Monday, August 11, 2008

A Monday on the Lake

Currently my baby brother is undergoing his first colonoscopy to makes sure we do not share this horrible disease, FAP. (ok, so he is not a baby at 26, but he will always be my baby brother!) I am praying that I am the only genetic mutation and that he will not be sharing this new family tradition with me. I will update the blog as soon as we hear anything from him. Which may be awhile, he is more sensitive to medication than me so I assume he'll take his time coming out of the druggie fog.

Besides sitting on pins and needles waiting to hear from Andy, life has been good at Jim and Dee's Lakeside Retreat. Mom and Dad have been doing everything they can to fatten me back up, so far they are successful for one pound. My appetite is starting to come back, and the anti nausea med is helping to make food sound good again. They also have me walking a lot. Yesterday consisted of 3 walks! One up hill (hard as hell thank you very much!), one long one around Walmart*, and one flat easy one. Also, Dad has given me a pedometer, so we can measure my progress. Yesterday I walked 3,000 steps. (I know that may not sound like much, but when just showering makes you feel like you ran 6 miles, 3,000 steps is A LOT) Today I am paying the price with a terribly sore abdominal muscle. (I guess that can happen when one of the main muscles that help stay erect has been cut in two and has a hole in it) But, the pain is nothing my extra strength Vicodan can't take care of. My nurse was right when she said around 3 weeks post op you will push yourself a bit to far.

Also I would like to thank everyone who has sent me something. The gifts, cards and flowers really mean a lot. It is very comforting to know others are thinking about you. Even the comments left on the blog letting me know you are "listening" to me make me feel good. I was planning to do a Shout-out post once in awhile to thank people, but Mr Manners (aka Dad) says I still need to write Thank You cards. So I will as soon as I have enough energy for it.

*Some of you may be surprised to read that I patronized Walmart, but up here in the boondocks it is the ONLY place to shop. Otherwise I totally would boycott the Wally World. (I boycott due to their practices, not to their cheapness. I am all about cheap, just not when it comes at others expense.)

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Glad to hear your parents are "fattening you up"!! You didn't have anything to loose in the first place!

Keri said...

You seem to have a plethora of fabulous nurses -- husband, mother-in-law, mom, dad, Dexter...

Glad to hear that you're up, walking, and eating.

Sugarmouth O'Riordan said...

I think all of your loved ones will agree that a person living with cancer is officially off the hook when it comes to thank you notes. I totally understand the impulse to practice good manners, but your job right now is to eat, rest, and heal.

Thank yous are definitely an outsourcable task--tell your dad he's first on your list to take on the job! ;)

Megan McPeak Davis said...

Hi Steph,
Its your cousin Megan (or is it second cousin twice removed?) My dad just told me today about what you are going through. Wow that sucks!! I read all of the postings; you seem incredibly strong, despite the fact that you don't always think you are. I know we haven't seen each other since we were what...16, but I feel so close now that I know everything about your inner workings! But, seriously, you will be in my thoughts and prayers. Keep up the positive thinking as much as you can. I'm at megmcpeak@gmail.com if you want to catch up.

Christina said...

Yay for the steps!! Keep up the good work!

Maribeth said...

I have a toddler that I have to chse after everyday and i don't think I do 3,000 steps. It sounds like you are doing a great job.

Glad to hear your parents are taking good care of you.