Wednesday, March 30, 2011

"2319, 2319!"

I'm doing great.  I've worked all three days so far this week, and I have probably 80% range of motion in my left shoulder.  Still pretty sore, but it's coming along.  I'm even learning to ignore the nerve pain.  Forward progress is tangible.

Now here's the crud that I haven't mentioned yet.  Remember last October when the mammogram of the right breast showed calcifications?  Calcifications do not necessarily mean cancer, and the right breast has never shown any increased metabolic activity on Dr. Oncologist's PET or MRI scans.  Dr. Oncologist and I were therefore not concerned at this time.  (Increased metabolic activity would be indicative of cancer, so the negative results by PET and MRI are favorable.)  Well, Dr. Surgeon decided to do another mammogram of the right breast on the morning of my mastectomy.  Although I maintain that mammograms as a rule are not that painful and only last a second, this one was a super bummer because my port is right above the business...ouch!  The calcifications were still there.  Dr. Surgeon, therefore, has decided to biopsy the area with the calcification because I now have a history of breast cancer.  Tomorrow I will see Dr. Surgeon to assess my (Wonder Woman) recovery from the left mastectomy and to plot the biopsy of the right breast that will take place on Monday.

At this point I feel like George from Monsters, Inc.  He's this cheerful hairy monster who is minding his own business when his co-worker points out that he has a dangerous contaminant (a child's sock) on his back.  Special forces swoop in and give him a rigorous decontamination treatment.  He is left traumatized and hairless (see movie clip).  The co-worker catches George with child contamination two more times in the movie.  At first George suffers another treatment, but in the end George shoves the child's sock in the co-worker's mouth and saunters away.  At the end of the movie, George's hair has grown in and he is happily back at work.

I am currently relating to the sock-stuffing George, although I plan to control myself and not exhibit any violence with any of my doctors.  I look forward to relating to the happy hairy George in the near future.    

7 comments:

  1. I think a swipe (or a swoop) or two at the doctors would be in line at this time :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Does this mean a trip to IC? Lovely day for it!

    Give those docs a solid poke for me!

    Martha

    ReplyDelete
  3. You could always just throw cheerios at the doctors like Mike & Sully do to Boo at the beginning.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Remember when we went grocery shopping in IC because if we bought Monster's Inc there we got free cereal and Teddy Graham's? Best deal ever!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Looks like more research (on my part) is due. I guess I will be looking for Monsters, Inc at the library. I hate being out of the loop!

    Love seeing you at work again. That smile lights up the entire first floor - even for those of us on the south side.

    ReplyDelete
  6. you have quite the sense of humor my dear. Where do you come up with this stuff? Happy for your good week. xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  7. Personally, I think that a sock thrown at someone of the medical persuasion would be tolerated. You have earned it. I'll be saying lots of prayers for the biopsy on Monday. Love you lots. Andrea

    ReplyDelete