something else I also needed so we'd reach my deductible and we wouldn't have to pay quite so much out of pocket. Well guess what I did on January 12th - I met my yearly deductible! So my podiatrist was able to fit me in for a couple of appointments this week and I'll have my left foot surgery on Friday (can do the right foot a month after). I get to wear a fancy giant boot for a bit, but I'll be up and at 'em in no time.

Hysterectomy - done.

My surgery went well today, so now I'm comfortable at St Joe's Resort and Spa. The food is good, but I haven't gone down to the pool yet. I'm pretty relaxed, so if I close my eyes while you're visiting it's because I'm just feeling the moment or maybe because of the sun reflecting off the waves (of cars in the parking lot). I'll go home Wednesday (to a clean house, surely) with this step behind me. On to reconstruction next!

Oophorectomy

I find myself with a bit of pre-surgery insomnia. I check in at St. Joe's Resort and Spa in about 5 1/2 hours to have the rest of my girl parts removed. It's called an oophorectomy when they remove the uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries - I'm going to call it a hysterectomy because that's what we all know. I'm more nervous about forgetting chapstick than the actual procedure. I'm in good hands and I'll be better off without those parts anyway. Today I had my final follow-up with Dr Kommareddi, my breast surgeon, and she was happy with my healing. She is a very pleasant and kind doctor - kind of sad to say goodbye. My radiation burn is healing quickly (thanks to my aloe plants ... and a slew of creams and ointments). It's mostly peeled with fresh, pink/tan skin underneath. I'm wondering if I'm going to have a rectangle boob tan for a while.

All done with Radiation

I'm all done with radiation! I was surprised by a group of friends with party blowers & balloons for me after I rang the bell. I'm so grateful to these friends and all the others that have supported me, both near and far!

The radiation burn isn't terrible, but there are some pretty sensitive areas. Between the fresh aloe, moisturizers, and ointments I'm sure it'll heal up quickly. I'm definitely starting to feel the fatigue creeping in, but nothing like I expected. My sleep monitoring app has never been so proud of me! I'll start to reconstruct my left breast while the right side heals. I've gotten comfortable walking around in public with just one breast (I don't think most people even notice), but it'll be nice to get more balanced again. On April 17th I'm scheduled for an ooferectomy (uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries removed). We want to get those estrogen machines out of there - The cancer was being fed by estrogen. We've been blocking it and suppressing it, so this is the final step. Then I'll switch to an aromatase inhibitor as my long-term medicine (5 years).

4 down, 2 to go!

4 weeks it's radiation down and 2 more to go. Radiation has been pretty smooth - a rectangular burn is forming from my side to my sternum across my right breast. The worst part is under my arm below my armpit. It looks worse than it feels, so that's good. The side affects are generally a couple weeks behind treatment, so it'll continue to get worse for the next month. Hopefully the mild level of discomfort doesn't change much. Not so bad!

(Ignore my hairy armpit - no shaving during radiation) Aside from the burn, I haven't had any serious side affects to note. But I did learn that estrogen helps drive metabolism, so without that I have the metabolism of a sloth. Tata for now! (Written while sucking in my belly so I can button my fat jeans)