Yeah! I am finally home again. I was discharged this afternoon from Cancer Treatment Centers after being there for a week. Wes came to pick me up and then dropped me off at home so he could go back to work. I had a hair appointment at 2 p.m., so I had no other option but to drive. I guess it is about time that I drive.
The docs switched my medication so I am not nearly as drowsy. In fact, I have a good deal of energy. The drive was easy (Scottsdale), which is good news because next week I have radiation everyday at 9:30 a.m, and can’t depend on others to always chauffeur me around. It was a little strange being in the driver seat after six months of not driving, but it felt good. I almost felt like my old self again.
Yesterday, I had a slew of visitors. I guess someone must be paying attention. Just as I was starting to feel sorry for myself, I had visitors (friends and CTCA employees). It was great to see everyone, although it was exhausting and a little chaotic. Rosanna brought her kids Magnus and Sofie to the hospital. It’s amazing how fast kids grow in a short amount of time.
The vertebroplasty-coblation surgery went well on Thursday. My back was finally pain-free, or at least almost pain-free. I was able to move around and walk at a much quicker pace then before. Even the nurses noticed a dramatic difference. The downside is that my lower left back started hurting this afternoon where they did the surgery. I hope this goes away soon. It hurts to move my legs, turn or stand up from a sitting position. The doctor did say that it would probably get worse before it gets better. I hope this is true. This will have been my third vertebroplasty. I am wondering how many more they can do before my entire vertebrae is filled with cement. The whole purpose of the surgery is to keep my spine from spontaneous collapse, so at this point I will do however many surgeries it takes to keep this from occurring.
During my stay this week at CTCA, I met several other patients. One patient tracked me down just to say hi! Everyone I spoke with had such a positive attitude towards CTCA and their own battle against cancer. It’s nice to be surrounded by such positive people, including the docs, nurses and other employees.
About a month ago a team from EmpowHer.com came to do an interview with me to post on their Web site. The vignettes went live a couple of weeks ago and I am really pleased with how they turned out. I would love to do more now that I know what the procedure is and I am not so doped up. There are 21 videos in total and we will also be adding this to my new Web site, www.themelissawaller.com, when we go live (maybe next week)?
To view the online content now, visit: https://www.empowher.com/community/herstory/video-herstory-melissa-shares-advice-others-lung-cancer.
Link to blog: http://themelissawaller.wordpress.com/2009/07/11/return-home-from-ctca/