Milestone

My childhood swimming hole. Feb 2022.  Too cold for swimming, but wading felt glorious.

Six rounds of quadruple chemotherapy completed!  It wasn't easy but it wasn't as hard as I expected.  

My cancer is responding to the treatment. Hooray!

I am feeling better and better, most of my energy has returned.  I am back to walking, yoga, and gardening.  My hair is growing back.  All the side effects are resolved or resolving.

Surgery is in a little less than 2 weeks, and then I can recover from that.  I'll be available if my patients need me during recovery, but I won't schedule routine visits for 2 weeks after the surgery to give me lots of time to recover. 

I am being reminded that healing takes time.  Not just time needs to pass, but also that the activities that support healing require an investment of time, attention, and energy: Getting to bed on time, Taking supplements, Yoga. Meditation, Sauna, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, Eating well,  Therapy, Investing in relationships. No regrets for sure. Giving myself grace for not getting other things done during this season of my life.  

A guiding principle suggested by my therapist: Nothing extra.  Nothing drastic.