So today I'm at my parent's again in the afternoon. Basically just like every other day for the past few weeks.
Yes, I am slowly improving and healing. The progress seems super, super slow. However, on Tuesday I stayed home alone while Earl went to work in the morning. I was able to get myself up and dressed and drove myself to my parent's for lunch. That was a pretty huge accomplishment. Since then the roads have been so awful so I haven't done much driving.
Another big accomplishment was washing dishes for the first time in a month! Earl had a bit of a misfortune the other day and ripped off his fingernail. So after supper I realized that there was no way Earl could do the dishes- it was up to me. I thought I'd give it a try knowing that every dish I got done was better than nothing. Well they all got washed.
I'm not really using crutches in the house anymore. I'm able to hobble around the house and do little things. Earl & I go for a walk every night. Each day we go about 100 feet farther than the day before. Earl has this goal that I should be walking half a mile one way by the time I go for lung surgery. I'm not sure if that's possible, but I'm trying to keep on pace for that. About half of the walk I use my crutches the way they're meant to be used and on the way back I either use them as canes or put my arm through Earl's and walk without crutches. I want to increase my ability to walk without crutches but my 'good' side gets affected because of how much it compensates for the other side.
That's pretty much an update on some of my accomplishments. Pain varies from day to day. When I lie down I usually don't have pain and when I'm sitting or walking there is usually just a dull ache. Sometimes I'm hit with severe muscle cramps. My pain meds keep most of the pain under control.
That's all for now,
Ramona

Pathology Report

Well, we got the pathology report back this week.....and....the news was absolutely as good as could be expected. Dr. Ferguson said that all the margins were clear in the hip and in the auxilla, the entire tumor was already dead before the surgery....(they removed what was dead anyway)...the bone pathology is not back yet, Dr. Ferguson told us that it takes longer to get that report back. We have no reason to expect bad news there. This news is a pretty big relief to us. Although the doctor told us he had taken out everything he could see, there was something about his choice of words that made us a little uneasy...and I remember talking about it with Ramona's parents after Dr. Ferguson talked to us after the surgery...we were all uneasy after talking to him...but.....now...the news is all good...we know for sure that God has his hand right in the middle of this....the lung surgery is currently scheduled for June 21st...as much as this is slightly frustrating that it once again takes about twice as long as the doctors were hoping...this also means that they don't consider Ramona an emergency (they told me a little about the people that are getting priority over her, I'm glad Mony's lungs only have 3 spots)...I was really wondering if I should fight for some other surgeon to do this immediately in case her cancer spreads....but I don't exactly want the Mt. Sinai janitorial staff doing the surgery...We trust God knows what He's doing here and we took Dr. Ferguson's advice and are just waiting for Dr. Waddell to do the surgery...having said that...Dr. Waddell did put Ramona on the cancellation list of another surgeon too...in general in the last two weeks since we've been home...Ramona and I are at home until lunch time....and then I work in the afternoon and she goes to her parents place...Pain was something Ramona was really struggling with...she was hoping to get off meds almost right away...but it seems wiser to be on pain meds all the time...it's harder to rehab when the pain is too excruciating...the staples came out last Monday...the wound looks very good....considering everything, the scars shouldn't be too bad (an incredibly relief that it isn't infected...that was no fun last time)....Mony still uses crutches...she's getting pretty good...at first she had trouble lifting her left leg into bed or into the car or anything like that...she's getting a little stronger and also better at compensating...I made her drive the car the other day...and she's good...at first it looked a little awkward with her gimpy left arm...but she's got the hang of driving again...the arm is still slowly healing...I know it often feels useless to her....but she has regained some control...not power....but control....the left shoulder is starting to stiffen up a bit...we need to move it around....anyway...in many ways this has been a refreshing week...we spent every evening with close friends or our families...anyway...i keep writing to procrastinate planting that garden...maybe if I wear my scarf and mittens and long red underwear I'll be fine...for now...earl

The flights are booked and we're coming home!!!!!
The lung surgeon came and spoke with Earl & I sometime after 6:00 this evening. He says that he's willing to do my lung surgery. It'll probably take 3-4 weeks until he's got an opening. That should give me some time to keep on recuperating after this surgery. Although the doctors are optimistic, they do acknowledge the fact that there's quite a big chance that the tumors will come back. Therefore, Dr. Waddell, the lung surgeon, is going to try to do the surgery in such a way that future surgeries, if necessary, will be possible. As of the last CT, I have 3 nodules on my right lung. It sounds like they will trust the CT and just operate on the right lung as opposed to both of them.
Right now Earl is at the AIM apartment packing up our stuff. Our flight leaves here at 12:55 tomorrow afternoon. We arrive in Winnipeg at 2:28.
Today I experienced quite a bit more pain than usual. Yesterday was quite an intense day for me physically. I walked a lot more than I had until that point. I also took a bit of a tumble yesterday so my knee is feeling sore due to that. Therefore today I lay around quite a bit and am resting up for a lot of movement tomorrow.
Thanks for your prayers
Definitely looking forward to coming home tomorrow
Ramona

I'll try to word this properly, but I'm actually lying beside my wife right now. The doctor gave us another day pass, so we decided to go to the place that most resembles home, the AIM apartment. I brought the laundry downstairs, and by the time I was back upstairs, Mony was sleeping. It's pretty hard work climbing two flights of stairs after hip surgery. As far as the hip drainage is concerned, it wasn't draining anymore. Ramona must have accidently pulled the draining tube out a little bit, so any drainage that came out was soaked up by her bandage, her leg, the floor, or her sandals. They took the hemovac out at lunch time today. Apparently it is very normal for the hemovac hose to accidently be pulled out a little too far. Anyway, the only thing we are really waiting for is to talk to the lung surgeon. We don't know which day that will be. Please keep praying, it is harder for Ramona to be in the hospital when she feels healthy than when she feels sick.

Waiting to see all the people in MB,
Earl

PS. When bone is removed it takes to 2-3 weeks to get the pathology report