I started Physical Therapy 13 days after surgery.  I was so tired by this time & was a little surprised the Dr’s wanted me to JUMP into this so soon.  Sue was with me my first week of PT, driving me back & forth, 3 days that week.  I went to JVS Rehabilitation near my place.  Janice and Catherine were on my case, trying to figure out how I was going to learn to walk again.

Alice, Oneida, Janet S, Janet H, Mom, Helen & Barb all helped in getting me to physical therapy & my follow-up appts at Johns Hopkins.  They did very well for not being CITY DRIVERS.

I was scheduled for a CT Scan, blood work & a followup appt w/Dr. Ettinger  on June 8th.  This appt would turn out to be life changing!

I was home trying to adjust to being immobile.  I was using crutches to get around and Mom & Dan were there to help me.  There were a lot of adjustments to be made as I couldn’t sleep in my own bed.  It was too firm.  I missed the hospital bed.  I was able to sleep on the sleeper sofa because there was SOME GIVE on the air mattress.  Getting around was an adjustment.

I went back to Hopkins to have the drain removed but had to wait 3 weeks to get the stitches out.  Since my leg was radiated, they wanted to be sure it had enough time to heal.  The bad part was some of the stitches got buried because my skin starting to grow over them.  It was rough having them removed.

I was awakened by the telephone, it was Dr. Weber!  Where are you, she asked.  I said I was sleeping.  I was told to be there at NOON.  She said NO, we are waiting for you.  This was about 7:00 a.m.  I did not have time TO THINK.  I told her I could be there by 9.  After all, I wanted to get a shower before heading into the hospital.  Norma, Oneida & I headed into the city.  Mom, Alice & Sue drove down from PA & met us at the hospital.  Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see them before I was taken in for surgery.  The morning flew as they were literally waiting for me to get there.

During surgery the tumor was removed.  It was 11 cm in length & wrapped around the anterior 50% of the femur.  In addition, 40% of the vastus medialis & all of the vastus intermedius were removed.  The femur was scraped in an effort to leave no cells behind.  I remember waking up in recovery & not being able to feel a thing.  By the time I got to my room, I was sitting up in bed visiting with family & friends.  They were so excited cause the tumor was out & Dr. Weber was able to get “clean margins”.  I remember this vividly as I was Happy but also a little down because I could not control my leg in any way.

I would be walking on it the next day with the aid of crutches, which literally made me cry.  I had never had an incision & mine was 12 inches long & held together by 20 stitches internally & 30 stitches externally.  INCISION PAIN was brutal.  The next day I was doing the stairs.  There were Dr’s & Nurses standing in the hall watching & clapping, cheering me on.  I cried that day too.  By Thursday, they were ready to send me home.  But I waited until Friday because I had made arrangements for a friend to meet me at my steps to be sure I could get up all 18 of them!  It was rough.

The weeks prior to surgery were hard.  I did work some to keep my mind occupied.  I found it helped to keep my thinking on normal, every day things and not the UNKNOWN.

One task that needed to be done, was coming off the pain patch I had been using.  Dr. Weber didn’t want me on that strong narcotic for surgery.  I was given lower dose pain patches & pills to help this process.  Thru this, I learned what “withdrawal” is all about.  I experienced some of the affects of drug withdrawal.  It was very challenging.

I decided to go to PA for Easter to be with family.  That too was difficult.  I had been in “isolation” for so long & everyone wanted to see me.  It was hard to handle all the activity because of how bad I still felt.  Plus, I was a bag of NERVES.  I was so scared & returned to MD early just to be in my own surroundings.  I went to see Dr. Alonso & she prescribed a mild dose of xanax to get me thru the last 5 days until surgery.  She was surprised I didn’t need it before now.  I share this because everyone needs HELP at times.

After finishing 2 rounds of chemo & 22 radiation treatments, I had to wait 4 – 6 weeks to have surgery to remove the tumor.  Dr. Frank Frassica, the Orthopedic Oncologist on my team recommended that Dr. Kristy Weber take over my case.  At the time, I was very upset.  I didn’t want a new Dr & having to explain everything I had endured to this point.  But it ended up being a very good thing!

When Dr. Weber contacted me, she knew my case & what I had been through.  I was very impressed!  Her comment was … if my calculation is correct you are eligible for surgery on Tuesday, April 25th, will that work for you?  I couldn’t believe it.  I had battled at different times for appts, etc … so this was a breath of fresh air for me!  Of course, I said YES!

Now I just had to get through 4 more weeks of no sickness, etc … it was difficult coming from an appt driven world to the “waiting” game.  Extremely rough mentally & I was full of fear.