Finished with part one, now part two

Friday was my last day of IV interferon. I no longer have to go to Kaiser daily. It turned out that Friday was different than I imagined it would be. I had an appointment with my oncologist. We reviewed part two, what to expect and how I am right now. I questioned the healing of one of my surgery incisions, the one where the lymph node was removed. He immediately referred me to a surgeon as it was a bit infected. The surgeon opened up. The pain killer he gave me did not work sufficiently and it was one of the most painful experiences of my life! Nancy was with me at Kaiser. I told he this is the worst day of my life. She assured me it was not....but I had a hard time agreeing with her. We then went to the infusion room for my last treatment and to learn to give myself injections (part two). I was greeted by a huge bouquet of balloons from the Crones (my precious most wonderful group of women friends of which I could write a book about!). It was a full day. Unfortunately the celebration of being done with the infusions was dampened by the painful incision.

A new unexpected challenge. The surgery site has to be kept open so it will heal from the inside out. It previously had healed at the skin, but inside it had not. So, Danny has to remove packing daily and put new packing in it. I guess the nerves are all jumbled up from surgery as this process is absolute torture! I know this too will pass. I feel like my celebration of finishing the infusions was robbed. I also know this is all very minor compared to what most of the people who were being treated in the infusion center are dealing with. My positive outlook is being challenged.

Sunday night I gave myself my first injection. Another accomplishment. I will be doing injections on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. So healing days will be Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I am taking one day at a time and will see how all of this unfolds.

Today, Monday, I am going to try to stay relatively still. Hopefully my wound will benefit from little movement and will heal.
I have been all consumed with healing from surgery and the month of intense interferon I have not even begun the work that is important to me. What does this whole experience mean to me? This has been a life changing event. Coming to answers is part of what I hope to do in part two. For right now I am back to focusing on the surgery site healing and regaining my physical and emotional strength. I know there is overwhelming challenges in the world and I feel it is important to be conscious of this. In my little world I have so much to be joyful for and that is my focus. Joy and love give me strength.