Sorry I didn't update yesterday, I wasn't feeling very well. I think I was asleep at 5:45! I had an appointment with my neurosurgeon yesterday before treatment. Since my shunt in my back has failed we discussed options. If we revise the shunt I would have to take a week off of radiation. I told him that I want to wait until after radiation and I am making such great progress at therapy. After radiation, I am pretty sure the shunt will be revised. The shunt is to act as a drainage system for the cyst that are throughout my spinal cord. They drain the fluid out and the cyst is to decrease. When they first placed it in, the MRI showed that it was working; however, they feel the tumor cells have clogged it.
Therapy is going great! I have been walking 150 feet everyday! Unfortunately, my doctors still want me to get my heparin shots to prevent clotting. Figures! We practiced walking up and down curbs today...going down is a bit scary...hopefully with a little more practice I will get it down. I still feel I have been getting better each day. I haven't been able to do anything with my left foot in some time, but I was able to wiggle 2 toes! My right foot has been responding as well...I'm able to wiggle just about all my toes! We have also been using a muscle stimulator, today we used it on the nerves/muscles in my shins that helped work the muscles that control my feet. With that, my feet were able to pull towards my body. I feel as though my drop foot on the right side is slowly being corrected but my left is still the same. Drop foot is just how it sounds. My left foot hangs down and I am not able to pull it up towards my body. I wear AFO braces in my shoes that help hold both feet up and not let them drag while I am walking. While I sleep I also wear boots ( I call them clod-hoppers) that help keep my feet up. If I sit for a long period of time my feet will turn blue and be freezing cold. I have been checked for blood clots and everything was normal. Drs feel it is just because my nerves are not responding.
Today at radiation a machine was down, so we had to wait about 2 hours for treatment. I must be good at napping because once again I slept through the majority of treatment. The nurse said since this was treatment 5 I will probably begin to feel the effects more and become pretty tired after. At least tonight I made it past 5:45!
Hope everyone is staying warm! Every morning I wake up I look at the view from my window and see how frozen the river is!!
The continued love and support is amazing. Thank you to Alexander's Pizza & Subs for holding a benefit buffet. Jon & I greatly appreciate your support for our fight against cancer.
"A strong person is not the one who doesn't cry. A strong person is one who is quiet and sheds tears for a moment, and then picks up her sword and fights again"
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