Today is the day, exactly 1 month out of surgery! I have no idea what I was doing this time last month...probably watching TV and drinking ginger-ale in the ICU waiting on the nurse to stop in every so often and ask me my name, the date, where I was, who the president is...anything to make me use my brain and keep me from sleeping through the night. I am thankful for those constant wake-up calls, even if I was not a fan during because I wanted nothing more than go to sleep.
Rewind a few hours to roughly 5:00 pm which is about the time that I think I woke up to some of my family in the room. I was out of surgery! I don't remember who exactly was in the room but it was a combination of people from the group of my mom, dad, Marion, Curtis, Mamu, Amelia, and aunt Tina. I woke up, heard about my sister's ridiculously swollen feet from Curtis, ordered dinner (grilled cheese, chicken noodle soup, chocolate ice cream), Curtis went and got me some ginger-ale & delicious juices, and then we enjoyed our nightly ritual of Wheel of Fortune & Jeopardy.
To celebrate my 1 month surgiversary, please enjoy this lovely picture from May 23rd, video from May 24th, and today (I thought it was appropriate to share my delicious dinner from Imperial because who doesn't like tacos?)!
May 23rd, shortly after arriving to the ICU, what's one of the first things I do? Snapchat of course. Photo credit: Curtis!
May 24th, out of ICU in a normal room. My mom ventures down to grab lunch and I ask her to bring up something sweet. She comes back with two mini cheesecakes, both of which we eat. What happens next? The nurse shows up to check my blood sugar. I don't really know anything about blood sugar, but my wonderful sister was there and knows more than I do, so when I was told my results and asked "is that bad???" it was one of the funniest things she heard all day.
Last but not least, my celebratory dinner this evening. This should make your mouth water because trust me, it was amazing.
Now that I have made it 4 weeks, I will be able to increase my physical activity by riding my bike (I bought a gray bike helmet the other day to keep this precious cargo safe!), lifting things heavier than 10 lbs, and possibly bending at the waist just a little bit. I can also start driving around the neighborhood and slowly increase my distance. Baby steps. I worked out for the first time in 4 weeks on Tuesday by accomplishing 30 minutes of level 7-10 on the stationary bike at the gym and I'm not going to lie, it wasn't easy, but I made it through. This half-marathon is not going to run itself.
One last reflection on the last 4 weeks. With all of my time at home resting and recovering, what did I accomplish?
Finished the centerpieces for my sister's baby shower
Chalk painted my dresser
Finished the entire series of "The United States of Tara"
Finished Season 1 of "The Ranch"
Made the picture boards for my cousin's graduation party
Took the dogs to the vet
Got a tan
Painted my nails
Finished reading "The Happiness Advantage"
Started reading "WE"
Improved my cooking skills
Spent a lot of quality time with amazing family & friends
In the next few days I plan on writing about where I fit in in this 'brain cancer' or 'brain tumor' community. I have stated that I absolutely do not want a pity party, nor do I want special treatment. Unfortunately, the word 'cancer' has large emotional ties and the whole 'special treatment' piece may be hard to avoid, or hard for me to not think about. Repeating myself again, I want to know that someone isn't telling me how great or talented I may be because they feel bad, and are telling me because that's how they actually feel. This is an internal battle I am having a difficult time with and I think after explaining my point of view, it may help. May not make much sense now, but stay tuned :)
Cheers!
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