An email to my family

I have some really good news I want to share with you all.  I have turned the corner and am enjoying life again.  I titled my last blog post, "Put your funeral clothes away!"  Let me give you a little history.

On December 15th I experienced the most agonizing night of my life.  The pain was all consuming and I could not get relief.  The next day (on the advice of my GERMAN NEW MEDICINE doctor) I called Hospice for pain management and wound care (Hospice doesn't mean "one foot in the grave").  They were here the next morning and I had pain meds in my bloodstream that afternoon.  What a big help.  Not great, but still a help.  It took about 2 weeks for them to realize that morphine was what I needed.  Now, I was feeling much better.

Again, on the advice of my GNM doc I went to a wound care clinic in mid January.  The doctor there asked what oncology I was using and when I told him that I wasn't using oncology he dismissed me by saying he could not do anything for me.  He then took Preston out in the hall the speak in private.  We know what THAT conversation was, don't we?!

While they were out of the room the nurse said that she could help me feel more comfortable and told me what I needed to do in terms of cleaning the wound and gave me a dressing to use. That was the catalyst for the turning point.  The dressing relieved 99% of my pain (which was now a 5 instead of a 10 thanks to the morphine).  It is called Mepilex Transfer and has been a godsend.

Now with the new dressing my pain was less then a 1 on a scale of 1 to 10 and I started sleeping 7-8 hours a night.  Prior to that I was happy if I got 4-5 hours of  sleep.  In deep sleep is the only time a body heals and with all that glorious sleep my body started making up for lost time.  My energy increased and then my appetite returned and then I got more energy.  Over the last 4 weeks I have started driving and doing light errands again.  I even went out on our boat last week!

I went back to the wound care clinic under the care of a different doctor who agreed to treat me palliatively which is all I wanted anyway.  It was my 3 week follow up.  The doc and nurse were SHOCKED by the progress the wound had made.  The doc said she would have been pleased if the wound had stopped growing, much less starting to close and look so healthy.  Since that visit I have started using a product from New Zealand called Medihoney.  Now the wound is practically closing before our very eyes.

I still have a long way to go.  I have to rest a lot, nap often and be careful not to over do it, but I am having a great time healing!  The cats even stopped sitting vigil and became playful.  They have been constant companions, bringing good energy to me while removing the bad.

I know I would not be anywhere near this healed if it had not been for the unending care and love I have gotten from my Preston.  In December he was with me almost 24/7. I was in such a bad way and he did everything for me. He had a difficult few months taking care of me and is so relieved and happy to see me functioning again.  I even get in the kitchen and cook once in a while which is one of my favorite things to do - nourish my family!  He is long over due for some nourishing and I look forward to being able to give back to him and all that have been so supportive!

Please feel free to share my blog...I think it is important that woman know they can survive breast cancer if they opt out of the cuts, chemicals and burns of the cancer industry.

Much love and good health to you all,
Cyn