my armpit is peeling!

bet you never imagined seeing that as a title for a post.

near the end of radiation, my right side took a beating.  nothing too severe.  it just looked like a bad sunburn that covered part of my neck, shoulder & armpit... front & back.  and i had some nasty blisters around my collar bone that turned pretty raw.  (be glad i resisted posting pictures!)

my kids probably hadn't seen my incision since surgery #2... and i tend to keep that area covered pretty well.  no use subjecting them to needless trauma.  but the other day while i was standing in the kitchen, emma asked, "dad, why is your neck so red?'  so beth had me take off my shirt and show them the damage.  luckily it wasn't right before dinner.

ian's our huggy kid.  so he immediately crossed the room and put his arms around me.  and i think they all treated me a little nicer for a day or two.

with a little loving care... it's healed beautifully... the peeling being the final stage of recovery.

it reminds me of my docs words.  "there is no such thing as a healthy tan."  because the reality is that tanning is simply your skin trying to recover from the sun's damage.  pearls before swine in our beauty craving culture... as it was for me when i was younger.

physical therapy has gone well too.  i'm amazed at how much stronger my arm is getting... and how much more range i have with it.  just have to keep those exercises going.

dr. lao will schedule scans for august some time.  and we'll go from there.  the farther it is from treatment, the more they'll be able to differentiate between healing tissue & possible cancer.  hopefully it won't show anything.

time will tell.

thanks for all the prayers.

Comments

[Rick Lingenfelter]

So with all this talk of healing and strength...are you running the Chicago Marathon on your own or am I still carrying you? If it is the latter, please lay off the movie popcorn and switch to diet sodas.
Glad to hear you are mending.

[Janet Hurt]

Glad to hear you are on the mend! Praying for the scans to look excellent!