New Attitude

Today was a good day! Lucky number 13 since my final chemo... I am almost weaned off the steroids and I wonder what I will do for conversation when they wear off.... My brain goes shooting off on all sorts of tangents and my mouth just follows and I find I talk incessantly! At least my family and friends are entertained ;-)

My stomach pain is slowly subsiding but I still swear by Slippery Elm Bark powder and Manuka honey drinks. I have them three times a day to keep a nice smooth lining on my pipes - along with daily doses of PPI (acid blockers) and Zantac. The pain has resolved more in to a bloated, uncomfortable feeling rather than actual pain so I can deal with that.

A really wierd development is my skin... I am finding bleeding spots on my hands, arms, legs, etc where I must be knocking myself and my skin just "smears" off.. also (and this is going to sound really gross) I have the complete lining of my nostrils come out as a sheet of skin that's black with blood - at least twice a day... I guess the skin cells are really doing the dying thing fast this time round.

I went for a walk today but in a really fantastic place - Fitzroy Island! My husband and I spent a night and two days there to celebrate the end of chemo (and to volunteer with the sea turtle rehab centre which is what I do everytime I feel up to it) The walk was only 1.2km but had uphill bits here and there. I got really puffed but its the most exercise I've done in three months and I was very proud of myself! I'm exhausted now but plan to walk again tomorrow and every day from now on. I am determined radiation is NOT going to knock me about too much!!!! Onward and upward from here.. I have added a pic of us overlooking the beach we walked to - my "steroid bloom" has added 5kg to my face and body! Not for much longer..