Hi Everyone Thank you all so much for thinking of me, and posting on my thread or PMessaging me. As you know, I haven't posted in a while but I didn't mean to cause anyone to become concerned. I decided that I didn't want to focus on my hips anymore, and I wanted to try to get on with my life as best I could. There have also been some events that have taken up my time and attention recently.
First a little update on me:
I've been on the Prednisone about 2 1/2 weeks, and although it's helped the pain, I'm not back to anywhere near 'normal'. I can do things more easily around the house, and the pain isn't usually as severe, but it's still there. So I'm trying to be positive and focus on the fact that I have less pain, and if I had to, I could live with it. I can see that there will be no quick or easy cure for me, though. I don't think I'll ever be the same person, as far as my activity level and physical capabilities are concerned. I'm coming to terms with that and looking at my whole life, not just my current limitations. I reallize that I'm very important to my children and my husband, and as long as I can think and function within the context of my family, that's what's most important. My kids are still growing up and need the guidance and support of their mom to become good adults and go off on their own. I have a lot to look forward to in the furture - getting them through college and started on careers, their weddings, helping them set up homes, seeing my grandchildren, being with them on holidays and all of the other happy occassions that will come along. So I've decided not to let my hips be the central focus of my life, as long as I can tolerate the pain. After all, I don't have a terminal illness. I can still get up everyday and take care of my family even if I can't do everything and every chore that I was able to do a year ago.
As I process that bit of insight, and move on, life is challenging me in other ways now, too.
I asked for a 6 week extension from my job as a School Nurse, as I was supposed to start back last Wed. the 21st. By the beginning of Aug. I knew it wouldn't be possible for me to return and function the way I should to ensure the health and safety of the school kids. Unfortunately, I was denied an extension, so I don't have that job anymore. I feel badly about it, although it wasn't a reflection on my performance while I worked or how they felt about me as a nurse or as a person. I'm taking it in stride, and viewing it as hopefully an opportunity to get a different job when I'm ready, or maybe even go back to school. I don't know now, but I believe that I'll be able to work again someday.
The more important event concerns my youngest 18 year old daughter. It was discovered by accident 10 days ago that she has a large mass involving her ovary and is scheduled for surgery this coming Wed. She was due to move in to college this past weekend, and as you can imagine, this made us all stop in our tracks with shock and worry. However, we were very lucky to have an excellent doctor, who happens to be the ob-gyn who delivered her, and who understood that this was really unfortunate timing, and she had her scheduled for tests the very next day. She was also able to get us an appointment the next week to see an excellent surgeon who specializes in this type of diagnosis and surgery. He scheduled her himself for the surgery within another week. It is believed by all of the medical people who are involved and have reviewed the images, that it is a very large but benigh cyst. Thank god we found it before it got any bigger, or caused her any symptoms, or even worse, twisted the ovary and caused a serious emergency.
So we moved her in to her dorm yesterday as planned, and she starts school tomorrow, Mon., only to return home on Tues. to prepare for her surgery Wed. Now it's a matter of praying that they don't find anything more serious when they do the surgery, and that they can save her ovary, which will be a challenge because the cyst/mass is so large - 10cm, or about 4inches. It's amazing that she has had no symptoms and it was only found because I happened to take her to the gyn as a routine visit to get her started on good female care before going off to college. It was just by coincidence and the grace of God. It's awful, but very, very lucky in many ways. She's never been to a gyn before, but I felt it was something that should be done as part of growing up, being a young lady and going to college with all of the freedom that she'll have. I wanted to be sure she was taken care of, knew how to take care of herself, and would be smart and safe. She did, too. I'm so thankful that I talked about it with her, rather than not facing the realities of what being a teenager means. I've worked with teenagers enough, and have two older than her, and I certainly remember well what it's like to be that age. Thank goodness - someone's watching over us, I'm sure of it.
Well, do I tell you the rest of what's been going on here? I think so -
My husband has a lung nodule that was also discovered by accident during a routine exam about a year and a half ago that his pulmonologist has been following closely. Since it did grow very slightly, although very, very slowly, the MD decided it was time to see a lung surgery specialist. Well, it's a slow growing cancer that the surgeon said they wouldn't even bother about if he were 80. But because he's 60, it has to come out. Although, thankfully it's not urgent. We're not even telling the kids now, and may never actually tell them it's cancer, and of course, we're waiting a month or so until my daughter is in the clear and back to normal before proceeding with the surgery.
Otherwise, I'm fine. You can see why I hesitated posting. Besides the fact that there's a lot going on, I needed time to get this all in it's proper order and processed before I decided that I could or wanted to talk about it. But I feel that it's under control, and we'll move along in life doing the best we can.
As you can see, my hips aren't the priority anymore. There are things more important than the fact that I still have pain, or that I can't swim or walk around the block like I wish I could, that need to be taken care of. My family needs me to be as well as I can be to help them. It's that simple. I can tolerate anything if I have to, as long as I'm here for them.
Thanks to all of you for all of your thoughts and your posts. I will try to keep you updated as things go along. I appreciate having your support and your friendship. It's meant so much to me and has helped me tremendously these last 6+ months, and I know it'll be just as important to me, or more so, in the days to come.
Take care everyone. I hope you are all doing well and coming along nicely with your recoveries and with your own lives.
United States
We're all ready to go bright and early tomorrow morning. It will be such a relief when this is over and we can move along in life. Then she can return to being a college freshman, finding her way on campus, making new friends, meeting her teachers, going to games, joining clubs, and whatever else college holds for her.
i don't know why sometimes the sky just comes crashing down on us. I wish I had some sort of explanation why. All I can say is " let go....let God" my friend. Times like these when everything goes haywire all at once
