It’s Been No Picnic. Until Sunday.

I had my first big outing since the surgery Sunday and attended our Ejzak family picnic for more than an hour. It was great to see my aunts, uncles, cousins and now their kids (and some grandkids) too. It was tiring, but definitely worth it! Many thanks to my cousin Lisa for organizing it all. While talking to my family at the picnic, I realized I might not have been clear about what’s next for me in this journey. At my last appointment, my oncologist said that unless something shows up in a future scan, I don’t have to return to see him and that the surgeon will keep an eye on me from here. The long, luxurious (NOT!) chemo bath that my abdomen was treated to following the surgery has hopefully taken care of any microscopic cancer cells that may have remained after everything was removed. While we know at some point the slow-growing cancer will begin to slowly grow once again, for now, it is excellent news…and I don’t need any follow-up chemo! Yesterday, I saw a pulmonologist at my surgeon’s recommendation. I still get short of breath doing almost nothing. My right lung is not yet fully inflating, but she felt confident that it will continue to improve as I continue to recover. She also acknowledged that the pain I’m having from the surgery (especially as it relates to my diaphragm) is nasty. (My word, not hers.) But it was nice to have a medical professional acknowledge that yeah, that sucks. Wednesday will mark 4 weeks since my surgery. I hope to be strong enough to go back to work in four more weeks. My surgeon said that some people need 10 or even 12 full weeks to recover, but I am young(?!) and in relatively good shape(?!), so we’ll see how it goes. I’m sorry that I cannot yet report that I have eaten a pretzel. Someday… Love you all.