It has been almost two months since Pat's surgery and everything is going really well. Pat continues to regain energy and is almost back to 100%. He has had 2 follow-up visits with his doctor and they say everything is looking great! He goes to the doctor every month for the first year, every two months for the second year, every three months for the third year and so on for 5 years. The big milestones are the 3 year and 5 year cancer free anniversaries. At the 3 and 5 year mark the chance of recurrence goes down dramatically. It seems like such a long time from now, but we look forward to reaching those big dates and celebrating!
Pat has been doing physical and speech therapy for a while now. Both have really helped, but are an ongoing duty. Due to the neck surgery, Pat's shoulder is strained and weaker than before. Every morning he does some exercises with a stretchy, elastic band to build strength and regain movement. It still may be a while before he can swing a golf club, maybe by spring. His speech is great, just a little slurred with certain words. The doctor said it should be back to the way it was before in about a year.
Patrick is back to work 30 hours a week. His schedule allows him to get a little more sleep, he still needs more rest than usual. I went back to work full-time with my former employee in San Francisco. I am thrilled to have a job again and it is fun to be back with old co-workers.
Over the last few months we have become involved with a wonderful support organization called The Wellness Community. http://www.twcba.org/ We both addend weekly support groups and have received a lot of support in going through cancer and address some issues with moving on from cancer. We have met some great friends. Most of the people there are 15+ years older than us, but we like being the youngins and it feels good to chat with people that have been in the same boat. It is alarming to realize how many people are affected by cancer. Most of all we are shocked to hear about how many more young people are being diagnosed. We hope someday there is a world with out cancer, but until then we are thankful for our super smart doctors and places like the Wellness Community for providing support. : )
Hope this blog finds all of you well. xoxo
Pat has been doing physical and speech therapy for a while now. Both have really helped, but are an ongoing duty. Due to the neck surgery, Pat's shoulder is strained and weaker than before. Every morning he does some exercises with a stretchy, elastic band to build strength and regain movement. It still may be a while before he can swing a golf club, maybe by spring. His speech is great, just a little slurred with certain words. The doctor said it should be back to the way it was before in about a year.
Patrick is back to work 30 hours a week. His schedule allows him to get a little more sleep, he still needs more rest than usual. I went back to work full-time with my former employee in San Francisco. I am thrilled to have a job again and it is fun to be back with old co-workers.
Over the last few months we have become involved with a wonderful support organization called The Wellness Community. http://www.twcba.org/ We both addend weekly support groups and have received a lot of support in going through cancer and address some issues with moving on from cancer. We have met some great friends. Most of the people there are 15+ years older than us, but we like being the youngins and it feels good to chat with people that have been in the same boat. It is alarming to realize how many people are affected by cancer. Most of all we are shocked to hear about how many more young people are being diagnosed. We hope someday there is a world with out cancer, but until then we are thankful for our super smart doctors and places like the Wellness Community for providing support. : )
Hope this blog finds all of you well. xoxo
4 comments:
So glad you're doing well. You sure you don't miss AZ a little though? It's still pool weather here :) best wishes for Pat's continued recovery!
This is great news. I'm glad to hear things are progressing well. You are so fortunate to have each other. I'm sure this experience has/is strengthing an already great relationship. We have a spot open in our foursome as soon as you are up for it!
SO GLAD he is doing better! Sending more healing thoughts his way!:)
Thanks for your comment on my blog-I am always amazed by the number of young people I hear about battling cancer. I am so glad Pat's was found early and taken care of so promptly. We are so happy to hear you are doing so well and continue to pray for him and good health.
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