Admitted to MGH, Part Deux

I know it's been awhile since my last update but truthfully there has been little fun stuff to report other than the poo-shot which never ceases to amaze me (I just got it earlier this evening... Amazing).

This past week which was supposed to be spent on rehab strengthening my legs was instead spent on pain management. I've been struggling with three pains: lower back pain, numbness of my legs and this terrible muscle ache that travels between the bottom of my right foot and my right calf. All very weird and annoying and over the last two weeks at the hospital my legs got VERY weak and generally I've been wheel chair bound. In addition, I had four doctor's appointments and 3 MRI scans which required either ambulance transfer or wheel chair van from the rehab center to the appointment, I got beat up on Wednesday, and all while going through physical therapy and occupational therapy to get stronger.

So it has been a tough and painful week, though today was a great day. Although I did resume some steroid medication last night which always makes you feel great. I had a great PT session where I walked a longer distance than I have my entire stay at Spaulding, I climbed four stairs and rode this cool recumbent elliptical machine. I also spoke to my palliative care team and we tweaked the pain medicines which I can already feel the benefits. The entire morning was relatively pain free with very little back pain and some great rehab progress.

In the afternoon was my third MRI which really should have occurred on Tuesday but was accidentally left out, so need-less-to-say it began as an annoyance. After one hour of lying on the MRI table, the back pain which had been so nice to me all day decided to return. The transfers took forever. And when I finally got back to the rehab center I had an urgent message from my oncologist regarding the scans, fresh off the press. However, there was a silver lining to the afternoon's activities, and I got to jam out to Tom Petty and Led Zeppelin during the scan (only the really new machines have head phones so this is pretty rare).

And then the returned phone call... Despite attempts to reduce the spine lesions using radiation, the scans showed some progression at T11/T12 that will inevitably require surgical intervention and is likely the source to much of the leg pain and weakness. So I'm typing this posting from my new bed, tranferred from Spaulding back to MGH, plugged back into my power port, awaiting surgery tentatively planned in the morning and falling asleep, zzzzzzzzzzz...