More Roses Than Thorns

Big bad physical pain yesterday morning before my appointment with urology, big bad psychological pain during the appointment.   Ugly words. Advanced. Aggressive. Invasive. Involved. Topped off with the kindest "I'm sorry."  A doctor searching for answers because I'm "unlike any case he's seen, so atypical." No risk factors.  No family history.  Just bad luck, I guess. 

cool lights in Timken Cancer Center
But better news....The urine catheter is gone.  As Pinnochio said, "I've got not strings to hold me back!" Hallelujah! 

I came home. I cried. I took my medications. I took a nap. 

I woke up, then I peed, all by myself. Into a toilet. Like a normal human. Pain-free pee is good, and I will lifted that praise.

I met with palliative care in the afternoon. We discussed pain management and are working on maximizing my pain medications to make my "every day" comfortable and functional.  There is hope that once treatment starts, the chemo and immunotherapy may help reduce the pain as well.

After the appointments, I had a chai tea from Starbucks.  I'm not sure about the Starbucks type of chai, but certain blends of chai are medicinal, and I know that cup was restorative for me!  Jason and I walked around the hospital, visited his dad (who is inpatient, still), and visited my NICU co-workers.   This part of my day was good.  Great, in fact.

We had stuffed peppers, courtesy of my mom's home cooking, for dinner.  Yummmm.  One of my childhood favorites.  "Survey says...." 6 of 8 people at the table like the "stuffing" part, and not the pepper shell, but the pepper is still a required part of the dish to make it taste right.  Another great part of my day.

Finished off the day by watching some 9th inning heroics in the Guardians game, a walk-off win at home vs the White Sox!  

Went to bed with more roses than thorns in my day, so I'll take the victory.

This was day 17.
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