Family Pow-Wow

As of now, treatment has not begun and there are more rounds of doctor visits this week.

We all met as a family on Sunday evening to discuss my condition at this point: Do we choose to delay treatment for my fractured heel bone to heal? What about second opinions? Should we include alternative or complementary care? What should we expect when treatment begins?

My time has been consumed with seeking counsel from friends and acquaintances in the medical or allied health professions and doing many hours of research. So, this week, we see my primary care doctor again; get a second opinion on my fractured heel from another orthopedist; gather all my records to send to another cancer care team in Redding for a second opinion. Gathering all my records has been a challenge, as my oncologist has not supplied my primary care doctor with all of my test results. She has been very good about making sure I have copies of everything, which I have been told is important for me to have and carry with me whenever I seek any kind of treatment for any kind of condition.

The swelling in my foot has gone down, although it is not gone completely. The bruising on my foot and lower calf is slowly dissipating. Several times a day I take off my “boot” and massage my lower leg and tenderly exercise my toes and rub my foot, to stimulate the circulation and to promote healing. I’m getting quite adept at getting myself up and down the steps and stairs in our house and have improved enough that I’m able to use the crutches more and have parked the walker. I still use the wheelchair when we’re out of the house, as I do not have the energy to walk very far or very fast on the crutches.

There are times of great discouragement, but the notes, phone calls, cards, etc. always pick me up again and keep me going. It gives me the courage I need to fight the battle ahead.