A lot has happened in the last 10 days and it is all sensationally positive. As you can see from the photo the burning has all but recovered. It is a bit sensitive still but I think that is the facial hear trying to make it's way back through the skin. It is funny but I can really feel the growth in my right cheek and I suspect that I am going to face a few ingrown hairs over the next few weeks.It was a great day, when I could finally put my St Christopher back on. I had wanted to keep it on all the way through but when the chain started tearing open the skin around my neck, I thought it wise to take it off.
My hair is still falling out but at a slightly slower rate. I asked Jordana (my youngest daughter) who is a hairdresser to possibly cut my hair to tidy it up a bit after the last three months. I am not sure whether I was happy or disappointed when she advised me that it was a bit too thin at the back to actually cut it and she recommended that I leave it long.
Now I am happy because I would not mind it a bit longer (I am enjoying having it long), but knowing that there are bald spots at the back does obviously cause some concern. I know that in time it will all come back to normal so what the hell - let's leave it get longer. You only live once and it has been over 30 years sonce I had long hair so I am gonna continue to enjoy it.
I attended my clinic appointment last Tuesday (7 June) to find out that everything was going exceptionally well. Despite the one mistake that I had made (going of my pain killing Med's too soon) I was travelling really really well and had about another two to three weeks to go for my recovery to be "pain free". I realised that there will be a lot longer until I am "fully" back, but given the fact that I maintained my weight, could still mouth eat and was reasonably pain free I was in a great position.
So Lisa and I sat down and had a great discussion about what was best for me and we decided that a trip to our unit on the Sunshine Coast was possibly the best remedial action I could take. Thankfully my baby angel Jayde, was happy to undertake the road trip from Melbourne to Maroochydore. We needed to drive because there was a few things that we needed to take from melbourne to the unit, and lets face it Road Trips are a great way to enjoy yourself. Obviously I needed to be sensible about travel times and fatigue but it would not be that bad.
So I have been at the Coast for the last 6 days and it has been fantastic. There is something extremely cathartic about being near the beach and being able to stroll along the beach.
I have managed to get the steps up to over 14,000 per day (FitBit tells me). Which is far better than the 1,000 - 2,000 per day for the past 7 weeks,
The fatigue is easing and I only need to rest up rather that sleeping each day and I am ecstatic that the taste sensations in my mouth are returning. I can now enjoy apples, yoghurt and fruit juice. I still need to be aware of the acidity in the foods I eat because this still burns the ulceration in my mouth.
They tell me that up to another 10 - 20 days will be needed to see my ulcers go and the site of the most pain now is exactly where the tumour is located and so this needs to take time to make sure everything unwanted is killed.Given the journey to date I have absolutely no concerns about the "pain" that I experience at various times of the day because it really is not pain - just awareness that I am still healing.
My attention is now turning to what happens next. I am going to look at heading back to Melbourne later this week and will look at going back to work at the office after my next clinical sessions on 21 June. It will be good to be able to return to work, but I am only going to do so if the Doc's say it is cool.
I tried to go bushwalking yesterday - climbing Mount Coolum. I did not get far until I realised that I had a long way to go to fully recover. I am not disappointed about what I can't do yet. I have plenty of time and I know that it will be enjoyable undertaking the adventures that I do in order to rebuild.
I can also focus my attention on my idea of the "Hike for Healing Happiness". I will tell you more about this once I hear back from the government body I have approached in relation to the idea.
That's it from me for now. Take care, enjoy each day and thanks for keeping on reading. More to come yet.....
