But For a Small Moment: May 2015

I have just been enjoying the fact that I am in remission and don't have to go through any more chemo treatments, so haven't blogged anything for awhile. But family and friends who are far away are asking how I am doing. So here is an update.

On February 25th, I had the surgery to have my port removed. I was just under conscious sedation, but I sure don't remember anything after they prepped me! When I was in recovery, they asked if I wanted to keep my port. So here it is! One friend suggested that I make a Christmas ornament out of it - which I think is an awesome idea. I will have to get creative somehow and make it look festive. I didn't know it was purple and heart shaped.

During chemo treatments, my arthritis was completely gone because of the drugs I was taking. Well, after those drugs wore off, my arthritis has come back with a vengeance! I am having pains where I never had pains before!! So I am hoping that it will settle down after awhile. It's not bad enough to be taking any medications for it, but it certainly can be painful if I bump a joint that is aching.

My energy level has increased dramatically. It is not back to my normal energy, but so much better than it has been for a really long time. Now that I am feeling better, I realize how long it has been since I have felt this good - since way before my diagnosis! I can go up stairs now and not be exhausted and winded after 10 steps.

I having been playing some golf (riding in a cart, not quite ready to walk 18 holes yet. It makes my swing erratic when I get fatigued!) and am looking forward to some hiking this summer. Ken had hip replacement surgery 1 1/2 weeks ago, so I think by the time he is ready to hike, I should be ready too.

The most common question I have been asked is, "How does your hair look?" So, I started taking weekly pictures. To help the growth along, I have been using a biotin shampoo and taking a biotin/apple pectin supplement. I don't know how much it has helped, but I certainly have been getting some good hair growth. I mean, it was growing in places that it hadn't grown before! I had hair on my neck and face that was getting longer than a woman should have in those places. So I shaved that off and it has not really come back. My body has some readjusting to do! But my eyelashes and eyebrows are back to normal.

So, here are some photos of the hair growth.