Just Call Me a Post-Surgery Zombie
Hello! I am still coming down off the high of the Today Show last week. I had such a great time and it’s amazing what adrenaline and a fistful of Vicodin can do for your spirits! I felt so great that day that I assumed that I was going to recover really quickly from surgery…unfortunately, not the case.
I took a huge nap when I returned home on Wednesday and since then, I have averaged about 13 hours of sleep a day! I am a total zombie. Everyone tells me that this is great news and that I need to sleep because you heal best when you sleep. That’s great…and I feel like I am the opposite of the Energizer Bunny (don’t tell them, they might take the prize back!)
It’s also hard to sit for very long at my computer so I apologize to anyone who has emailed me and I haven’t returned your messages. I so appreciate all of the well wishes and they really keep me going. However, please be patient and don’t expect a response for a few weeks. That also goes for folks who want to visit. I really would love to see you but I am sleeping so much these days that I get nervous to commit to a specific time. Hopefully in about two weeks I will be up for visitors.
The official Energizer induction ceremony is tomorrow in St. Louis. I am not able to travel but I was thrilled that my parents offered to go on the trip and accept the award on my behalf. Thanks to technology, I am going to be patched in “live” so that I can give a five minute acceptance speech. I am so excited! And in REALLY great news, between Energizer’s donation and the donation that Dave and I received on behalf of Energizer, $15,000 will be given to Cycle for Survival to kick off the 2011 event. I am enclosing a “thank you” video that I recorded on the set of NBC’s Today Show.
We will be opening registration in a few weeks and get ready to be bombarded by me!!! No excuses this year! I want everyone riding with me in February. If you are not signed up to receive alerts, please visit cycleforsurvival.org and submit your email.
I shared in an earlier post that Dave and I often don’t share specific details regarding my medical treatment because things can often change on a dime. That happened this Friday when I went into the clinic expecting to be put on an aggressive form of chemo until the trial opened up. Apparently the stipulation that prevented a patient from starting the trial until 4 weeks post surgery had been lifted so….I will be starting an early-stage medical trial this Tuesday!
Very top-line, the trial takes two oral chemotherapy drugs that have been effective individually and combines them to see what is the safe dose to give them together. These drugs are basically supposed to block cancer pathways. Although I am only the 3rd person to be put on this trial, Dr. Maki tells me that the first two folks have handled the treatments fairly well. I think part of the reason I have been sleeping so much this week is because I have no idea what to expect when we add chemo to my surgical recovery.
I will be sure to keep you in the loop. Adding a few more hospital pictures to show you…and big kudos to my friend Kim who noticed that I have my pain pump firmly in my hand in EVERY picture except the one where I am eating Jell-o. I guess after 7 days of no food, Jell-o might be as desirable as pain medication! I see an ad campaign coming…maybe I could be the next Bill Cosby!
I promise to write again soon.