Around 5 weeks have passed since my curd-filled trip to the Mayo clinic and in four weeks I will return for more curds (plus a major surgery). During March I kept active with some running and always getting my 10000 steps in. Cale will be running the Bolder Boulder again this year so I'm trying to make sure he is sticking to his training plan. We've been staying busy with work, school, extracurriculars, soccer and relaxation I've started building our garden area and will hopefully finish before traveling to Minnesota. I had many normal days where cancer did not dominate but unfortunately the beast has crept back.
Shortly after returning from Mayo I was contacted by a urologist there advising me to get a stent in my left ureter prior to surgery. There were concerns that if the tumor started to grow again the ureters could be further constricted and my kidney could be damaged. So on Monday of this week I returned to my favorite Denver hospital so my urologist could insert a small plastic tube up my urinary tract. Luckily, I was put out for the procedure. If you recall from my early post I am one of the lucky 1% with a double ureter setup on one of my kidneys. The urologist decided that only the upper left ureter needed the stent. I felt fairly normal after the procedure with the exception of some colorful urine. On Tuesday I began to experience sharp pain while urinating. It has since gotten better but is still there. Almost a year ago the cancer took all the fun out of #2 and now it has taken the fun out of #1.
Now if my only concern was the stent I probably wouldn't complain but over the last two weeks I have started to experience pain similar to what occurred back in December before radiation. I have a cabinet full of various pain medications and for the most part can manage to function normally. Nighttime is the worst and my sleep is impacted. The doctors seem to believe it is inflammation from tissue healing after all the radiation.
The plan at this point in time is to push through this month, maintain a positive outlook, and
hopefully four weeks from now the beast will be destroyed and I will have a greater appreciation for #2, #1, and just about everything life has to offer.
