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Quick Update: Hip and Cancer

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Spring at Wynn and Luna's      As of yesterday, I've been home six weeks.  In this time, I've gotten significantly stronger, but I still have a ways to go.   No more walker and the rental wheelchair has been returned.  I need to use a cane, but am trying to get around the house without it for increasing longer periods.  (My limp is  significant, however.  Gotta work on that.) Wound vac...gone two weeks ago.  This was a big step forward for me.  No more being attached to a 4 lb. pump by 4 feet of tubing. The incision is slowly healing and I only have to see the wound care PT once a week now. IV antibiotics...done last week.  Now I'm on three oral antibiotics, but with the end of home IV treatments, I'm done dealing with tubes.  The hospital bed was returned three weeks ago because I am strong enough to make it up our stairs.   After a few practice runs, I'm back to driving.  PT 3x/week continues to...
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Learning to Find a Purpose

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     Aside from being a lung cancer ninja, I've been a genetic counselor for 35 years.  I love my job.  I don't have any difficulty getting my morning routine going so I can get to work because I enjoy being there.  Up until 8 months ago, I was working with a medical geneticist in a Pediatric Genetics Clinic.  When the medical geneticist retired last summer, I was moved to Maternal Fetal Medicine.  I now see pregnant women who are at an increased risk for having a baby with a problem.  On most days, I'm able to give my patients reassuring information that their baby appears just fine.  But because Maternal Fetal Medicine practices see 'high risk' pregnant mothers, the nature of our business is a poignant reminder that things don't always go well. However, I feel that the work my team does makes a positive difference in the lives of our patients.        This past week I saw a patient that is making a di...
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Because Stage 4 Cancer Isn't Enough-Part 2

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       As I sit down to try to write Part 2, I'm finding it difficult to put my thoughts together.  I haven't yet wrapped my head around the events of Part 1, and even wonder if I don't have some post-traumatic stress going on.  Thinking that, with the home physical therapist's directions, I was walking around, including stairs, with a broken femur for four days makes me cringe .  On top of that, due to the fracture, I bled so much into my hip that my hemoglobin fell to 5.0 g/dL, (normal range for women is 12.0-15.5 g/dL).  The American Association of Blood Banks' guidelines recommend transfusion at  7-8 g/dL. Although I received four units of blood before the second surgery, as I said good-bye to Wynn, Nathan and Nina, I worried that I would not make it out of that surgery OK.            The second surgery with my new orthopedic surgeon, Dr. J., went well.  Here's the X-ray:   ...
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