Recovery

New Years Eve came.  My sister and I took out the fur coats, popped the champagne and grabbed glasses only to walk to the end of the block to watch all the fireworks on the Strip with other neighbors who had gathered there.  It had been 10 days since the surgery.  I had been laying down for so long healing, I was actually begging my boss to let me come back to work.  She told me I had to have the doctor's release.  I was getting up and moving around but not without pain or loss of energy.  I still pushed on.  My sister and I would do as many errands as I could stand - go for some lunchtime special at a nearby casino with a ridiculously cheap prices, clear out the pantry and garage, take some of my son's things to his friends and my own things to Goodwill, then nap.  Some of these things had been on my to-do list for years.  Got stacks of filing cleared away, the house was spotless, the dog was walked daily.  I worried that if I got everything on my to-do list done, would I expire? 

Time came for my sister to leave and I drove her to the airport.  I would now go back to work and be in the house alone.  It was very quiet and lonely.  I went back to work and my co-workers were relieved to have me back.   Although they did a great job of pitching in, they did leave me a backlog of things to close out that never got touched during my absence.  It will take months to get caught up.  I had to get to closing out 2011.  Still felt the daily aches and pains from the stitches.  Tried all kinds of skin remedies to make the scarring disappear but none worked. 

I noticed this ad for Run Away with Cirque du Soliel, a One Drop World Water Day Event happening the end of March.  I was determined to make that walk as a goal for myself to be feeling well enough to walk 3k.  Maybe I'd even feel enough energy to take up Zumba.  That was an ambitious idea.  I asked everyone in my department to join me and got 3 takers.  One brought her grandson, another her aunt and mother, and I brought my husband's supervisor.  We had a nice crowd, coordinated early morning breakfast, carpooling and where to meet.  It was a wonderful brisk walk I had no problem making.  I was elated.  There was free food, entertainment, lots of fun exhibits and I had never actually been to the Springs Preserve.  It was a great day.  I wanted to do it again so we planned for Walk for the Cure in May, two months later.

On May 3rd, I had my first cancer check up since the surgery.  Saw the nurse practitioner, told her that I had been having some spotting, nothing more and was healing quite nicely.  She said she saw some "proud tags" that may be the cause and she would put some medication on it.  The next day, my husband and I went for full executive physicals.  I hadn't had one in years.  They do it all.  The doctor told me I looked great and those many years of dance still had lingering effects.  I really felt good.  Energy was up, mood was great, I was on a healing path.  The next day is the Walk for the Cure and I get the doctor's exhuberant okay.  We meet in the morning for breakfast again, carpool over and join thousands of others walking and running.  Another great walk and Zumba here I come!  I buy the Wii version and start doing the short class version in my living room trying to make it to a full length class.  I'm now doing it 3 times a week - nothing short of a miracle!  I'm feeling good enough to take a 4 day vacation to Los Angeles to go to Venice Beach and Universal Studios.  I don't even notice any lack of energy.  I am looking good and feeling fine!