Howard and Sophie - photo by PetraHoward’s mother, Sophie, died on Monday. He went down to care for her last week. It was a pretty intense time for him. She kept nearly dying, then reviving. He finally flew home on Saturday so that he could attend Gavi’s recital on Sunday (which was delightful, by the way). She died on Monday morning. She died in her sleep, in her bed, with a wonderful caretaker on hand. It all went as well as these things do.
The funeral is on Friday. I won’t be able to make it because I have surgery scheduled for that day. David will drop me off at the hospital in the morning and Beth and Liz will pick me up at the hospital the next day and bring me home. It’s one of those instances where a crystal ball would have come in so handy when making my original plans for surgery. I would love to be able to make it to the funeral to say my goodbyes and see the relatives that show up. I was very fond of Sophie. She was a delight, particularly in her later years. She aged well.
However, rescheduling surgery isn’t a good idea. I’d have to put it off for another month and that wouldn’t work at all since everyone is taking off for the Oregon Country Fair and Chautauqua in a month.
I’m having breast reconstruction. I figured it was now or never. I’m having a breast reduction on the left side and an expander put in on the right. It will be a four hour surgery. The mastectomy was an hour and a half, so this is a much bigger deal.
The good news is that my energy level has improved to about 85-90%. I went to see Barbara MacDonald, my naturopath, this morning and she was very pleased with my progress. She says that I’m in great shape for someone who just went through chemo and that usually she doesn’t expect to see this level of recovery until people are nine months out. I attribute this turnaround to the colon hydrotherapy. I had another couple of treatments earlier this week. I really think it’s a great idea after chemo. She also concurred that I should take it easy this summer and not try to work. She said that people who push themselves too hard after chemo are the ones who end up with a lot of problems.
The funeral is on Friday. I won’t be able to make it because I have surgery scheduled for that day. David will drop me off at the hospital in the morning and Beth and Liz will pick me up at the hospital the next day and bring me home. It’s one of those instances where a crystal ball would have come in so handy when making my original plans for surgery. I would love to be able to make it to the funeral to say my goodbyes and see the relatives that show up. I was very fond of Sophie. She was a delight, particularly in her later years. She aged well.
However, rescheduling surgery isn’t a good idea. I’d have to put it off for another month and that wouldn’t work at all since everyone is taking off for the Oregon Country Fair and Chautauqua in a month.
I’m having breast reconstruction. I figured it was now or never. I’m having a breast reduction on the left side and an expander put in on the right. It will be a four hour surgery. The mastectomy was an hour and a half, so this is a much bigger deal.
The good news is that my energy level has improved to about 85-90%. I went to see Barbara MacDonald, my naturopath, this morning and she was very pleased with my progress. She says that I’m in great shape for someone who just went through chemo and that usually she doesn’t expect to see this level of recovery until people are nine months out. I attribute this turnaround to the colon hydrotherapy. I had another couple of treatments earlier this week. I really think it’s a great idea after chemo. She also concurred that I should take it easy this summer and not try to work. She said that people who push themselves too hard after chemo are the ones who end up with a lot of problems.
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