My Ducks in a Row

July 25 (Saturday)... I always said I was not going to have a sugar coated story of my cancer experience. So even though I know I am going to hear from family and friends (I know you love me!) about how I need to stop overdoing it on my good days, I am going to post about my experience today. 

I woke up this morning still feeling great!  I was glad to have another good start with energy to enjoy. I was able to make breakfast for the family. Then I had a virtual class (I have been working on this church project since February) that would last until noon. 

Everything was going great!  Michael even commented that I really must being feeling better. He probably said this because I was going through the house giving suggestions about what the family could do instead of cling to their mechanical devices of choice. A momma’s job is never done!  

I enjoyed my 3-hour class and felt blessed to be a part of the group in some small way. I am now one step closer to being a trained facilitator for the diocese. 

It was lunch time but I did not feel hungry, so I sat down for a short rest. Then I decided I needed to do something crazy...this might be too much information for some... but I took my first soak in a tub in FOUR MONTHS!!!  I am not even sure if I was released to do this because I had been advised not to do this along the way for various reasons. But I thought it through and none of those reasons were still an issue. Add to that, I still had the permanent marker drawings on my body from the radiation treatments. Those markings were not needed, so I needed that nice soak to remove the marks. 

I told Michael I was going in and to be close by in case my back seized up or I could not get out of the tub. No big deal!  I enjoyed my time with my duckies!  I got some peace and quiet from the crew. All was good!  I even got out of the tub without incident. 

However, when I made it back to my view from the sun room, I felt something was not right. I cannot even explain exactly how I felt. It was like I had heartburn coming out of my back. My back did not hurt but felt like it was going to explode there was so much pressure. Also the pressure was not in my lower back...the pressure was between my shoulder blades. 

I was sitting in my chair and telling Michael I was afraid to move. Then I had sharp shooting pain ...like a needle...coming out below my left shoulder. I was in such pain!  It was not a constant pain which might have been bearable. The shooting pain would come randomly and was very intense. My back also continued to feel pressure. 

Michael got my mom and she suggested I try to get up and move around. So I did this and it did seem to stop the shooting pain but my back continued to feel the pressure. 

This would continue off and on through out the evening. I am not sure what caused this to happen. I have never had any heart issues so I feel confident I am not all of a sudden having those issues. But I will be communicating these concerns with my oncologist to see if this could be a a side effect from any of my treatments. 

I am writing this the next morning and I feel fine again. Maybe I did overdo it. I did not feel like I did anything that strenuous. I thought it might have had something to do with the hot water since I was told not to use heat on my areas of treatment. But I thought that was only during treatment period. 

We will just see how this manifests itself now. Praying is my tool of action at this time. And I offer up any pain I am having for family and friends who are currently suffering the loss of life due to corona virus. I can only imagine their suffering is worse than mine as they mourn. 

God bless you!