Just 14 broken ribs

Never in my life could I imagine those words being so comforting – but they were the best words I think I’ve ever heard. I came home Thursday afternoon and while we were in the process of discharge they came in with my radiology report. My scans showed nothing malignant or scary looking, “just 14 broken ribs.” [this is due to osteoporosis from chemo – more testing and meds to come with this – we think I’ve had them for months since I had pneumonia back to back in December and January] Well, we can work with that I think. Marsh loaded up all my stuff and as soon as I got in the car I said “can we go get a peach milkshake from Chick-Fil-A?,” to which he replied, “you want waffle fries too?” Well, duh! of course! I got home and crashed. I think the tension of the previous 24 hours waiting on the bone scan results and then the relief took quite a toll. I pretty much slept till Friday morning. Months ago we had planned a pig roast for this Saturday and I insisted we not cancel because of me, so the guys spent Friday getting ready while I chilled out in the throne room (I think this was actually genius timing on my part, don’t you?). My heart was so full yesterday having friends and family over – even though I wasn’t in the middle of it, really, not even on the fringes, I was so happy knowing that people were having a great time around me doing one of our family traditions. Each day I have woken up feeling a bit better with a little less pain. We are getting settled into the new routine for now and I have to get the calendar out and work on the scheduling of new doctors’ appointments, wound vac changes, etc. But we have a plan and are working it, and I’ve got all my people around me so I’m good. I should have the wound vac for a month at least and it is not likely that the wound will fully close on its own – I will have to have some sort of graft surgery to completely close it. So we can pray that Wally (that’s the wound vac’s name – if you have been with me through any of this, you know I name all my devices) overachieves and closes things up better than expected so that the graft can be as small as possible.

One nice thing about being inpatient on the BMT floor this past week was that I was able to visit two new patients! It was much more convenient to walk down the hall than drive to Augusta, so I took advantage of the opportunity. I was very upset when all this happened literally the day after my first official day volunteering, but then I pulled myself back up, regrouped, and decided I wasn’t going to let it derail me – we would just work around and find a new way. In some ways, it was a huge positive because it enabled me to get to know all the new staff that has come since I was there 2 years ago. We had much more time to talk about our plans for helping patients, the logistics of the cozy closet revamp, and more. So, while I wouldn’t have planned it like this, it turned out to work out for the best.

One last thing…please keep up prayers for healing. I don’t want to be greedy, but seriously, if Wally could go over and above and help me avoid surgery, that’d be great – it doesn’t hurt to ask! And keep praying for my amazing doctors, family, friends and everyone who keeps me going – I really couldn’t do this alone. And if I had a conversation with you this past week, I was on serious meds – I probably don’t remember it – so call me back and remind me what we talked about, especially if we made plans – because I would hate to miss out on a fun idea we came up with! Happy 4th of July everyone, I am so glad I had good news to share. I will try to keep everyone posted on my progress. Enjoy your ribs and think of me!