What’s a few more weeks?

This last week has been pretty tough for me. I’ve been in a lot of pain, not just from the surgery, but also from the giant tube that’s hanging from my nose. Not only does my throat hurt, but also my nose, ears, and teeth. On the plus side, I have been able to swallow small sips of water, but it takes me several tries.

I saw the ENT yesterday and was hoping she’d take the NG tube out. She said if she took it out, the hole might close back up and it took her three hours to poke through the first time. So she wants me to keep it until my next surgery, which is scheduled for April 4. I don’t know if I can stand it for that long or not, but I don’t want to have to start over, so I’m going to try to tough it out.

Over the past week, I’ve used up most of my leftover pain medicine, so I asked the ENT for a new prescription (preferably something a little stronger since what I had wasn’t really relieving the pain). She gave me one, but when I went to have it filled today I found out she didn’t write it correctly, which means I need a new prescription. Since the medication is a narcotic, I have to pick up the prescription in person (they can’t fax it to the pharmacy or order it electronically). Her office is an hour and a half away. I have a call in to her to see if she can mail it to me, but I haven’t heard back yet (she’s in surgery today). I tried calling my PCP to see if he would replace the prescription for me, but he said he’s not allowed to do that. I understand they have to make it difficult to get narcotics because of all the people who are addicted to pain medications, but it makes it really tough for people who actually have pain.

My hands and feet have been getting progressively more numb. I almost feel like my legs are going to buckle when I stand up. I was hoping to wait and talk to the oncologist about this at my appointment on March 30, but I’m now waiting to hear back if I can get in next week to see the nurse practitioner (the doctor will be out).

Yesterday, I heard back from a major client that I had initially lost because I was taking too long to recuperate. He has work for me again. I’m thankful for that, but hoping it won’t turn out to be too much for me. Up until now I’ve been able to just work on my “good” days and take off on the bad ones.

That’s it for now. Thanks for reading my blog. If  you’d like to help me with my battle with cancer, please go to https://www.youcaring.com/julie-mears-henry-495041.