So. . . How is it going?

I thought I'd give y'all an update on how things are going since the surgery.

I'm off the heavy duty drugs except when I get muscle spasms and everything tightens up. Sometimes it gets so tight that it is hard to take a deep breath. 2mg of Valium and a warm rice pack usually helps loosen things up. I am stiff regularly in the morning, so a hot shower is my remedy for that. I don't even want to know what our water bill is going to look like.

If I do too much, I still have Vicodin around, but it doesn't help as much as just resting on the couch and watching Pride and Prejudice (the Colin Firth version). In fact, I think Chloe's Virus Killing Chicken Soup and Pride and Prejudice are now my home remedies for just about everything. If they don't cure you, it's time for professional help.

I still can't lift a full pot of coffee and pour some in my cup. I can however, now lift my full coffee cup. I was limited to half cups at first because otherwise they were too heavy.

I cannot reach the buttons on the microwave unless I stand on our wooden stool. Our microwave is above the stove and is too high otherwise. Basically, I can reach as high as Spiff can. The stool is permanently parked in the kitchen now. I use it to get a coffee mug down from the second shelf in the cabinet each morning. I use it to get food off the top shelf of the refrigerator (although quart containers of food are still to heavy to move around). I cannot reach the chocolate that Joe stashed on the top shelf of the kitchen cabinets. I think he did that on purpose.

I can now wash my own hair. I have to bend over forward completely in the shower so I can reach my hair and wash it, but it gets done. I also get a ton of water up my nose, so my sinuses get cleaned out at the same time. Note to others contemplating a mastectomy--start practicing yoga now. You're going to need it.

I've lost a little weight and my abs have more definition. Since I can't use my arms to help me sit up, I have to do crunches to get out of bed, off the couch, etc. I have been really working out my abdominal muscles. And getting up to get a snack is completely not worth it, so that explains the weight loss.

I'm still not allowed to drive. Since pulling the car door closed with my right hand is still a bit of a challenge, I guess that is a good thing. I'm not doing many quick movements yet, so it is best that I keep myself and the kids off the Merritt Parkway for now.

I'm trying to sit up more and more instead of being at a partial incline. Today I knitted for a couple of hours and it was nice to take that up again. I finished a cabled chemo hat. Then I started another hat in Fair Isle work, so I was really using both hands/arms with that one. The boys interrupted me enough that I never got sore from the knitting.

Things that I am still unable to do and I miss:

• sleeping on my side and stomach
• taking a big stretch in the morning
• tucking my boys in at night (I can't reach far enough to pull the covers up around them)
• being able to sit up pain free long enough to ride to church and attend services (I may bring a pillow next week)
• brushing my hair when it gets messy/ reaching up to scratch my head if I need to
• tie my shoes without having to result in a contortionist's pose

But it's all good. I can brush my teeth with my right hand again. I can carry a small purse now. My boys have learned to make their own breakfast and lunch. And if I am very careful, I can pull an XL men's t-shirt over my head and get it on without hurting myself.